Iditarod pioneer., 1916-08-12
FAMOUS GERMAN INVENTOR
 WAS WITH UNION ARMY

Count Ferdinand Von Zeppdin entered upon his sOth year on July & nnd thr Oc casion was observed wi,h celebrations ln al parts of Gtrmany, aheors1iNg 10 dispatches from Berlin Count Von Zeppelin had llt- tie part in 1he celebration of hlS birthday anniversary Since the beginning O, the war he has seldom lef1 the Zeppelin works at Lake Const a14re. where he teS worked almost day and night planning and super intending the building of the huge dIrlglhie balloons which the Germans have employed in their raids cn England How many of these airships have been constructed since the beginning of the war will probably never be known to the public until after the great conflict is ended. It is known, however, that the fleet has steadily increased in num- bers, despite the fact that many have met with destruction in the raids on the British isles There is also evidence to show that the Zerpelins have increased in size and efficiency during the past six months. Ac cording to recent reports from Berlin the air craft now building will be 50 per cent larger than the Zeppelins now Hi commls- sion. They will possess proportlonate ln- crease in lifting power and consequently will be capable of carrying a much larger quantity of explosives than the existing craft of the same type. And what is of even more importance, the new Zeppelins will be abie to drop their bombs from a much greater height than heretofore, which IS ex- pected to render them practically immune from land or water gun fire.
 To few of the worlds great inventors has fame come so tardily and reluctantly as it has to the man who brought to perfec ton the dlriglble airshlp, and who is now characterized by his emperor as 'the great est German of the century" Few inventors have encountered such relentless obstacles and overcome them by SD indomitab!e q spirit At the age of 75 years he and his invention were the subject of public rldI- cule Today in his Slst year, he Is hon ored by the entire German nation, and his nvcnticn Is hailed as one of the most ef fective weapons that Germany has been able to bring to bear on her enemies in the present war.
 It is rot generally known that Count Won Zeppelin made his first flight in the United States At the age of p. as a lieutenant of cavalry, he was Wurtemburg's military at tache and observer with the Union army in the American civil war Joining the army Of 1he Mississippi he was attached to General Carl Schurz brigade. It was then that he had his first taste of aeronautics. He went up in balloon, sent up by the federal army to spy out the positions of the Confederates Zeppelin not only volunteered but begged to be permitted to go up. His request was granted. and during the re mainder of his service with the federal army he made numerous balloon ascensions
 When he returned to Germany at the close of the American conflict he was i'm bued with a strong taste for aeronautics and it is said that even at that early day he already dreamed of navigating the air in dirigible balloon. Many years were 10 elanse. however, before he could begin the practical execution of his plans. He distinguished himself in the war with Aus tria in 1866 and in the Franco-Prussian war four years later, as an officer of a Prussian cavalry regiment.
 Many thousands of dollars were used and many lives were lost before the Zeppelin be- came an accomplished fact With each sue cessive disaster the aged inventor set to work to eliminate the imperfections. Wealthy and influential friends, among them the emperor, shared Zeppelin's faith in the ultimate success of his invention. Alrship after airship was constructed at great cost only to meet with destruction after few fights and some of them on their initial trip. The spectacular nature of Zeppelin's tnisfortunes loomed large in the public mind and it was only the German military and scientific experts who continued to have faith in his invention.
 While the German scientific organs pro- claimed each new Zeppelin a triumph, the weight of expert opinion in England was on the other side At the beginning of the present war the English were inclined to laugh at the idea of Zeppelin raid. The possibility of such a thing was ridculed by even the foremost of Enelish aviation ex- nerts. some of whom still contended that "a balloon cannot be steered in the air be- ""Vse of the absence of that denser medium for the rudder which the water provides in