The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-12-26

Editor of aThe Pnndex OF the News"
When all the political events of the
year are forgotten-all the tarin
suuab1ing Rooseyelt's retirement,
Tafts's accession and spectacular trip
across the country. eliminating In his
meeting with President Diaz. of Mexi--
co, the defeat of Tammany In New
York. Of Tom Johnson in Ohio. Gib-
honey In Philadelphia, and Heney In
San Francisco--the twelve months OF
1909 viii be remembered In history
for two things, the Aeropiane and the
discovery Of the North Pole. Epic
achievements were made In both OF these
respects, and the future must look back
10 1909 as the year of their Joint
happening
or course, the aeroplane had made
great progress In the preceding year,
but 1t has been the annual period just
closed that has brought the inven-
tion 10 point where Its definite adj
optfcn into the transportation system
OF the human race Is no longer In
drEbt Not only were there many
so-calied aviation meets. such as those
1t Brescia In Italy. Rheims In France.
Johannisthal In Germany, and the
Hudson-F Fulton centenary in New York
at which various demonstrations were
made as to the limits of Develop
ments thus far reached. Wilbur
WTlShI. AT tbe centenary ceieoEdtionss
startling all New York City by sue
cessfully negotiating a flight from
Governors Island. in the bay. up the
Hudson river to Grants Tomb. and
back again, each time, for the first
time In the history Of the world,
guiding an aeroplane over warships.
But under the direction of the French
man, Louis Bleriot the monoplane
form of aeroplane crossed the British
.at FNfxr E~.ar or.1sr Vtr13
elecfrifying the world; six days later
Qrvjlle Wright with one passenger. at
Fort Meyer. made five mile flight
across country at the rate OF forty
two miles an hour. again electrifying
the world: the German. Count Zeppelin
made successful flights with his dirigi-
BILE balloon from the extreme south Of
Germany to Berlin, and more or less
Irregular passenger service has been
inaugurated along the Rhine provin-
res by enthusiastic supporters OF Yep
pelin. Indeed In the matter of prac-
fical application of aerial navigation,
the Cermans and French took much
the same lead that they did years ago
In the matter of the trolley. Whether
they will retain the leadership. of
course. remains to be seen. For.
while there has as yet been no att
tempt made In the United States to eff
feet air transportation on CONNER
cial basis, many companies were or
Ganized buring 1903 for this purpose,
and the outlook Is for many more
during the enusing year.
In October, for Instance, Glenn H.
Curtiss, who proved himself during
the year to be the most formidable
rival of the Wright Brothers, secured
lands and buildings in Schenectady.
". Y, and announced that he would
proceed at once to the general manu-
facture OF aeroplanes. The Wright
Brothers, however, confined themselves
almost entirely to developing the
I speed. elevation and lifting power OF
their machine. leaving the CONNER
nial development for later day. One
~ the brothers. orville. succeeded in
reaching a height of more than 1900
feet during a flight In Germany, and
Lapham. q Frenchman, using a
Wright machine. cireled the Eifel
] tower in Paris. which is 1.00e feet
high Both at home and abroad the
Wrights carried one and two pass
sngers on their aeropiane without diff
ncnlty. and toward the end of the
year made numerous. Rscensiops with
put the use OF lifting weights. They
ALSO won the prizes. amounting TO
8 $4,000 offered by the u s. Army for
practical aeroplane and then under
took the tutoring of army officers in
the use OF the machine-which recalls
the fact that probably the most impor-
eant practical bearing of aviation
progress during the year was the de-
tnonstration Of its importance in
war.
Virtually all the principal coun-
tries OF the world used some form OF
Airship in the annual maneuvers, even
Japan not being excepted. In Ger
many, the dirigibie balloon accom-
plished some important results In
scouting, and, after the maneuyers
were over, executed a dramatic surpris,
against two of the strongest forts In
the Empire. In italy. the army sig.
nalized its appreciation of the value
OF the dirigibie by ordering an entire
meet 10 be constructed. And when
Bleriot crossed the British Channel