Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-21
DECLARES WEST SAFE NO NAVY AER0PlANES
All But Two States for Taft Funds Not Available, Says
Says Senator Dixon. Departments Solicitor.
CALLER AT WHITE HOUSE must WAIT ON CONGRESS
Spends an Hour With Dollar
Going Over Situation. preparation
NEW YORK CHEERING ORVILLE WRIGHT TO GO HOME
Have Been Entered in Naval
Competition
Funds Not Available, Says
Departments Solicitor.
MUST WAIT ON CONGRESS
Army to Ask for Million Dollar Ap.
preparation.
oRv1LLE WRIGHT TO GO HOME
Wilson's Flying Flapjack" Was to
Have Been Entered in Naval
Competition.

Aeroplanists' hopes were considerably
dampened by the recent decision Of the
Secretary Of the Navy to hold up the adj
vertisements for the navy flying machines
till the next meeting of Congress
There was not much money involved in
the decision. The aeroplane experts OF
the department wanted only about $4,000
to experiment with. This could have been
spared out of funds at the disposal OF
the bureau of equipment. But the solicit
tor of the Navy Department said in his
wisdom, that Congress had not intended
the money to be spent for aeroplanes
when 1t was appropriated. This probably
is the fact, as aeroplanes at that date
were very speculative commodity. But
the younger officers OF the navy were
fired by the success of Orville Wright at
Fort Myer. and were all primed to buy
heavier-than-air flying machines and
make the tnited States navy the first in
the world in that field.
Open to Any Sort Of Airship.
The Navy Department is. of course,
greatly taken with the Wright type of
aeroplane. II is not committed, however,
to that or to any other type, and is will
ing to consider bids for planes, heliocop-
tiers and even Tapping machines, so they
fulfill the requirements
One inventor who was all ready to put
In bid for a new machine and some
thing of radically different type from
anything yet developed was Alexander
Wilson Of Bangor. Me. He is friend OF
Capt. Tom Baldwin. who furnished the
dirigible No. to the army.
Wilson Is an old balloonist and para
chute man who has knocked all over the
world and has had lot OF practical ex-
per1ence with matters aerial. He has been
working for dozen years on a soaring
device and says it is the only machine for
man to use.
No Tapping machine has ever flown. so
far as the record of aeronautics goes But
while Wilson's machine can flap little,
II Is not built for propulsion In that way
He uses no motor and depends for prog
ress on soaring like a great bird. The
fitting of the wings is dependent OH a
peculiarly arranged fulcrum and is merely
for the purpose of balancing.
Some old shOwmen who know Wilson
well laughingly call his machine the Fly
ing F1apjack. But they admit he is not
regulation crank and think he may have
something good.
Wilson himself says he has scared seven
miles In his machine and that he has
been up 200 feet. The device. according
skill Of the operator than any other fly
ing machine.
He was preparing to put in a bid for
one of the navy machines when the speci-
fications were held up by the Secretary Of
the Navy.
The manipulation Of machine without
motor sounds almost utopian. 1t is to
be remembered. however. that the
Wrights glided as much as 400 yards in
their machine before they nstalled mo-
tor. and that Lilienthal, before his death
few three-quarters Of mile and even
assembled with fixed wings. So that it
looks though almost anything in the
flying line were possible.
Wilson has practiced soaring for years
and has a couple of trees on his place
with wire rope stretched between them
With this as an anchor point, he has
practiced flying and claims he has re-
manned In the air AS much as two hours.
orville Wright Going Home.
Orville Wright. at Fort Myer, is i'm
proving steadily. The surgeons hope that
in about two weeks he will be in condi-
ton to be removed to Dayton. where he
can finish his tedious convalescence at
home.
Brig. Gen. Allen, chief of the signal
service, C.S.A., who witnessed the inter-
a determined effort this winter to OBJ
tain million-dollar appropriation from
Congress for military aeronautic purposes
The new italian military drigible bal
loon. which is being tested. is about 1877
feet long and has q capacity of 1925
cubic feet. 1t has the peculiarly of be-
ing two-storied, like aeroplanes, and of
being provided with two cars capable Of
accommodating eight persons. Its en-
velope is cigar-shaped and of vanished
silk.
Lord Northcliffe has arranged to offer,
through the Daily Mail of London prize
of $500 for the first person who succeeds
in crossing the English channel. in either
direction. by means of an aeroplane dur