The Rich Hill tribune. (Rich Hill, Mo.) 1903-1911, 1910-09-01

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-continent flights. The
imaginative Of them catch ~glimpses OF
visions Of Transatlantic trips. faster
than the flight Of the frigate bird.
Il may happen the hour Of trial
comes 10 the very midst Of an appar
emf success. Engines may be working
perfectly and with even beat The
roar Of the spinning propollers may
De droning a song Of coincidence and
security. Then something snaps; a
guy wire parts like a stretched fiddle
string. the roar OF the engine breaks
and sputters. or the big planes
crumple because Of some u~nguessed
weakness. Then that terrible
rush OF air As the machine. engine,
rent planes and tsngle OF bent and
broken framework bears the aviator
10 a terrible death.
When wireless teleEraphy was IN
vented u was but a year OF so until
the country was allied with amateurs.
all buHily working on new theories OF
transferring messages. As soon as
the WrLhts. Farman. Blcriot PAulhAD
and CurtIss and others had demon
strsted that a heavier than-air ma
chine could actually remain On the air.
Ia . Thousand barns. warehouses and
bsck.ysr Hoodshcds ull over the civ.
liked world men and boys began 20
try to build for themselves machines
IN which 90 spurn tho solid earth
Hysterically, the science Of aviation
has beea taken up. aud with a few
more Improvements tho death roll viii
grow 10 even greater proportions So
far most OF the men who have met
death have been veteran ayiators
n~elagranEo. lie Blnn. Fcrbor. Lefobyre
and Rolls were an we'll known and In
ternationaily famous iu the air fields
But the moment came that found them
helpless despite their SKIN
With the multiplying OF factories
where the cheap nicrs can be con
structed will come a rush OF amateurs
into tho ranks Of the ayia,ora More
deaths are hound 20 follow when these
would Do man birds have bought Tor
themselves machines and start in 60
perfect themselves iu the art Of alght
The list OF deaths e. bound 90 grow
ne Foon az tho means Of alrht is
brought within reach % the average
puuc A shower OF would. be- ayiators
from the clouds 90 tho too solid
earth" will further demonstrate that
The mastery OF the air must be bought
with human life
An analysis OF thc accidents OF the
pact two years shows that death
comes Ia a dozen shapes TO fhe daring
aviator Tho acroplane is "a pltifully
now thing. and eve the veterans OF
the air are not always able 20 dcto~t
M their machines the lurking weak.
uesscs The Nrst OF tho asruplanc &c
cidsuta that resulted fatally was
caused by the guy wire OF ono ~ the
planes being placed too near tho pro
pellcr bladca Sclfrldgr died iu this
accident aud Oryillo Wright was ter.
ribly injured II was months before
he again took up tho problem OF aerial
flights
Il was "a year later before death
took his toll again from the ranks 81
the air workers on the seventh OF
September, 1909, two men. the fore.
most ayiators In tholr respective couu
tries, mot their deaths. Rossi was en-
gaged In testing a machine OF his own
Invention rear Rome, and after a few
short and successful aights az 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 co feet tan
some Of the intricate machinery gave
way and he was dashed TO death. NJ.
Loiebyre, "a woltknown ]aeUuuaut ~
France, was killed ON the same day
while soaring above Juvlsgy IN a
Wright binlRne Two weeks later the
pride OF the ~Freuchmou IN aoronau
ties, Capt Louis Ferdinand Fcrher. a
pioneer In the arr OF aying. was killed
In a peculiar accident. one OF the
many uncXplaiuRblo ducs that mark
the chronology 81 flight Ho was soar
ing owe a Geld nca n~ouloEne. when
his machine turned turtle" IN the aie