New-York tribune., 1909-06-13
THE L1GGTyG or INVENTION.

The recent remarkable development of aero
nautics affords noteworthy example CT the
manner I'm which inventions sometimes lag after
their first brave essay and permit themselves 10
he far outstripped by newer devices, and then
after a long period Of inertia again move for
ward to new marvels The balloon far antedates
the railroad aud the steamship Even if we
decline-thouCh it Is not clear that we should
TO accept Rasson's story Of the Chinese ascent in
1906 il is indisputahle that an ascent was made
with hot air balloon just two hundred years
ago this year. True. ii was not until about the
end Of our Revolutionary War that the Mont
golfers made their epochai experiments. but
even that date was long before the steamship be-
came a practical device and much longer still
before the railroad came into being Yet be-
tween the time Of the MontGofers and that of
Zeppelin the world has seen the Clermont grow
into the Mauretania and the Rocket into the
Empire State Express. while in the closely allied
realm OF mechanical flight there has been a
similar hiatus marked with the great advance
ment of these other contrcances. between the
experiments Of Cayley and the achievements of
the Wrights.
I'm some respects. indeed. hallooning has
scarcely yet surpassed It's own record Of half
century or more ago. We have recently seen
balloons setting ont from the middle of this
continent FOR Tho Atlantic Coast. trusting solely
to finding favoring currents Of air. and there
are perhaps those who regard IL q noyei and
startling venture. Rut II IS nothing but repe-
fItiou Of what was undertaken just fifty years
ago this month. or the first OF next month. For
II was on July l. 1859, that Professor Wis" and
his comrades. in his huge balloon Atlantic, set
out from 81. Louis with the intention Of reaching
this coast and did actually get as far rs JEFF
ferson County, this state making that unhroken
fight Of I.1J0 miles In trife less than twenty
hours-a speed throughout OF -. miles an hour.
We wonder how many Of our present day bal
IoOniSts have even apprOXimated that perform,
ance. II is now nearly sixty years since Gif-
fard experimental with diTigbe balloon. and
more than "A generation since Dupuy de LONE
made his improvements thereon. Nor should
we forget that it early as 1884 that the
British Channel was first crossed in n balloon.
As for the adoption Of arshpS Of various
types for military uses other than those Of mere
obsorvation-the latter uses of balloons dating
back 10 the opening of the French Revolution
IL was nearly seventy years ago that Alfred
Tennyson saw in il the Vision Of the world
and all the wonder that would be" The range
of literature contains scarcely a more striking
forecast than that which is contained In his
more than haclncyed lines:
Saw the heavens I'LL with commerce. argosies Of
magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down
with costly bales:
Heard the heavens fill with shouting and there
rain'd a ghastiy dew
From the nations. airy navies graphing in the
central blue.
Far along the world wide whisper of the south
wind rushing warm.
With the standards Of the peoples plunging
thro' the thunderstorm.
The millions who have Deen charmed with its
poetical magic have perhaps reckOned the
whole picture of aerial navies nothing more
than the dream. the fancy: and indeed. as
~I,, ,.f
cia transportation through the air. The vision
of airy navfes used not only for observation
hut also for actual attack and conflict and of
their literally "grappling in the central blue
must be recognized as making an approach 10
realization but meanwhile the world has seen
the advance from 'Od Ironsides' to the Dread
nOught
We suppose tha. all this may be accounted
for on the principle that progress and invention
seek lines of least resistance Aeronautics
slightly antedated steam navigation, but the
latter was found the easier and by far the more
practical, and therefore Outstrpped the other
SO the steamship antedated the railroad but
the same natural principle caused the latter to
outstrip the former in rapidity of development
and Improvement. 1t was only after the rail-
road had attained what seemed to be its high
est possible efficiency. at least under steam
power that these wonderful turbine steamships
constructed. SO II is only after the rails
ing of steam navigation TO what may be its
highest practical power that aerial navigation is
coming forward to seek such limited success as
may be possible for it. What other inventions
are now held in abeyance ana will presently
have a sort Of renascence and he carried much
further than has hitherto been deemed nossjbe
imagination alone may tell
The rescue Of the passengers and crew OF the