New-York tribune., 1911-01-22

Three men were killed in aviation In l%'
Ten times that number of fatalities oc-
Cured last year But the proportion III
1910 was much less than during the year
rreccding. Il should be borne in miu
that the distance travelled by aviaioIs IN
1910 was at least 135O0O miles. This is equaI
70 Eve times around the earth, and theh
some conservative estimate Of the num-
her of persons flying al present Is one
thousand. In 1879 there were less than
hundred Flying is not becoming more
dangerous. At least twenty times as great
a distance was flown during the year just
closed as in 1909 At least twelve times
as many men-which must include fast
growing flock of ayiatresses-heW during
the same period.
II last years average. based on distance
travelled. had eoualled the foregoing twelve
months sixty aviators would have answered
deaths call. II the harvest had been
based alone on numbers of contestants Tor
aeronautic rewards in fame and gold thir-
1y-six flyers would have been mourned ny
the world as the result of last years as
founding achievements in the air.
The three most popular flyers seen In the
golden haze of October skies at Belmont
W
4 real temperamental barrier existed be-
tween the first named two. HONsey was
polished. alert, sensitive, slight IN hulld'
fastidious in dress and as daring as any
aviator anywhere. Johnstone was vaude-
willie bicycle star, unimaginative, slow and
good natured, broad shouldered and physi-
cally strong. thoughtless in the matter OF
clothes and no less daring than HoN-
sew With regard To the last mentioned
quality each flyer knew perfectly well how
true was such an estimate when applied
10 the other man. They were twins in SIKH
and fearlessness If thrown together upon
q desert island they might have endured
each others Companionship, but because
of the temperamental gulf between them
neither could have been happy. The most
striking daily feature of that wonderful
exhibition was the intense determination
OF each Of these great aviators in Wright
machines TO excel the other young man.
be the wind gusty, absent or torty-mIe
gale.
John B Moisant whose startling daring
nrd devoted ChaperOnage Of a few weeks
old kitten had endeared him 10 the world
before he made his sensational fight
around the Statue Of Liberty i'm machine
new 70 him and won $1,000 by margin
Of forty.thrCo seconds while mulutudes
went wild, was, because of that one ac-
complishmcnt perhaps, the bright, partlcu-
lar star in the popular estimation.
They are all dead. They were young
ambitious successful and full Of health
They were experts I'm their line Each was
killed by a fall i'm his aeropane-Johnstone
at Denver on November H. Mosant and
HoXsey on December 81, the former al
New Orleans, the latter at Los Angeles.
Does this mean that the law must step I'm
10 try % regulate the useless cost Of life of
these who fly for money and prizes: Is it
certain that the loss of life, pitiful as it is,
Will bo useless?
4 dozen years ago all the available auto
mobiles I'm Manhattan made a wonderful
journey Metropolitan newspapers an
ncunced the noteworthy achievement in
scvcu-coIumn headlines. Such a practical
demonstration of the possibilities of the
motor driven car had never before been
seen The distance was computed 10 the
faction OF tenth Of mile 70 he sure,
an of the automobiles did not finish the
endurance test. 1t was not 10 be expected.
The requirements were a little too severe
for that long agone dawn Of the COM
nfercalizaticn Of the hoDzne buggy The
procession started from the Waldorf and
proceeded 10 the Hotel Claremont, at
Grants tomb. on Riverside Drive The
rarade was only a few blocks in length;
cars dropped out like the artitcially oN-
hilarated IIihcrnian will do on st. Pat
rick's Day. But a few Of tho automobiles
reached their destination, and that was
sufficient TO set the town agog and the
newspaper presses rumblinG.
IN the carly laws Of the automobile hun
dreds. even thousands. Of persons were
manned and killed. Mechanical weaknesses
were eliminated by lessons learned by ter
rife high speed races around sharp hair
pin turns, up and down grades, etc Special
gfsGes OF steel were manufactured, bad
srots in mechanical construction were re-
inrorced and strengthened, and companies
wasted no opportunity 10 eXpend money
and engineering talent TO build trust
worthy, cup-winnng cars. Sad accidents
really did a great deal TO establish the
automobile upon its present firm basis. CON
tests, exhibitions, meets, races, brought