The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-19
WRIGHT MAKES A MANLY FIGHT
lficentlnuea fren Psse ose.l

experiments here for several weeks past with Wright aeroplane, was very much perturbed when he heard this morning the news from Washington that his brother had suffered an ac- cident in which Lieutenant Thomas " Selfridge lost his life.
 He at once counternanjed the orders given for the preparations for nis flight of today in which he purposed to try for the Michelin and Aero Clun prizes. Everything was in readiness. barring few final details. at the field of Avours. where MT. Wright has been flying. A huge crowd had assembled and the soldiers fought trying to keep the people back
 In the private enclosure had gather ed all the notable aeroplanists oi Europe as. well as number Of foreign military. attaches Among those lat ter were Colonel Agnes. former British military attaches at Washington, wno came away from the French army maneuversi in sTouraine to witness wright's flight. ~f,
 laughing and chatting with friends near the standing rail, when he was called to the shed by Hart o. Berg. his European business manager. and the news of the accident at Washington in the brief form in which it was re- ceived by the Associated Press was broken to him The seriousness of his brother orville's injuries was mini mixed. Wilbur Wright listened to the recital with tense. drawn features. It was apparent that he expected the an nouncement of his brothers death.
 When. he was told that orville's in- juries probably would not be serious. faint smile of relief came to his feat ures and he said: ..a
 He was lucky to get off so lightly" Then turning quickly to MT. Berg, he ways felt that should be in America with Orville. Two heads are better than one, to examine a machine"
 Wilbur Wright's Grief. Mir. Wright then sat down on frame work used to hold his. machine and bowed his% 'headnto hide his emotion When lie looked again his eyes were swimming with tears and his mouth twftching- convuisiveiy. f..e =
 T had rather be Killed myself" he said. ''than that we should be respon- sible for the death of Lieutenant Selfridge.. I:feel that we guarantee all passengers against accident. When we have q passenger we always think first of his safety"
 When he had grown calrner, Mir. Wright said he could not understand tiiC NdCCiuenI AL W3SHlnktOn rom the meagre details given in the dispatch, which said simply that blade of the propeller had become detached He thought 1t impossible for the propeller to detach and break and said that in all their experience this was the first accident to propeller. Then stepping up to his machine. he pointed out that the. propeller was in one piece with the axle sheath. He thought the only ~ fNrr,t4f tsuyA1f have happened was that there had been some defect in the material causing the blade to snap or difficulty with the transraission gear at the junction such as improper fabrication. which would render one of the propellers immovable.
 "Orvilie wrote me that there was a tendency to bind at the junction" he said. If this occurred the chain of one of the propellers would be torn off, leaving the other still in action, thus swinging the aeroplane rapidly around on its axis. This must have been the critical instant. It then became neces-. sary to operate the lever with the cor rect turning movement. At the same time. if the power of the motor was cut off, 1t would be easy to keep the machine on an even keel ana allow If to- descend on it's own planes. s.a@
 '4The difficulty doubtless was that to" shut off the power 1t Is necessary to let go the lever momentarily and in the mental confusion of an uni precedented mishap this may not have been done. This necessity of relin- quishing the lever to shut off the power Is a defect which have been studying. It could easily be ref1edied by 0 connection which would permit the foot. instead of the arm to operate the cut off"
 After this explanation of what he believed had occurred at Washington, MT. Wright was left alone to pull him. self together. A few minutes later a friend entered the shed and found him sitting with his head in his hands. He looked up sadly and said: eff any thing could make me abandon further work in solving the problem of heavier -than-air flight which has been my dream since I was eleven years of age, it would be an accident like this"
 Then springing up suddenly, MT. Wright declared: Now we have sol we'd this problem. With us flying Is not in experiment. it is a demonstra- ton. I will wait until hear from Or ville.''
 sympathy For Aerop1anist.
 The announcement of the postpone ment of the trials scheduled today and the reasons therefor. which were at once made known, created a profound sensation among those who had gather ed at the field and there were many expressions of deep sympathy from the local inhabitants, among whom MT Wright is hero.
 The aeropianist's present received the news of the first aeroplane acet- dent with many evidences of grief. and they expressed their sfncerest sym pathy with MT. Wright, whose marvel ous success is the admiration of the world.
 No consideration yet has been given to the possibility of Wilbur Wright's return to America to continue the of- ficial tests for the American govern ment.
 Although the. time in which these tests must be accomplished expires next week there is no doubt over here that Washington would grant an ex- tension. Furthermore Wilbur wright's foreign engagements are numerous and pressing.