The Washington times., 1916-04-16
CAPITAL AT mercy
OF RAIDERS IN AIR
Aviator Shows Aerial Unprepar-
edness Of U. S. by Dropping
! "Bombs" on City.

Good morning. Did you hnd .
bomb?"
That was the question on several thou
sand lips in Washington this morning.
ond about 800 were able to answer yes.
These cherish the "bombs'-excelsior
'bombs" in brown paper bags-as souve-
Mrs of the aerial raid" upon Washing
ton last evening by Aviator DeLloyd
Thompson.
Residents OF the Capital. especially
theatergoers. and Saturday night SHOP
pers. were startled about $40 o'clock by
q series Of explosions in the direction OF
the river.
The crowds paused and heard the
faint, but distinct sound OF an aero
plane, and In a few seconds they couid
distinguish shafts of light, from search-
lights in the Washington Barracks
playing upon blotches OF smoke. NO
eoonerwould the searchlights touch these
traces of the explosion OF the bombs
which looked like wads of cotton bat
ting stuck up in the sky, than another
deem cannon-like boom would be heard
n half-mile away.
At lhe nrst explosion the President
went to the south portico of the White
House and watched the heavens with
the rest of Washington for the incidents
Of the spectacular night.
Presently, there burst forth a streak
OF brilliant light like tho cross Sec
tion os a lightning flash; then another,
and yet another. each a quarter OF
mile distant. These constituted the
aviator's Good night nash 20 the city.
They were the traces of magnesium
Mares attached in tubes to the wings
of his machine, and ,ncy described the
terial contortions of the biplane's whizz-
ing dash through space over the Capital.
BY way of what he called an aerial
preparedness calling card" the aviator
dropped one of the excelsior bombs into
the Capitol Grounds. and he asserted
that, were the bombs real, he could
have blown up both the Capitol and
the White House.
on the bombs found in parks.
streets. and back yards today. was this
inscription:
'Thfs bomb Is harmless Suppose II
had contained nitro-glycerine and was
hurled by tho enemy instead OF by
DeLloyd Thompson, who flew the
American flag. Wake up and prepare"
The aviator went up in his biplane.
Day tractor powered with a Gyro mo-
tor. an invention of Emile Berliner, OF
Washington. He started from the Polo
grounds at sos, and remained In the
air thlrty-eight minutes. Most OF the
time he made about eighty miles an
hour.
The whole performance was merely q
demonstration of the need for aerial
preparedness. Thompson. and his man
azer, W. H. Pickens. claim the Uni
ted States Is in danger of aerial at
tecly more than from any other sort or
attack
Since the record time in air. with
out alighting, In twenty-four hours.
since aIrships could be brought within
easy distance of American shores on
vessels. and since the United States has
no guns that would do damage to aero
planes they assert that the United
States. and every city in II. Is exposed
e. dangers of aerial onslaughts.
Will "Raid" Twenty Cities.
Thompson intends to "raid" twenty
biz cities in the United States. exactly
ne he rnided Washington last evening.
He will take them by surprise. as he
did the National Capital, realizing that
the psychological element in an aerial
attock adds to It's mysteries and the
fear o. it.
Thee more bombs he can drop around
public buildings and Notifications in
seaport cities, and the nearer he can
get with his excelsior warnings to the
places the pacificists deem safe, the
stronger he believes will be the chain
or arguments for the purchase of anti
tircraft guns, and the need for pro-
lection against this form of attack.