The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-06

'Crude as was the balloon, pure and
 simple, it has fulfilled It's mission.
 The big. helpless gas bag that rose or fell at the turn of tempertature or shift of wind proved so much which before its advent had seemed impos- sible that for all It's, inutility 1t com mands respect as do all pioneers, no matter how uncouth they may be-"
 Thus writes Capt. Homer W. Hedge founder and former president of the Aero Club of America, in the Boston Globe.
 Remove the motive power from the greatest ocean liner afioat and 1t be- comes as helpless as the balloon and Is equally at the mercy of shifting currents of wind and wave.
 From the days of Darius Green, or thereabouts, the possibility of mans dominion over the unseen, intangible realm of air was a demonstrated fact. Failure to improve on 1t in no wise affected the fact itself. Failure in experimentation is ever the stepping of discovery. This is the day and generation of cumulative invention. Modern ingenuity profits by the la bors. failures and discoveries of former thinkers. The very dreams of dream CTS are turned to account, as witness the submarine, conceived in the fanci- full brain of Jules Verne.
 Seeing that the leading nations of the world have entered into rivalry to solve the question and that positive and convincing proofs of achievement are daily recorded from all sections. 1t Is no wonder that the United States of America has stepped to the front, with | a determination to win the lead. And New England, the cherished seat of science and of learning. should be the first to issue some such notice as From Boston to any point. regardless of wind or weather. at the uniform rate of fifty miles per hour, with ad- vantages even over the road of an- thracite.'
 Lack of money has been the great hinderance. It takes money and lots of it to experiment, and experimenters have no time to make money. But proof that there Is something in it. mere theory will not lure forth his capital While balloons could only with no positive return, they did not appeal to the man of dollars and of sense. Now that the open sesame or proof has been given, the purse strings are loosened and inventors, always longing to pry apart the worlds secrets with their wits, but unable to put ideas into practice without means are stirred by enthusiasm, and still further stimulated by competition.
 The Wrights were right. and our government is right. to keep the knowl- edge gained by experiment secret un- til absolute success Is assured. hut already more is known by few than is dreamed of by many.
 Tt was not the mere delight of bal looming which interested me in the study of aerial navigation, but its practical side. What 1t will mean in time of war the simplest mind can grasp. but, in the time of peace. think of its possibilitiesi So much has been proven that none will be much older before seeing its accomplishment. firmly believe that most of us will live to come to think as lightly of it as we now do the telephone, and the man who worked that modern miracle.
 What fear of failure is there when hy his name we can inscrfbe such names as Wright brothers. Farman, Delagrange. Herring Ludlow. the late Langley and of Beachy. Knabenshue. | Stevens and Baldwin-the last four be- ing dirigible balloon enthusiasts? Speaking of dirigible balloons natural ly suggests Zeppelin. His latest air ship built under the adspices of the has motors aggregating 440-horse power and carries twelve people, Further. 1t is equipped with apparatus for wireless telegraphy.
 While the aeroplane will undoubt- edly become practical. though with what carrying capacity none can say at present, the dirigible balloon is like ly to lead more quickly to success, Ul- timstely there be as many methods Of