The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-09-13
Every Newspaper on Earth
Represented at Fort Myer
During Tests.
EUROPE AS ANXIOUS
AS UNITED STATES
Foreign Editors Order Long
Stories" Regardless of the Cost
of Heavy Gable Tolls.

When OrviIle Wright, the quiet Day
ton man brings his aeroplane grace
\ fully to the ground at Fort Myer, al
most as gently as a huge bird descendS,
a thousand eyes are turned toward him;
lot the eyes Of the spectators who see
i'm in reality, but the eyes of the men
Tho are ready TO flash sne news of his
attest record breaking feat around the
seven seas.
In a few minutes, perhaps. in a few
hours at best, London and Paris, Ber-
lin, st. Petersburg, a score or more Of
the worlds capitals know that once
again an American inventor has shown
how the air may be conquered. The
press associations OF this country. the
correspondents Of the New York, the
London, and the Paris newspapers,
watch closely the results CT the flights
al Fort Myer and IL is not long after
Virgin skaters a record until the
knowledge of the trip has become COM
mon to all the countries Of the world
It is not probable that any event ia
the last ten years. saving only the
RussO-Japanese war and the peace con-
ference at Portsmouth. resulting from
that war. has aroused the interest of
so many people all over the globe as
have the flights Of Wright over the Viz
ginia countryside.
Europe Misses Nothing.
This Is partly due, no Godbt, to the
effect that such discoveries must have
upon the warfare Of the modern nations
of the earth. Europe. always on the
lookout for engines of destruction or
engines which possess the possibility Of
being turned 30 destruCuCn, misses
nothing in the line Of air navigation.
And since Europe wishes to miss moth
ing, and Of course North America can
not miss anything pertaining to the
flight of its own sons, il is not posi-
bic for the other countries OF the
world 10 be unaware Of the marvellous
work Of the calm-eyed Ohioan.
Most OF the other nations of the
earth are so bound up with the domi-
nant nations Of EurOpe-and a few
bocnd with the United States-most Of
them are SO peOpled with Britishers,
Germans. Frenchmen. and Yankees, that
a rare bit Of news like the conquest
OF the air is probably by this time as
well known in remote parts OF Aus
tralia as it is in the State, War and
, Navy building
While the interest Of scientists, in
ventors, and army men has always been
much in evidence in air flights Of all
kinds. it IS only within the last few
years that there has been a marked
excitement among people m general over
fresh victories in the atmosphere.
Dirigible Balloon First
The dirigible balloon first attracted
serious attention about eight years ago
when Santos DumOnt showed himself
the master Of a ship that efectually
navigated in circles. Since then the
development Of these machines has been
rapid enough 10 keep millions Of persons
interested. and when Count Zeppelin
and Capt. Thomas S. Baldwin made
their quite different but stm astonish-
ing flights, the news was flashed all
over the world
But IT was when Wright made his
first mountaineering voyage over the
Fort Myer greensward on Monday that
the editors OF the world began to sit
uneasy in their chairs. waiting for news
from this miraculous machine housed
UP in a little wooden shed in a small
army post across the Potomac river
from this city.
When the news Of that flight sang
over the cable to Europe, the news
papers Of the capitals of Europe found
that their own inventors had been out
distauced. They found, and most OF
them It seems. have acknowledged
that they are now behind in the race
for air supremacy
Never Mind the Cost.
Paper after paper IN London and
Paris and other continental cities, saw
the bigness Of the story" AMI sent in
structions % their men here 10 wire
hundreds of words telling of Wright