The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1917-03-09

o.
which, however. states that the Counts
death was due to pneumonia.
Life Work Called Failure.
The failure Of his airships to terrorize
England and bring the war to a speedy
END. and their apparent abandonment by
the German General Staff in the consid-
GRAFTON Of military measures, is believed
70 have been contributing factor in
the death of Count Won Zeppelin For
several months. as Zeppelin raids against
England have become less and less fire.
quent and British aviators have brought
oown more and more alrships with every
attack. reports have filtered through
from Germany that Count Won Zeppelin's
heaith was falling through disappoint-
ment Within the last month. following
the disastrous raid over the midland
counties OF England. In which two air
ships were brought down in flames. the
German Government has practically ad-
mitted that the Zeppelin has been fail
ure and reports have come from Berlin
that the giant airships are no longer re-
garded as having military value. Not
more than three weeks ago a we'll au-
thenticated despatch from Geneva said
the Zeppelin works at Friedrchshafen
were being dsmantled and deserted and
that Germany. so far as .tlse- use Of the
army or navy was concerned. had built
her last Zeppelin.
Dispatches from Germany have pic.
tured Count Won Zeppelin as crushed
with disappointment over the action OF
hc-kaiser in sending his invention to
the scrapheap and with hearing the DOM
mating motive of his life branded as
failure. For forty years Count Won,
Zeppelin labored, driven by the belief
that he was destined to build al, engine
of destruction that would nul,ify the
great English battle fleet and lead the
Germans to mastery of the world
through mastery Of the air.
4 FsvOrite of kaiser.
Those forty years have seen him ele-
waited from the position Of a harmless
crank In the grip of a vision to the top
rank OF the roll of German heroes they
have seen him petted by the Kaiser, a
court favorite. and characterized by the
monarch as the greatest German" and
they have seen him an old. old man
standing helplessly by while the military
lords branded his life work AZ a failure
Ferdinand Won Zeppelin was born In
1888. the son Of small Wurttemberg
court official in Constance on the shore
OF the lake of that name, where all Of his
experiments were later carried out. He
came Of lineage Of fighting Mecklen-
burg knights; the<junior branch Of his
family had been residing in German ter
ritory for more than 500 years. When
youth Zeppelin followed the only call
ing open to a man/of his station in life.
He received a military training and he
| entered the army Of his sovereign prince
as lieutenant Of cavalry at the age
Of %.
In 1863 he was detached from the
Wurttemberg service as a military Oh
server to follow the armies of the Amer-
can Union In the civil war. He came 20
| this country. proceeded directly to the
Army of the Mississippi and was at
tached to the brigade commanded by
Gen. Carl Schurz The young man. so
it was afterward recorded by Gen.
Sehurz. often allowed his zeal for COM
bat 10 overcome his purely neutral posi-
ton as a scientific observer Of warfare
and on many occasions orderlies had
to ride In where the fighting was thick
est to remind the officer from Wurttem-
berg that his place was in the rear.
Once. at the battle Of Fredericksburg.
only a sudden dash on horseback saved
Zeppelin from being captured by the
Confederates.
His First Balloon Ascent.
1t was while he was with the Union
armies that the young German officers
inborn taste for aeronautics first found
opportunity. His first ascent in a bal
loon occurred when he received permis-
sion to 60 up in the basket of an OBJ
servation balloon that reconnoitred the
Confederate position before a battle.
Zeppelin returned to Germany In 1866
Just In time TO serve with the German
armies in the short and sharp campo ign
4 s.atsA 40 haze
break of the Franco-Prussian war that
the mad youngster from Wurttemberg
first distinguished himself.
In 1887 he abandoned military life
for brief period to represent ats prn-
c!pallty in the Federal Council at Ber-
lin, but In 1890 he was back In harness
again as commander OF fortress at
Saarburg In 1891 he was re.'ied with
the full rank of General OF Cavalry.
Count Zeppelin began TO ctudy the
problem OF aerial navigation when he
was a boy Of eighteen. Then railroads
were. in their infancy. steamships were
a novelty and the telegraph was only
Just beginning to he used. ye' the boy,
whom every one thought to be touched
quite seriously set out to inform, himnelf
on the history and theory OF flying Even
after he was married and deep In mill
tary affairs Zeppelin continued u study
of the theoretical problems ana made
various models OF diriglble ball,ors that
never saw the light outside Of his work.
f, shop.
Because he found his hobby 1xpen-
sive and the trips to London. Paris and
other cities where balloonists were ex-
perimenting were not within the means
! OF an army officer Count Zeppelin began
to sell some of his estates to crafty his
great ambition many years before any
practical results OF his experiments
showed. More and more of his lands
went, until just about the time 'has suc-
cess began to come to him he was threat
ened with absolute penury.
II was not until 1892 that he began 70