The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-07-17
JULY IL, 1913.
OF AVIATION.

When Arch Hoxsey. the aviator
came here to ay his biplane al the fa!T
there were millions OF people N TINS
count WHO had never seen d man
As, and millions who, notwithstanding
reports TO the contrary,
we're firmly convinced tha, the thing
could not be done. We recall a prom
inent professional NJ who was then
a res!den. OF the city VINO insisted al
along that the whole. flying game was
a fake. and who maintained stoutlE
that in spite Of the fast that the man
and the machine were on the ground.
there would be no flying. He 90
served the preparations for flight with
u~nconc!eaied ~skepticisn. and when
some ,rifinz arrangement Of tne me-
chanisra was found. which delayed the
first flight. he EFT the grounds, laugh
Ing al those who remained. T. III
sisoing that he knew it was a fake a!
along. Incidentally. Hoxey was in the
air within half an hour, and made a
splendid aigat.
This incident is cited to illustrate
the fact that within sNcn a very short
tine ever intelligent and ordinarily
we'll informed men knew nothing OF
when it was mentioned. The world
moves SO rapidly that what was then
Incredible has now become a matter
of commo knowledge in the renotest
hamlets. and while there are still many
persons who have never seer a mar fly,
there are none in civilized countries,
except in The widest and most mac
cessible places who are not perfectly
familiar with the fact that men do fy
every day.
1t seems but yesterday when cable
dispatches startled the world with the
account Of tne first fight across the
English channel. In the great cities
extra editions Of the newspapers We're
tor, and other extras told OF his arri-
val on English soil. and pages were
published telling OF the flight, the SER
sations of the aviator, and giving al!
the details IN connection with what
was regarded as one of the great
events of history. The other day Leon
Letort breakfasted in Paris. assembled
in his aerop!ane, sped the entire dis
lance Of SIS miles and arrived in Ber-
lin nine hours later without
hotir~ o1Srt..J ro--ir, cdt-.rcj -.
distance at the rate Of a little better
than 81 mills an hour. He made a
new worlds record for continuous fly
ing, both for distance and FOR speed.
The story was sent across the ocean
in enough words to make two lines in
a newspaper. Thus has the world ia
miliarized itself with the navigation Of
the air.
And yet. as a practical means Of
transportation, the %aeroplane is just
about where it was when the Wrights
made their FIRST flights. The propell-
ing mechanism has been improved,
and methods Of construction have
been devised to steady the machine,
DaS AZ I'm iS al u 4AoLii DStliS a
practical vehicle for getting from place
to place as ever it was. About the
same can be said Of the rival Of the
aeroplane, TIE dirigible balloon. Count
Zeppelin mas built one airship after
another, n each has been wrecked,
fortunately without loss Of life. The
present n is making regular trips
and carrying in the aggregate thou
sands Of passengers VINO care for The
thrill of a rev experience and have
money TO pay for it. but those who
wish to travel with safety ana certain-
ty on business or ordinary errands of
pleasure from Cologne TO strasbure
still travel by rail.
The navigation of an aeroplane re-
mains a feat of skill and daring, a
thing for scientific investigation, for
military scouting. and for the thrilling
Of crowds Of people. The MANAGEMENT
Of the state fair at Grand Forks has
recognized the interest which people
take in the problem Of flight by secur-
ing for next weeks fair one of the
most skillful air pilots in the world
today, and while the flight will have
lost its feature Of strangeness, II will,
be as interesting as ever, and the PEG.
pie have learned thai at Grand Fork.
they always find the best there IL.