Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-01-27

tentlon to the subject of aerial trnns- portation is Professor Langley of the Smithsonian institution. While Lang ley's ships all speedily collided with the mud of the Potomac bottoms, lie made great advances, of which others are taking advantage. Had congress not cut off his appropriation too soon Langley experiments would doubtless have had more successful termina- tion.
 John T.. Holland. the inventor of the submarine boat is also taking q shy into the aerial field. Mir. Holland is so enthusiastic that he announces success within year. He says that every body will be flying in that time. His plan is to attach pair of wings be- hind the head and another pair at the waist line. These are to be worked by the arms and legs and with no more cxertion than that required in walk ing. Holland spent quite some time in observing the ways of the buzzard, and he concluded that man properly rigged out ought to glide through the empyrean with equal ease.
 Swore About Losing His Cigar.
 This is only beginning of the list of Yankee geniuses who have sought to fly to fame on the wings of an airship. There is Roy Knabenshue. who floated over New York, Toledo and other cities. Then an inventor in Chicago says that if he can get enough money to com plete his machine lie will carry mes sage from that city to President Roose- welt at Washington. He proposes to make his flight in April. Another well known inventor at Passaic. N. J.. says lie has the problem solved, and Lewis Nixon and other well known men agree with him. Nor should Aeronaut Ham, ilton be forgotten. He is the man whose machine got tangled up with a flag pole ill Florida. After Mir. Ham, ilton came to the first thing he did was to swear about losing his cigar. It should also be remembered that Wal ter Wellman is to go to the north pole in an airship. but that is story in it. self. Andre also went to the north pole in a balloon. At least, he went some where. He is still there. Another man will soon make balloon trip to the south pole.
 Success of the Wright Brothers.
 But of all the American inventors and for that matter of all the inventors of the world-the most startling results have been achieved by the Wright brothers of Dayton, o. This is one more illustration of the fact that it is impossible to keep an Ohio man down. Whether in politics or aerostatics. he is bound to go up in the Yorld-or even above it. Orville and Wilbur Wright arc the sons of bishop in the United Brethren church. This is the place for somebody to spring pun about minis ters' sons being high fliers. Though ill the neighborhood of forty years of age. neither of the Wright brothers is married. They say that a wife would object to their hazardous experiments, or if she did not she would not be of the sort worth having. This one re- mark proves them to be extraordinary men. The Wright brothers machine is very simple. All great inventions are simple, like all great men. It is an aeroplane, and one of the remarkable things about it is that it is quite heavy as compared with the air. fact that goes against most aerostatic theories. Perhaps that is the reason it is so successful.
 A Machine That Flies.
 But the most remarkable thing about the Wright machlne is that it flies. At some very successful experiments made at Kitty Hawk. N. C.. two years ago 1t stayed up thirty-eight minutes and went twenty-five miles. Moreover, it was under perfect control all the time. It raised itself like a bird. went against the wind or in any direction desired by the operator and came down without injury. Since then it is said that innumerable other successful ex- periments have been made by the brothers and many Improvements add ed. Concerning just what has been done nobody knows for certain. The whole thing has been shrouded more or less in mystery The flights about Day ton have been taken by night. Not the least remarkable thing about these men is that they desire neither publicity nor money. fact that would seem to place the stamp of genuineness on their work. Another thing that leads sclen- tific men to believe the Wright brothers have actually accomplished that whiel, the world hns been dreaming of for q thousand years is the fact that the French government has taken so much interest in their work. This has recent ly eliminated in France buying the machine as soon as il comes up to cer- tain agreed specifications. At first the wrights would scarcely talk with the man sent to negotiate the purchase, but on being assured that the work to which they had devoted their lives would be carried forward they at last agreed to sell. The price is not known, but Is believed to have been about ssoOc00. The aerostatie experts Of France would not pay that amount for an invention unless assured of it's sue cess. --
 The Wright aeroplane consists of a double panel of canvas forty feet long and six feet across. tho two panels be.