Evening star., 1909-06-29
FEAR TO TRUST WIND.
Wriqht Brothers Refuse to
Make Aerial Flight.
MANY ARE DISAPPOINTED
Numerous Senators and Representa-
tives at Fort Myer.
BREEZE BLOWS TOO STRONG
Father of the Aviators and One OF
His Sons Had Come From Ohio
to Witness the Test.
BREEZE BLOWS TOO STRONG

Cannon and Tawney both. and forty men.
Rode to Fort Mycr. and then rode home again
The forty men were all senators. Besides
this there we're about 100 members of
the House and about 800 more or less
DISTINGUISHED persons They went to Fort
Myer in the expectation of seeing the
Wright aeroplane fly. But 1t flew not.
This was disappointment to the men,
bers OF the House and Senate. 1t was
a disappointment also to the crowd which
had assembled for the flight. But it
was more Of disappointment to the
army officers and members of the Signal
Corps. headed by Gen. Allen and Maj.
Squire, who had been confident of good
moral results from having the members
of the appropriations committee see the
| aeroplane in the air
The only people who apparently were
not disappointed were the Wright broth
ers, and there was one of them who
was disappointed, though he was not one
that the public has known Anythin4
about. 1t was Reuchlin Wright, third
brother, who has never seen the dis
tinguished aviators in the air, He ana
Bishop Wright. the father of the family,
had come quietly here for the first fight,
and scarcely any one knew that they
were in town until after the show was
called off, when they walked quietly out
of the aeroplane shed and took the car
back with the two we'll known brothers
to Washington.
Hard, Tiresome Day.
1t had been hard and tiresome day.
The finishing touches had been put on the
aeroplane and the trucks fixed for going
under it. The starting rail had been laid
at the north end Of the field and the word
had been passed around that unquestion-
ably there would be flight that after
noon. The Wrights had not passed the
word. They said as always, Yes, things
are about ready and we viii ny II the
experience with the wind too long to
think they could tell ten minutes in ad-
vance what 1t was going to do.
All day the conditions were favorable.
1t was hot, hotter than the hinges on
Pharoah's barn, which seems to be the
warmest, place in politely recorded his
tory. There was not breath of air.
The Photographic squad who camp con-
wished that there Would be little breeze
to stir the air in the sitting press tent
at the west Of the aeroplane shed. In
the shed itself it was. II possible, hotter
shirt sleeves This is about as far
as he apparently gets in dishabilie.
Wilbur is of less conventional mold.
He stripped to a blue striped shirt
and unbuttoned that at the neck.
His characteristic derby, was perched far
back on the rear of his head and he
usually appeared in public with q hammer
or a hatchet in his hand.
NO, l don't like photographs anyhow,
he said. as he paused to pass the time
| OF day with the crowd. But this Is the
sort of costume ! particularly don't
like to be photographed in" One of the
photographers showed him an unmounted
print taken in just that sort OF costume,
not for publication. but for a circulation Ml;ta
with emphasis. Il don't like it, He sim
ply does not like pictures; but his aver
sion is not sof the rapid sort that charac-
terizes Orville.
Throng of Spectators.
The hot weather made slow work and
long before the machine was ready. that
is to say about $3.50, the spectators COM
menced to arrive. They came in car
riages, automobiles, street cars. anything
that would save a walk. The weather
remained ideally still and unspeakably
hot. Two storms, one after the other,
chased themselves down the Virginia hills.
few drops of rain fell even at the fort.
but the rain did not matter so long as
there was no wind and the sprinkle pass
ed without being at all serious. The SEN
ators and representatives began TO arrive
in droves and finally Gen. Allen, the chief
signal officer, arrived in q big War De-
partment automobile
| sentries. Maj. Foltz of Fort Myer had
| been put in charge of policing the
grounds. and for the first time since
| flights had been held at the fort the
grounds were policed. A whole troop of
cavalry. mounted on black horses. filed
| into the grounds and kept the big open
space clear, while the automobiles and
carriages and the less fortunate specta-