New-York tribune., 1910-11-20
WoRKBox.
1be Builds Aeroplanes
Proteae of Mrs. Sage the Only Woman in the
World Who Constructs Airships

foot ship which, with Its tiny eiectrlc
spark, supplied through a wire from bat
terry on the wall whirls around and around
In a steady circular flight.
IT don't care to say just what I'm work
ing toward" she says in answer to a ques-
ton, as she shuts off the electric motor
and sits down, but what what every
builder of an airship wants TO achieve is
ship that will balance and recover auto
maticaIIy, like a bird. That more than
anything else will make airship travel prac-
teal"
And when is it going to be PRACTICAL"
Were not working toward 1t very fast
in America now," says Miss Todd, de-
cisively "Aviators seem content here to
continue making spectacular flights. con-
tent with brilliant exhibition work And
the public is delighted TO applaud, and the
press gives them plenty of space: but that
won't last forever There Will come a time
when the public will demand something
more practical. More serious work is be-
ing done on airships abroad. They go into
things more deeply over there We Ameri-
cans skim over the surface. We are ham,
pered, too, by the personal jealousies OF
aviators / believe in the freedom OF the
air, and / think 1t will be great pity II
the development of airships is hampered by
litigation over patents. I am trying hard to
steer clear of competition with all existing
patents" .t
''WiII airships ever be practical carriers,
really?"
They'll be so inside of five years,
says Miss Todd. promptly "Oh. no.;
they won't take the place of trolley
cars, but there is a vast field for air
ships. They be used for exploration
Think what difficult marches they will save
They will be of endless value to civil en-
gineers in taking observations for the best
points for bridges, etc. And of course they
would be immensely useful in war, but let
US hope there won't be any war lor theH
to be used In.
Next to airships Miss Todd likes boys,
or, rather she likes the two in conjunction.
It was she who formed the Junior Aero
Club, and she spent long hours of her busy
days replying to the questions that came
from all over the country.
Il had to give 1t up, for 1t grew too much
for me-" she says, but l have a great de-
sire to nationalize the various Junior clubs,
have a central office to which boy expert
menters can. turn for information, and
mean to get at it by and by. Boys love to
experiment on anything like an airship-
anything that will go. you know; and some
of them get laughed at at home I've got
some boys who come to see me, and don
they enjoy themselves poking around
among my modelsl Some very good air
ships have been made by boys, and they IL
work their fingers off at it. L recollect a
boy in Kansas City who made a blplane
for the show l had in connection with the
TOW show. in Madison Square Garden, two
wears ago. I've broken my leg. he wrote
me. but I'm going to finish my biplane-
And he did But it's a work that grips
you. I work myself seventeen hours DAY
often, and then fuss because I've got 10 go
TO bed and waste time sleeping.
II spent a lot of time studying the 1or-
nation of the albatross's wings You see
the two large planes are like the wings OF
a bird I don't do any of the actual work
on nv machine; l don't think 1t is wom-
ans place to go into a machine shop ana
work with men. but l make all my models
and all the drawings. and. by the way. L
can't begin with a drawing. l make the
model first, and draw from that. 1 do
work tremendously but if L succeed she
ends. ut will be due to Mrs. Russell Sage,
who. though she isn't especially interested
in ayiat ton, is making it possible for ME to
do the things 1 wouldn't otherwise be able
TO do