The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933, 1910-09-22

restricted. It is unthinkable that the
Creator intended that man should in
habit the air or fly like the birds. He
would have furnished him with wings.
The numerous deaths that have oc-
CURED from attempts TO fly should
warn man that his habitation and
home is the earth
But In spite Of warnings. published
and spoken, the craze for aviation re-
mains unchecked. A thousand inven-
tors are working in their shops. firm
In the belief that they are in sight Of
the final secret that will wrest the
mastery Of the upper air spaces from
the birds and place II IN the hands Of
wing riders" The blue vault of
heaven is fretted by thousands of
roaring propellers and shifting planes.
The bird men" are dreaming dreams
OF cross'conunent flights The more
imaginative Of them catch glimpses Of
visions Of transatlantic trips, faster
than the fight Of the frigate bird.
When wireless telegraphy was in.
vented It was but a year or so until
the country was filled with amateurs,
all busily working on new theories Of
transferring messages As soon as
the Wrights, Farman, Bleriot Paulhan
and Curtlss and others had demon.
strated that a heavier.than.air ma
chine could actually remain in the air,
in a thousand barns, warehouses and
backyard woodsheds all over the civ.
ili2ed world men and boys began TO
try 10 build for themselves machines
In which TO spurn the solid earth.
Historically, the science OF aviation
has been taken up, and with a few
more Improvements the death roll will
grow to even greater proportions. So
far most OF the men who have met
death have been veteran aviators.
Delagrange, lie Blon, Ferber, Lefebvre
and Rolls were all wel.known and in.
ternationally famous IN the air fields.
But the moment came that found them
helpless despite their SIKH.
An analysis Of the accidents OF the
past two years shows that death
comes In dozen shapes to the daring
aviator, The aeroplane Is a pitifully
new thing, and even the veterans of
the air are not always able 10 detect
in their machines the lurking weak.
nesses. The first OF the aeroplane &C.
cidenh that resulted fatally was
caused by the guy wire OF one OF the
planes being placed too near the pro.
peller blades, Selfridge died in this
accident and Orville Wright was ter.
ribly injured. It was months before
be again took up the problem of aerial
flights.
1t was a year later before death
took his toll again from the ranks OF
me air workers. On the seventh Of
September, 1909, two men, the fore. /
most ayiators In their respective conn. !
tries met their deaths Rossi was en-.
gagged In testing a machine of his ovn !
invention near Rome, and after a few
short and successful flights at a low
altitude he tilted his planes upward
at a considerable angle and shot into
the air for an ambitious trial. He had
barely reached a height of 60 feet nm
some of the intricate machinery gave
way and he was dashed to death NJ
l.efebyre, well'known aeronaut of
France, was killed on the same dav
while soaring above Juvissy in a
Wright biplane. Two weeks later the
pride Of the Frenchmen IN aeronap.
tics, Capt Louis Ferdinand Ferber n
pioneer in the art Of flying, was killed
IN a peculiar accident enc of the
many unexpainable ones that mark
The chronology Of flight. He was soar
Ing over a field near Boulogne. when
his machine turned turtle" In the air