Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-04
UP IN 4 BIC War BALLOON
TEST UNDER DIRECTION OF SIG
NAL CORPS, q. 8. ARMY.
Names Of the Passengers-Bag Has
Capacity Of 5000 Feet
Of Gas.

| 4Ho UlS war OdltOOn Oh SlSTdl SOTpS
| United States army. was released from Its
leashes at lis o'clock this afternoon on the
| plateau just east of the gas works at 18th
| and NJ streets southeast. The great bag
| did not rise Immediately after its release.
| but skinned along the ground. scattered
| the spectators in its path and demolished
one Of the posts which support the wire
fence about the field. Aeronaut Leo Ste
| vens threw a quantity Of sand out of the
basket and the balloon then assembled rap
idly. It was caught in the breeze which
was blowing from the southeast and at
once took northwesterly course. The two
thousand spectators cheered as the balloon
arose and Aeronaut Stevens, sitting on the
edge Of the basket waved his hat in re-
Spouse.
cloudland were Capt Charles def. Chan
dler Of the Signal Corps, Mr.. ]. c. Mccoy,
New York aeronaut who Is said to have
fifteen balloon ascensions to his credit, his
experience today making his sixteenth,
and Mr.. Stevens, the maker of the bag.
The performance this afternoon is the in
itial one by the balloon, and is in the ma
ture of a test to determine whether the
government will adopt that style and type
Of war balloon, it Is said. The sphere
| is fifty-four feet in diameter and has a
capacity of $4,000 cubic feet of gas Either
Illuminating gas or hydrogen can be used
for Its imitation. In time of war the bal
loon train Of the army would be provided
with drogen-manufacturing plant, that
could be transported on an ordinary army
wagon and supply the necessary gas for
the balloon at any point.
Marks a Departure.
The conduct of the balloon is being watch
ed with much interest by army officers. as
1t will mark departure In the methods Of
military ballooning
Crowds IN
near the gas works as early as 9 o'clock
this morning in anticipatio of witnessing
the ascension. The imitation began at 1915
O'clock and word was passed around that
the bag would be filed with gas in about
one hour but 1t was three hours later be-
lore the monarch of the air was turned
loose by the hundreds of hands that held
1t fast. AS the balloon slowly filled and
| until it was half inflated it appeared as
great Swiss cheese, both in color and
shape slowly growing from the earth.
The strongly constructed basket in which
the three passengersf sat is about six by
four feet, and the entire balloon and its
parts can be snugly packed within 1t,
Areonaut Stevens said. and in that manner
an ordinary wagon. 1t was said the war
time balloon used by Maj. Maxfield and his
signal men in the Cuban campaign was
smaller than the one being tested today
and that 1t was inflated with hydrogen.
Everything Carefully Weighed.
Everything that was to be placed in the
basket was carefully weighed before the
| ascension, and as the bag slowly filled it
| was held in place and down by a large
number of canvas buckets filled with sand.
The gas was furnished from the nearby
works through large iron pipe, which. in
| turn. was connected with a canvas tubing
of equal size. which was, connected with
the under part of the balloon.
Placed in the basket were thermometer
a barometer, life preservers for use in case
the balloon descended in body of water, a
basket of lunch, maps of the surrounding
| country, so the aeronauts can trace their
| journey through the upper atmosphere. an
| anchor and other necessary articles
All Ready for Ascension.
| When all was ready for the ascension
and about one hundred men and an equal
number Of canvas buckets were. holding the
mammoth gas bag as it swayed from side
| to side and pulled at its bonds like some
great bird from space Juggling for free
dom, Leo Stevens, addressing Capt. Chand-
Ter. exclaimed:
Come on, cap. let's start her.
After Capt. Chandler was comfortably
seated in the basket, Mr.. Mccoy, the vet
eran sky pilot and traveller, sang out to
| the men:
Lets get away now, Leo. Let her go,
boys
The men released their hold and the bal
| loon caught in the southeast wind and
| sprang to freedom. the basket almost touch
| ing the ground as it was rushed along in a
Eorthwesterly direction. The crowd scat
tered and gave the monster the right of
way, and then with crash the basket
| struck the fence pole. knocking it dow
Mr.. Stevens quickly emptied several bags
| OF sand over the sides of the basket, and
the airShip arose skyward, and seemed to
| be making directly for the Capitol building
For few moments the scene was an ex-
citing one.
Conditions Were Threatening.
Just before the ascension great masses
| of cumulous clouds arose threateningly
| from the horizon and 1t was for a time
| feared that there would be showers but
| the conditions remained favorable for the
test.
The aeronauts carried bits of paper with
| them to drop from the car at intervals
| to determine the direction Of the varying
| upper air currents. These bits are dropped
| from the basket and enable the pas
SengerS to raise or lower the balloon, and
| govern it's course, in a measure.
Among those who witnessed the ascension
| of the war balloon were Gen. Allen. chief
| signal officer of the army; Gen George H.
| Harries commanding the District of Column
bia militia; Capt. Lake, inventor of a sub
! marine boat; Lieut.. ]. D. Carmody of the
District Naval Battalion and others. The
| police arrangements were handled by Capt.
Mathews and Sergt. R. w. Montgomery
with details of men from several precincts.
! The balloon at 10 o clock this afternoon
passed over the Sligo stream on the out
| skirts of Takoma Park, moving in the di-
recton of Baltimore, Md. The balloon
was then moving along nicely, and appeared
| to be rising.
Wills Filed for Probate.