The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-02-25
RACE AROUND the WORLD.
MANY AIRMEX PLAN TO TAKE
PART Nv GREAT AVIATION
CONTEST.
NsAt WIl H Of Endu1Ance OF Ava.
sess Asd AesoesaheS-proaounscd
NeAablc-xAsvc Prizes O6eaesl
WIN Hatdly Pay Custs.


WIN Hardly Fay Cos~
a majority Of experienced aviatofs
beiieve the proposed seroplane hight
aro1td the world this sumner. while
It will " 4 tnarvslous demonstration
Of human progress and ef,ciency, Ia
nevertheless fsaaibie.
The directorA OF the Panama.raciflc
Exposition at tan francisco are a..
sured OF the co-operatioh Of ali the
great hations over whose territory the
rnonoplanes and aeroplanss will
whifi
Feat after feat OF endurance must
Do performed by the aviators who
traverse the broad American con-
tinent, makes the great jumps from
isiand to island Of the North Atlantic
pursues the we'll travelled air lanes Of
Europe. safely passes over the bleak
and forbiddins wastes Of sibsris,
and ranges the almost uninhabited
coast line Of northern Asia and Alas
ka-
But each of these feats have been
exceeded already in the air records
now OH the books. Now all that Is
needed Is the combination OF them
The performance OF one great air
journey after another means luck.
normous luck, TO q. greater degree
than in almost any sporting contest
ever organized
Several aviators have signified their
Intentions OF entering. They are will
ling TO take the risks. They are not
actuated by the desire for gold, for
even The successful contender, who
viii win the sl50.O00 first prize and
also the $4,000 offered by Lord
Northcliffe for the fPst crossing Of
the Atlantic. will And his 100000 and
perhaps more eaten up by the ex-
psnses Of his undertaking.
II is quite certain, however, that
plenty Of men Of large fortunes and
proclivities will be found to
finance this peerless air event.
The eyes Of the world will be upon
the brave contenders. oven more than
they were upon the pioneer aviation
racers In that frat meet at Rheims
In 1908.
The attention Of the close students
OF the race 10 esntered upon the prob
lem Of the Atlantic. After passing due
east from Frisco across the Sierras,
through Reno, New, Cheyenne. Wyo.,
Kansas City, st. Louis and New York,
the aviators will coast along the sea-
board to Belle Island. between New
and Labrador. Here the
flight across the Atlantic will begin
The Myers will probably head for Cape
Farewell. 0reoland. s1o miles away.
From Cape Farewell to Iceland the
distance 10 s70 miles and from Ice
land to stornaway In the Hebrides II
$40 miles
Three enormous leaps. slo. s70
and $40 miles. None Of them lnsur-
moutable In itself. But TO hit the
bulls eye three times In succession
there's the rub.
Thon these sees are not always a.
hospitable ~ the Mediterranean.
which Roland 0arros has now crossed
twice. There are fog and wind and
rocky landing plAceA
But II q row OF warships patrols the
course. lcnt by their governments In
the interests of science and human
progress. the risk will not be greater
for instance) than that taken by the
lLte John u. Moisant when he set Off
an antrlcd machine with fog in
his face TO fly from Paris to London
at time when tho Channel crossing
alone was considered almost a mir
aeie.
Compared with the Atlantic cross
Ing, too. the rest OF the journey
seems fairly simple.
The proposed route is by way OF
Edinburgh, London, Paris, Berlin,
Warsaw, 81. Petersburg. Moscow ami
the Trans-Siberian Railway to Man
churia and then south to Vladivostol..
The next lap takes the aviator across
the sea to Corea.
He must then cross tho Japan Sea
TO Kobe and Tokyo. turn north to
kamchatka and travel along the coast
either to East Cape or to the Aieutiar
Islands. The distance between the
Two continents here varies from thirty
90 two hundred miles. From Alas
ka the course will be southwark to
Vancouver. Seattle. and homo to San
francisco.
The aviators who heeitate about
pronouncing the journey possible II,
the present stage Of their art call at