Omaha daily bee., 1911-07-13
ST. LOUIS BALLOONS IN LEAD
Gas Bags from Mound City Qualify for
80 International Race.
LIEUT.. LAHM IN FIRST PLACE
Lands Near La Pas, Ind, Five Hum
dred aud Twenty-Five Miles from
Kansas Ctty--AlsO Reaches
Greatest Altitude,

KANSAS CITY, July l2-wlth the bal
looms ST. Louis w and, Million Population
Club. both of 81. Louis rest the honors
OF winning first and second places in the
national elimination balloon race, which
started from this. city Monday evening. and
TO two st. Louis balloon pilots falls the
right of joining Alan n. Hawley Of New
York in representing the United States in
the international balloon races for the
James Gordon Bennett cup, which will
start from here October g.
While official returns of the race will
not be available for several days there Is
no doubt, according to officials Of the Kan
sas City Aero club. but that first place will
go to the St. Louis ~, which landed near
LaPaE Junction. Ind, at AIS yesterday aft
ernoon. and second place. to the Million
Population Club, which came down at La
Crosse, Ind, at 2:4s yesterday afternoon.
The sight Of a bright light iE the sky
moving out over Lake Erie in Cleveland
last night. led to. the rpmor that the Mil
lion Population Club, the only balloon not
heard from at that time, was anead of
all. The Whereabouts OF the Million Popu-
lation Club. however. was settled by a
telegram received late last night from its
pilot, announcing the landing at La Crosse.
The altitude record, of the race, as well
as the distance record. IL believed to have
bsen made by Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm
and Lieutenant John p, Hart, pilot and aid
in the st. Louis ~, whose instruments
recorded a maximum altitude of 1900 feet.
Records of Landing.
The balloons. their landing places and
unofficial distances. as compiled today,
are: h-s' = g. ~ g. -
st, Louis w, pilot Lieutenant Frank p.
Iahm, aid. Lieutenant John p. HART
Million Population Club, pilot Captain
John Berry, aid Paul Mccullough; landed
at La Crosse. Ind. 4s5 miles. !.
Captain M. O'Reilly; landed near Franklin
Park. suburb, Of Chicago; AS miles.
p ssd e. H to Made ' aid
New Holland, H., 216 miles.
Topeka II, pilot Frank NJ Jacobs. aid
Raffe. Emerison; landed near La Harpe,
New York pilot clifford B, Harmon, aid
Kansas City. pilot H. E. Honeywell. aid
John Watts; landed near Ldnby, Ia; $50
miles. t.st
Lieutenant Lahm Above Clouds.
CHICAGO, July 12-Detaifs were obtained
today of the trip of the balloon st. Louis
No. T. in charge of Lieutenant Frank p.
Lahm and Lieutenant J. p. Hart which
left Kansas City at 4:50 p. m. and landed
ct Lapaz, Ind, sixteen miles south of
South Bend, at 4:15 p. m yesterday.
The balloon. represented the areonautic
corps of the National Guard of Missouri.
Lieutenant Hart said:
I'VE made the trip In record-breaking
speed and were between 1900 and 20 900
feet from the earth during the entire jour
ney. Our voyage was anything but pleas
ont, Soon after leaving Kansas City Mon
day afternoon we encountered series OF
thnnderstormss which made II necessary
forsus to riss above the~clouds to get away
from the rain.1 The storm seemed to fol-
low ~us all through Missouri and Illinois.
We. crossed the, Mississippi river early
Tuesday morning. Our balloon behaved
handsomely under the circumstances, AL
though we were kept busy all the time. We
never. saw any of the other balloons after
leaving Kansas city. We landed without
mishap in large field and slept last night
in farm house The highest altitude
reached was 1900 feet