The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-25


each The company has been greatly
embarrassed by reason of the dim
Guilty of securing sufficient NUMBER
of skilled artisans. The French gov
eminent has contracted for a large
number of air cars or dirigible pal
looms which are to be used both Tor
military and commercial purposes
Every workshop in France Whlcn mas
the machinery necessary for the build
ing of air cars is now driven to It's 1uii
capacity The Bleriot company IS
making money in such large amounts
as to tempt other manufacturers TO
enter the field of air car construction;
1t was apparent to Captain via
that this was no ephemeral business
of the airship or dirigible balloon will
be along business, military or COM
mercial lines.
So Also in Germany.
In Germany Captain Wild found al
most as great activity on the business
side in the field of airship construc-
ton and sale as prevails in France
The Germans at present, however
seem to prefer the diriglble paioon-
The amazing success of the big dlrlgl-
BILE which makes nightly trips IN
which it scars like a bird over the
CITY of Berlin and its suburbs. mas
terest in the airship of the dirigible
balloon type. When Captain WIG
was in Berlin few weeks ago a spe-
cial trip of the great dirlgiDie was
maze TOT the purpose u eoAN14Ao
opportunity personally to observe the
workings of the air vessel. HIS eX-
perience was eminently satisfactory
and personally led him to make the
bargain for the Chicago Aero club by
which, in the spring, that club will
come into possession of a fiVe-passen-
ger Parsifal dirigible-
The Berlin dirigible Captain Wild
SAYS has most comfortable accOmmo
dations for twenty passengers Ihe
charge for one evenings trip through
the air, over the city of Berlin, is fifty
dollars a passenger. and yet so great
is the popular confidence in and en-
thusiasm for this airship that there is
a waiting list all the time of about
two hundred names
As 1t Is in England.
In England not as great activity pre-
walls as in France and Germany, al
though there are recent evidences that
in Great Britain the air car or air
ship is to be highly developed along
business and commercial lines and as
an accessory to the British army and
navy.
For nine days in mid-May of this
wear an international aerOnautical ex-
hibition is to be held at the new Grand
Central palace in this city. 1t will be
the first international exhibition OF
this kind. Presumably it will have
some of the characteristics of the first
great exhibition made by the automo-
bile manufacturers of the United
States, an exhibition which took place
some nine years ago when automobll-
ing was still in its infancy, and when
all but very few persons looked upon
the automobile simply as means of
recreation or pleasure to be exclusively
enjoyed by those who possessed large
incomes.
How Auto Has Grown.
The business side OF the automobile
and its great commercial development
as a business wagon were hardly
dreamed of at the time of that first eX-
| n
exhibition in New York two million
dollars worth of automobiles were eX-
1 hibited and about two hundred thou
sand dollars was taken in at the door
This first international exhibition of
the aero club is likely to furnish a
most instructive object lesson, show
ling the wonderful advance of the sci
/ ence and art which within seven years
have made it possible to conquer the
air 1t should also teach the Amerl-
| can people what vast commercial
strides the air apparatus has made and
| is to make in the next two or three
wears. For instance it will be made
known that the Belgian government
has appropriated a large fund to pay
| the expenses of operating aerOplane
mail routes across nearly seven hum
bred miles of the Congo jungle of
Africa In Germany huge passenger
carrying airships fly on scheduled
routes between large centerS of popu-
latiOn and with the speed and regular
itv. as well as comfort, of limited ex-
press trains. In TripoH the Italian
armv is demonstrating the usefulness
of the aerOpIane in actual WARFARE
And there is no doubt that in the
United States some form of airShip will
be adopted by the federal government
as an auxiliary to our army and navy
AS soon as the people of the United
States realize that the flying machine
is no mere pleasure toy, but contains
the possibilities of very great CONNER
ciaI and business development, it is
certain that our manufacturers Will
take up the construction of flying ma
chimes and develop that business until
we NAV. as we have already done with
motor cars, gain such prestige that the
American made machine viii be
brought into successful competition
with those manufactured in France
or Germany.
hibition will embrace the modern aero
planes, spherical balloons and dirig-
ibles of both English and European
manufacture. And the wonderful ad-
vance which inventors have made
which shows the ability of science to
keen mace with the most eXacting de-
mands will be illustrated by models,
plans and devices which as whole
| cover the entire field of aviation.
! The Aero Club of America has in
l1-i+ed the cooperation of foreign gov
Iernments as well as of inventors and
lnnanufa lecturers who have been occu-
pied with the developing OF the dlrlg-
ihle and the aerOplane and recently
ltTe Climb has received assurances of the
Imost hearty support from the foremost
authorities of Great Britain and the
lcontinent of Europe In Paris great
exhibitions of this kind have drawn
enormous numbers or visitors many OF
whom were Americans. and the Paris
exhibitions are now recognized as hav-
ing been very successful, both from
the educational point of view and from