The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-23
WRIGHT BROTHERS SAY THEY
 HAVE CONQUERED THE AIR
Dayton inventors Report to the Aero Club That at Last They Have All But Perfected a
 Heavier Than Air Flying Machine.

calm ar over d SlEdiEAL GOGk SIP ONN when the flights were made in circles a close comparison was impossible be- cause it was not practicable to accu- rately trace the course over the ground Tn the flight of October , a total or 2e7 circuits of the field was made. The times were taken with stop watches. In operating the machine 1t has been onr custom for many years to alter nate in making flights and such care has been observed that neither Of us has suffered any serious injury, though in the earlier flights our ignorance and the ina1euuacy of the means of con troI made the work exceedingly dan gerous
 "The 1905 flyer had total weight of about 925 pounds, including the ope- rator, and was of such substantial construction as to be able to make lana ings at high speed without being strained or broken. From the begin ming the prime object was to devise machine of practical utility rather than a useless and extravagant toy. for this reason extreme liEhtness of con- struction has always been resolutely rejected. On the other hand, every et- fort has been made to increase the sci- entific efficiency of the wings ann i screws in order that even heavily built machines may be carried with mod crate expenditure of power. The la i vorabIe results from more scientihc design and to improved methods ana ! machinery posses no extraordinary 1 qualities. The best divirenrs an the | labor invested have invariably come i from seeking more Knowledge rather | than more power.
 Give Name of Witnesses.
 ''In view of the fact that all of the flights which have been mentioned were made in private, it is proper that | the names of persons who witnessed | one or more of them should be given. We therefore name: 10. W. Ellls, As- sistant Auditor of the City of Dayton; Terrence Huffman. President or the | Fourth National Bank; c. s. Billman' Secretary of the West Side Building Association; Henry Webber, W. H. shank, William Fouts, Frank Hambur- l ger Charles Webbert, Howard M. 1 Meyers. Bernard H. Lambers, William | Webbert, Reuben Schindler. William | Weber, all of Dayton, Ohio, and Q. F. Jamieson, East Germantown. Ind; The- odore Waddell Census Department,
 Washington, D. C., David Be, I'd. Os- born. ohio. and Amos Stauffer, Osborn
 The following resolutions have beer
 prepared by the Board of Directors ol
 the Aero Club in answer to this state
 ment: ,v.,,.s. pro,b | HWhpTeaE. The MESSTS. " WTlBAN DIV A
 CTS. Wilbur and Orville, of Dayton Ohio have developed an aeroplane typ
 of flying machine that many times ha
 carried a man safely through the al
 at high speed, and continuously owe
 long distances, and therefore, or practi'
 cal value to mankind; therefore pc IL
 "Resolved, That the Aero Club O
 America hereby expresses to them IL
 hearty felicitations in thelr grea l Rn
 and operating< successful man carry
 ing dynamic flying machine; and be
 further
 "Resolved, That copy of these reso
 Iutions be addressed to Messrs. Wilbu
 and orville Wright, at Dayton ohio.
 secret Was Closely Guarded.
 Few secrets have been as closely
 guarded as that of the Wright brothers
 If has been known for several years
 that they were attaining considerable
 success but every effort to gain any
 accurate information has therefore
 been met by positive refusal. Ameri'
 cans of wealth who are genuinely m
 terested in attempts to solve the prob
 lem of aerial navigation, or who woulC
 gladly provide large expense fund IT
 return for the honor of being knowT as leaders in the effort to conquer thu
 air, have been rudely turned away D! Orville and Wilbur Wright.
 success is dearer to us than all tn money in the world.". has fbeen trei invariably reply, Wait until we ar l ourselves satisfied and then 1t will b l time enough to take the world into ou | confidence,' they have said. For year ! they have fought against publicity, al
 ways contending that their work wa 7 | of too great importance to be trine i l with and that when they had accom- : plished what they were working for . would be time to let the world know I T | and not before.
 s 'I am satisfied that they have solved tf f fundamental principle of the great problem e Arnold Fordyce, who represented the Frenc d | government in the recent negotiations VII ~ 1 inc Wrights. has said of them. T belieN e they have settled the question whether . not it is possible for man to fly
 When Mir Fordyce was in Dayton he mas T as careful an investigation as was possio r against the great wall of silence set up e tbe Wriehts. From residents of the city l, iesrned of the aeroplanes flights and final 1t he was shown several photographs or u u machine in full fllght after the terms or q V tentative French contract had been aKret Lt uSon .. , n T know all this seems fantastic and , the dream order" he admitted. "nut the
 are certain evidences hack of 1t. all Of whiS
 convince me that these men have diSeover'
 the secret for which the whole world h' . been working for many generations
 II Mir Fordyce came to this country esps ,- cially to investigate the work of the Wrigi h hrothers representing M. Etenne. Minist' Q of War of France, and group of Frenc In capitalists. He will return in about