The Washington herald., 1915-07-20
Give Congress Its Due.

An open confession is good tor the soul. Some
of our contemporaries, in their enthusiasm over
Secretary Daniels proposed advisory board have
found fault with Congress for not keeping up with
the times and providing money for the develop
ment of the submarine and for aviation. This is
reckless as we'll unfair. The record is with
Congress. The Naval committees of the House
and Senate began making appropriations for sub
marines when the Holland boat was invented
and they were assaulted by of the news
papers for wasting the peoples money. The OPP
position went so far to charge graft against
prominent members of Congress and great
scandal was developed which called for Congress
sional investigation, ending only in finding ire
sponsibility and sensationasm as the cause of it
all. But it did set back the work of building
submarines
Then as to aviation the record is also with
Congress. Prof. Langley had more men in Con-
gress who believed in him than anywhere else. The
Committees Appropriations listened to the old
professors explanations looked his model
and gave appropriations to the board OF ordnance
to aid him in developing his new famous aero
plane. And he did, but when he tried in secret to
test 1t, the editors, correspondents and para
graphers who had read about Darius Green and
his flying machine could not resist the tcmpta-
ton to draw the deadly parallel
The brilliant and ubiquitous corps of Wash
ington correspondents, organized for the cam
pagn on war basis, hired boats and patroed
the Potomac, that the professor and his flying
machine should not escape them. His every move
watched and recorded and when his flying
machine fell into the river there were shouts of
laughter from the correspondents which were
heard over the wires in every corner OF the uni
verse. Another Darius Green who had attempted
the impossible had come to grief. No incident
following the Spanish created much news
paper comment or brought out SO much brilliant
sarcasm. Prof. Langley and Congress were both
discredited, foolish dreamer, the other
as wastcful OF the peoples money. The profess
sor died OF broken heart and his machine was
stored in the National Museum as one of the
greatest curoslties, representing the folly of i'm
practical science and reckless Legislation.
Some years passed and the Wright brothers
to Washington to show the President, Com
gross and the people that they could fly, and they
did Then they wandered into the National
Museum to look at the Langley model. They were
curious to experiment with the old machine and
persuaded Secretary Walcott to let them take it
down and try it. They brushed off the dust,
oiled the machinery, gave the engine a drink of
gasoline, mounted the seat and turned the crank.
The old machine rose and SCARED away just like
the Wright machine. 1t was the same old second
edition of Darius Green's flying machine that
had, through the newspapers, made the whole
world laugh it had not laughed since DR..
Holmes created the first Darius. Prof. Langley
had solved the question of aviation, but he did
it too SOON The editors and correspondents
were not ready to accept his discovery. They had
not kept up with the professor, but Congress had
believed in him to the extent OF several small ap-
preparations. The record is with Congress. Let's
be fair and also cautious about provoking Con-
gross to throw the responsibility for years of de-
lay in the development OF aviation and submarine
warfare upon the moulders of public opinion The
editor sometimes makes mistakes and it is just as
well to admit il.