The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-07-02
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

every American understands.
And it's the thing that every Ameri-
can admires whatever his own defec-
tons from the strict rules of the game.
This is what Wilbur Wright did.
And herein lay his appeal to the i'm
agination not only of his countrymen
but of the world.
| When others were grandstanding,
throwing fancy curves and stealing
bases Wilbur Wright was playing ball.
! When others were posing in the spot
| light Wilbur Wright was playing ball.
| When others were engaged in run
ming up their batting average-Wilbur
Wright played ball.
And he played ball with such effect
and precision and unerring calculation
that he will go down the ages as the
greatest Captain of them all.
When a great man dies he is eulo-
gized.
When an obscure man dies he is Gel
cbrated within the limited circle of his
& ctivities.
Death is the great crucible through
which reputation is strained, and. not
vithstanding Mr.. William Shakespeare
to the contrary, the good floats to the
top, is skinned off, and bottled up in
the memories of his confreres and con-
temporaries for exploitation by poster
ity
When Wilbur Wright was mown
down by one of the most insiduous en-
emies, of the human structure he was
on the second lap of his distinguished
achievement.
And the whole world rang with his
praises and lamentation that humanity
haG lost inestimably through his
death
But there was a time when Wilbur
Wright was not so acclaimed.
A time when he was the object of
jeers, sneers and derision.
Was denominated queer" cranky"
peculiar" and odd"
For it is the misfortune ever of ge-
MUS to be the derided of the uncou.
To be misunderstood of the rank and
file.
To endure the cheap jibes of the
cheap.
To be harried by jealousy and beset
by the envies of the little people.
"The terrible little people," as they
are denominated in a recent piece of
fiction.
Dare to be original and you have
the whole pack on your heels, snarl-
ing, biting, snatching.
But all this found Wilbur Wright
playing ball.
Wright was obsessed with an idea
AN idea which had been fermenting
in the brain of man from the beginning
CT time to Wright's day. The supreme
idea of flight
This might be- indeed, symbolic of
mans impotent desire for Immortality.
His protest against his inability to
resist that force which keeps him
chained to the earth. Which denies
him the privilege of soaring above it's
confines. Which shackles him in that
perfect individual freedom which is
the ideal of humanity. And to accom-
plish this literally. In the flesh. Not
hguratively through the spirit.
For man cannot disassociate himself
from his body
And the fact that this desire of the
Wright and with such intensity that it
generated and created is-when you
think of his unassuming residence in
cur own town-wonderful amazing,
splendid, picturesque and unbelievable
For until those more Familiarity
known as the Wright Brothers" ex.
hibited practically to the world that
this achievement was possible it had
only been a theory-embryonic in con
conception and futile in realization.
For, say what you will, flight was
originated, its means discovered by
Wilbur and Orville Wright.
The history of their experiments and
successes is too we'll known and too
recent for recapitulation here.
Suffice to say that, after their sue
cessful exhibit in the country and
abroad host rose up with machines
built on the Wright plan to shout 81
did It,"
But not one Of them but that was
using that peculiar device which had
been evolved to this end through the
brains of those inventors.
Recognizing this. the Wrights insti
tcted suits everywhere to protect the
integrity of their patents and in this
too. were subjected to the anathemas
Of the little people Those little people
who were riding into fame by way OF
the newspaper headlines through the
manipulation of the Wright discover
les
Wilbur Wright showed the world
how to fly.
Since his death-the great clearing
house of truth and fact-this is uni
versally admitted. And Wright is class
ed with the greatest inventors of al
times.
But what did Wilbur Wright do after
he had perfected and exhibited the ere
alton of his genius, the acme of his i'm
agination?
Did he pose in the spotlight? Grand
stand? Throw fancy curves.
: No-he played ball.
Leaving his imitators the field, refus
: ing to engage in acrimonious and re
eliminating accusation, merely assert
ing his just and admitted claim-he re
tired to his home in Dayton to expert
ment toward perfecting and developing
, his discovery.
There he directed the further ex
: periments of his aviators and there hs
died.