The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-13
AVIATION.
viii man ever conquer the, air


With the death toll Of aviation swelling
each SETS this question addresses itself mos;
farcibiv 10 the attention Of all who read # the
horrors and mishar= Of disastrous excursions
through the air
An all wise ana oLnulpotent Providence has
gave wings thar they might fly from place 70
quase means of locomotion To .hc birds He
gave wings that they Nigh, tly from place to
place. seeking the sus-cnarce If life which they
eannot wre>t from the earth. and 10 fit from
cline TO cline to protect themselves from The
ravages Of unsuitable elements.
II i human to wish 10 achieve the impossible.
Setting the ideals high is ino.t noble and praise
WORTHY, bat to essay that which has in II ec-
lnent Of defiance to Providence. would ,cem more
than foolhardy.
For many centuries man has stood upon the
ground and admired the graceful birds, cireIing
@l4g t4ere-&aaelt4a 94e&p tia earth
and descending at will describing circle upon
circle and alighting from dizzy heights with
consummate ease
Believing with bis mental endowment, and
many talents he should at least be able 10 ac
complish that which a bird did with the utmost
ease. unable, seemingly, to appreciate that every
thing III the universe has its allotted sphere and
beyond that he cannot, aye. must moi 90, man
began to devise ways and means by which he
too might conquer the air and fiji from place
10 place 1T will Built himself rude pair of
wings strapped them about his arms, lcaped
from house top and tatterod to the ground
sadder, but not wiser man.
Tndaunted by the failures Of others unmind-
fit nj lesson those failures contained eH
have continued 10 evolve flying machines until
row they have made bold enough to say 1--WE have
conquered the dir and prophesed aerial
transportation lines.
Sa sanguinc Of his success, So self satisfied has
man become that he has long since discarded the
free balloon, once regarded as a most dangerous
toy, in favor Of the hcavicr-than-air bipianc
and monoplane and the dirigble balloon, in
which he has sought to defy the fury If the wind,
and storms and 60 wh4vo he pleAses when h.
pieases. &$F
Experimenting in flying has not been without
its success, and the lions share of the applause
for that success must be given 10 the Wright
4 brothers Glenn Curtiss, Charles Hamilton and
Walter Brookns.
These men have travelled faster through tho
air than birds, sailed more than w'lc above
the earth with their machines yielding 10 their
>erery within and caprice and under perfect con
mol, journeyed from city TO city. over land and
water and demonstraTc1 their ability To alight
with that same birdliEe ease which fret made
man jealous of the feathered tribe.
Under new made mounds in at least dozen
countries lie the stiled and bruised forns Of
men who achieved fame almost equal to that Of
these famous Americans, WIZ they too be mar
iyrsf No man can tell what sangunary pos
I sibilities Turk in flight that looks to be most
successful Each and every time an aviator sets
T. s. ~ ~,
I lis machine to prove his ability to through
The air, faunts defiance in Tie face of Prov
idcnce, and launching forth into realms not Great
! ID for linn takes his life in hos own hands
It would not be reasonable to expect man to
abandon his success-crowIGd endeavors to CON
daer the air at this late day. II has been pre-
aicted that airships will be as common as bicycles
were and automobiles are, that each country will
have Its feet Of airships and emDIov them in war
fare. That day may come. Man may accom-
d plish this wonder but the problem Of flight would
seem far, far from solved, and already the death
tals Of aviation are being compared with that Of
the railroads, than which there could be no more
striking comparison
3@ Flying is a science. lis secrets are Of com
mon knowledge TO the birds whom God intended
10 fly. All sciences have claimed their victims
\ and the world has profted by their martvrdom.
y Few sciences, if any, however, have laid the
towny hand Of death upon many men and
women as aviation.
he solution Of the problem of fight, which
3 hould or should not be problem to a bped al
,ady possessing so many faculties and talents
hat he wastes. abuses and stiles them, NAV be
sund in another generation, but it is most SAN
sinarily manifest that that solution will be