The Cairo bulletin., 1912-03-10
New Invention Much Safer Than
+ Old Style Of Gas Bag
Now Used
CONDITIONS ARE NOT lDYLlc
Things, Often Told Of by Ameri-
cans, Have Sordid lnsides-.
Teachers Interest

1 Ft.-A
| Berlin, March 1O.--A balloon with
the basket attached directly to, the
gasbag without the use of the Gus.
tomary network. which recently
| made successful ascent here
marks the first intrinsic improve
ment in the construction of balloons
/ II the ripcord and the dragline BE-
excepted, since the days of Montgoi.
/ fer.
| Dirigible-makers found some time
| ago that they could attach the car
machinery and ALL directly to the
envelope. Only two thicknesses OF
| silk are used in constructing ordin-
airy balloons against three for dirigi-
bles, but the lighter weight of the
basket encouraged DR.. Elias, Ger
| man aeronaut, to order netless bal
loon of 1900 cubic meters capacity,
with the car suspended from cloth
girdle sewed about the lower part Of
the gasbag. In this he, his wife and
two passengers made highly sue
cessful ascent. Owing to the spar
ing of the weight of the net, more
ballast could be carried and the bag
retained its shape at all heights, or
binary balloons sometimes tending
to fiatten out of shape at high ele-
vations from the weight of tine net
Other advantages were quickness
of defation on landing and ease of
| packing the balloon for transporta-
ton, but its greatest recommended
ton, in the eyes of the t'mid, will be
its superiority in "parachuting," Or
the automatic conversion of the en-
velope into sort of parachute in
case of its bursting high in the air,
as happened to an American balloon
carrying Mesrs. Forbes and oPst in a
competition at Berlin a few years
ago. The ability of the netless bal
loon to carry more ballast and con-
sequently to traverse longer dis
tances without landing will be fac.
tor to be reckoned with in future
balloon races.
Tales of idylic conditions in Ger
man as compared with American
cities, which often form the subject
of articles in American magazines
aud newspapers, were not altogether
borne out by facts shown at meet
ing held in the Reichstag building
to discuss the overcrowding of the
tenement population in Germany. At
this meeting the surprising state
ment was made that fully 100000 Of
the 100000 inhabitants of Greater
Berlin live in apartments with five
or more persons in each room. A
high proportion of the working
| families In Berlin live In one-room
apartments, letting out, too, por-
ton of the floor space for sleeping
accommodation to single men to exc
out their income. 1t was also men
toned that $4,000 school children
in Greater Berlin have no playground
| DIR. Kirschner, the venerable senior
mayor of Berlin, attempted to dis
pute these figures, but was con-
founded by the official statistics.
Two ex-ministers, Count Posadowsky
and Bernard Dernberg, are taking
the lead In the agitation for reform
of the overcrowding evil, Herr Dern.
berg presiding at the meeting. Much
is hoped for in Berlin from the form
alton of the new Greater Berlin or.
ganization.
While the municipalities and moi
Berlin alone are having their diff.
culties In coping with the housing
problem for the working classes, tn,
central government has put dam
per on their enthusiasm for saddline
the expense Of social and municipal
reform upon future generations by
piling up heavy bonded debts TO
municipal improvements. The Prus
sian ministry Of the interior has just
issued an edict to the provincial au
thorities calling attention to the
tendency of the municipalities, from
those of 10000 population upward
to reckless contraction Of debts ant
directing them to refuse their sane