The Washington times., 1906-06-10

There are three big attractions at
Luna Park this week-Knabenshue.
king OF the air; PhilIppini. the great
Spanish band conductor. and the Her
Eog Camaras, women head baIancers,-
who are said TO be without peer among
all tile acrobatic organizations of the
country. In addition, all of the thirty
attractions are in full running order.
and the picnic season. which began last
Tuesday. is in full blast. Excursions
have begun from all parts of the sur
rounding country, and all the railroads
entering Washington are Offering special
rates TO parties OF 10 or more, while
the two-day rates are IL effect regularly.
and many Luna Park parties are taking
advantage Of the fact TO visit the new
city Of pleasure on the Potomac The
opening week was marked by more or
less inclement weather, but the second
week has been a continuous succession
of bright days md big crowds, and
whatever doubt there may have been Of
the success Of such a park as Luna has
been dispelled by the visitatlons of the
thousands.
Will Sail Over Washington.
The attraction par excellence this week
is the engagement Of Roy Knabenshue,
the famous aeronaut. with his a.rship-
the same airship which flew over the
skyscrapers OF New York last August
end created such a furore Of interest
that traffic and business were suspended
IN the metropolis of America. Knaben-
shue has been engaged at a salary Of
81. 900 a day. with the understanding that
he is 70 make two flights day, weather
permitting. One of the flights will be
from Luna Park to Washington, down
Pennsylvania avenue. through the bust
ness section of the city, and TO the
White House, where he VIII land on the
roof and pay his respects TO President
Roosevelt.
Another flight. which is yet under con-
Bideration is from Washington TO Balti-
more via Laurel. at an average speed
of twenty miles an hour. and with,
against or across such winds as may
prevail at the time. This flight, II it Is
made, will be on Thursday, and will In
clude a visit to the United States FL
deity building to carry a message to
Governor Warfield, and to the City Hall,
TO pay the same respects 70 Mayor IT,
maDus. The return from Baltimore will
be made from the sky parlor OF the
Altamont Hotel or the roof OF the Bel
vsdere, the highest points in the city.
Perils of Airship Sailing.
There Is no question that airship sail
ing in the most dangerous form of aerial
experiment. The ordinary gasbag. sup
pned with all the safety appliances and
CARRYING no motor or other dangerous
equipment, is bad enough. but when
Knabenshue goes aloft it is under
cigar-shaped bag of gas, with a motor
revolving rapidly. so close as to nearly
touch the bag. He guides the ship up
or down by moving along a two by four
rod in the center. running full length of
the ship. The least overt movement
would precipitate the gas too quickly
into one end of the bag. and the i'm
mediate result would be an explosion,
which would certainly mean the death
of the aeronaut- In Cleveland last week
Lincoln Beachey narrowly escaped death
at 800 feet above the earth. when his
bamboo uprights snapped and threw his
motor into the gas bag. ripping a great
hole. and permitting the gas to escape.
In spite Of its perils. Knabensheu loves
his life in the air. and is the most sue
cessful and conspicuous of all the
younger aeronauts. Since the earliest
discoveries in the lire of aerial naviga-
tion hundreds have tried - solve the
various problems presented. and many
have lost their lives. Today aerial nav
igation presents strong probabilities of
practical application. Walter WeIIman
-s now on his way TO the North Pole