Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-31

AAA the tdrIf Squabb1ng, RooSe-
" velt's retirement. Tafts ac-
cession and spectacular TRIP
across the country eliminating in his
meeting with President Diaz of Mexico,
the defeat of Tamlnany in New York. OF
Tom Johnson in Ohio, Gibboney in Phil
adelphia and Heney in San Francisco
the twelve months of 1909 will undoubt-
ely be remembered In history for two
things. the aeroplane and the discovery
Of the north pole. Epic achievements
we're made in both of these respects, and
he future must look back to 1909 as the
year Of their joint happening.
OF course, the aeroplane had made great
progress in the preceding year. but 1t
has been the annual period just closed
that has brought the invention to q point
where its definite adoption into the trans
oortation system OF the human race is
10 longer in doubt. Not only were there
many so-called aviation meets, such as
those at Brescia in Italy, Rheims In
France, Johannisthal in Germany ana the
Hudson-Fulton centenary in New York.
At which various demonstrations were
made as. to the limits of developments
.hus far reached, but Wilbur Wright,
at the centenary celebr atoms. started
all New York city by successfully neso-
:iating a flight from Governors island In
he bay, UP the Hudson river to Grant
.omb and back again. each tnne' lot tne
irst time in the history of the world,
guiding an aeroplane over warships.
Some Notable Aerial Feats.
But under the direction of the French
man. Louis Bleriot, the monoplane form
Of aeropIane crossed the British channel
from France July "a, electrifying the
world. Six days later Orville Wright,
with one passenger, at Fort Myer' mace
a five-mile flight across country mt the
rate Of forty-two miles an hour, again
electrifying the world: the German.
Count Zeppelin, made successful flights
with his dirigible balloon from the ex-
treme south OF Germany to Berlin. ano
more or less irregular passenger service
has been inaugurated along the Rhine
provinces by enthusiastic supporters of
Zeppelin Indeed, in the matter Of prac-
tIcal application of aerial navigation the
Germans and French took much the same
lead that they did years ago in the mat
ter Of the trolley Whether they Will re-
tain the leadership, Of course, remains to
been no attempt made by the United
States to effect air transportation on
commercial basis, many companies were
organized during 1909 for this purpose
and the outlook is for many more dur
ing the ensuing year.
The Wrights and Curtiss.
In October, for instance, Glenn II. Cur
tiss, who proved himself during the year
to be the most formidable rival Of the
Wright brothers. secured lands and build
ings In Schenectady, \. Y, and announc-
ed that he would proceed at once to the
general manufacture of aeroplanes. The
Wright brothers, however, confined them
selves almost entirely to developing the
speed, elevation and lifting power Of their
machine. leaving the commercial develop
ment for a later day. One of the broth
ers. Orville. succeeded in reaching a
height of more than 1900 feet during a
flight in Germany, and Lapham, a
Frenchman, using Wright machine, cir
cIed the Eiffel tower in Paris. which ID
1000 feet high. Both at home and abroad
the WrightS carried one and two pas
sengers on their aeroplane without diff
Guilty, and toward the end of the year
made numerous ascensionS without the
use Of lifting weights. They also won
the prizes, amounting 10 $ouUUU, OIIcTeO
by the United States Army for a practi-
cal aeroplane, and then undertook the
tutoring of army officers in the use of the
mach mes, which recalls the fact tina,
probably the most important practical
bearing of aviation progress during the
wear was the demonstration of its i'm
portance In war.
Virtually all the principal countries of
the world used some form OF airship In
the annual maneuvers. even Japan not
kn1 II he tv~fe
BILE balloon accomplished some important
results in scouting, and after the ma
neuvers were over executed dramatic
surprise against two Of the strongest
forts in the empire. In Italy the army
signalized its appreciation OF the value
of the dirigible by ordering an entire
fleet to be constructed. And when Bleriot
crossed the British channel and Yep
peiin made his air tour along the highly
fortified Rhine provinces the feelings
seemed to come home to military strate-
gists throughout the world that an en-
tirely new era In warfare was approach
ing. England became convinced that her
splendid isolation" had been terminated:
all their massive frontier preparations
against each other might ultimately be
rendered futile, and the birdlike ease
with which Wilbur Wright took his aero
plane over the foreign warships assem-
bled in New York harbor for the Hud-
son-Fuiton centenary did not lessen the
thought that mans conquest of the air
is likely to change his methods of war
fare enormously. Naturally. under such
circumstances. military men directed
themselves with some vigor to the dis
covery of means of destroying the air.
ship and aeroplane while In the air. Va
rious nations. including our own, con-
Quoted experiments Of shooting at cap
tive balloons with large and small ar
1iIlery; the Krupps invented gun espe-
cially designed for airship destroying
but up to the close OF the year nothing