The Washington herald., 1909-10-28
Leaves College Park and BIZ
plane in Students Care.
FLIGHTS WILL BE CONTINUED
Wife of Capt. II. IL. Van Deman Gains
Distinction of Being First Woman
TO Ride in Wright Machine-Cnpt.
Chandler Is Taken as Passenger.
Lahm and Humphreys Make Flight.


days, probably until next week." and
refusing to say where he was going.
Wilbur Wright left Washington last
! night for New York
At least that was the point 10 which
his trunk was checked. and there is no
! reason 10 believe that he and It have
parted company.
Mr.. Wright got a lot Of fun out Of
making that little announcement. The
newspaper men were turning away from
the aeroplane shed-properly called
hangar" as noted before, almost ex-
clusively, in The Washington Herald
when Mr. Wright called them back and
said he was going away for a little
while. Beyond that point the lid Of pub
licity was down tight and Theoretically
sealed, except for several dozen denials
and an inlpromptu discourse on the evils
OF newspaper representations
In the first place, Mr. Wright only
grinned when asked II he was going TO
New York. In reply TO a question as to
whether he intended to meet Charles r.
Flint, the Wright brothers financial
hacker. and form a company TO exploit
biplanes in this country, Mr. Wright
answered emphatically in the negative
The story that Mr.. Flint was organiz-
ing worldwide flying machine trust
in the interests Of the Wright brothers
was 'al bosh." according to the older
brother. Nothing In it at ALL" he said.
Concerns Company.
It is generally believed, however, that
Mr.. Wrights visit 10 New York has
something to do with the formation Of a
company 10 make and sell Wright ma
chimes. as that is thought TO be about the
next event on the Wright calendar. Mr.
Wright viii probably consult with num-
Der Of New York financial men. and Mr.
Flint is practically sure to be one Of
them.
In the meantime. Lieuts. Lahm, Humph-
reys, and Foulois will continue their
experiments with the biplane at College
Park The return OF the professor Of
aviation viii probably be only TO make
sure that the school Is running smoothly.
and then he will leave the vicinity of
Washington for the present.
Wilbur Wrights symphony on What
every newspaper should know" ran some
what as follows. uttered as he was MAX
ing across the field faster and faster IN
rain that came down harder and
harder:
You newspaper fellows are a great
bunch. You ought to know by this time
that we never talk about our business
affairs And newspapers ought TO know
that they only injure their own interests
when they try 10 tell about things that
haven't happened yet They go ahead
and make statements about the future,
and then the future goes back on them.
and the public loses confluence. That's
why I don't talk about what 1 intend
to do"
Probably something in that. but It
would throw a lot OF reporters out or
Jobs II It ever went into effect.
Wright Attempts scoop.
Mr. Wright gave good example Of
his policy about forecasts yesterday
morning. when he tried to scoop the pub
lie prints by turning out early and MAX
ing a fight with a woman in the ma
chine. the first time such thing has
ever been done In this country.
The lucky lady who got what the King
Of Spain. Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Long
worth. and a barrel Of European blue
blOods couldn't get. was Mrs. Van De-
man, the wife Of Capt. Ralph H. Van
Deman, of the Twenty-first Infantry. She
is a particular friend Of Katherine
Wright, and both at Fort Myer and Col
lege Park has been one of the foremost
aeronautical fans. She and Miss Wright
were the high priestesses Of the fudge
parties that used to be held regularly
on the Virginia side last summer, when
ever Orville kicked the lights out of a
worlds record.
Not a word was said in advance about
the intended flight yesterday morning
Mrs. Van Deman arrived early with her
husband and met Mr. Wright and the
student lieutenants. The biplane was
taken from the shed. Before those who
were not in the secret realized what was
happening Mrs. Van Deman climbed into
the passengers seat, wrapped IN a long
gray coat and wearing a black hat. Mr.
Wright and Lieut.. Lahm bound down her
coat and skirt with a piece Of Irvine
tied about her ankles. and then Mr.
Wright squlrmed into his place and re-
leased the weight. The biplane went only
q few feet beyond the END Of the mono
rail. and slid TO the ground. It was
brought back 20 the starting point, with
Mrs. Van Deman still in it. and at S:l3
the weight was again released.
This time the start was successful, and
the machine scared into the air. TWO cir
cults Of the field were made, occupying
four minutes. The biplane was then
brought to earth.
"SimpIy Grnndw
"Oh, dear me. It was simply grand"
cried Mrs. Van Deman. as she ran for
ward to meet her husband
II want to thank you, Mr.. Wright"
said Capt. Van Deman. Now II will be
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