Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-12

the names OF the fair sponsors wht
are to christen the four great racing
balloons were read. Miss Esthel
Wilhelm will christen racing balloon
No. l the United States" 1t will
be piloted by Capt. A. c. Mckinley
and Lieut. James T. Neely.
Miss Gertrude Stout will name bal
loon No. the "All America" Lieut.
R. f. Thompson and Lieut.. ]. B
Jordan will pilot the America"
Balloon No. 3 will be christenec
the Victory" by Miss Regina Con.
nell. Pilots of the Victory" will be
Lieut.. w. f. Huffman and Lieut.. w
E. Connolly.
Miss Helen McCreary will name
balloon No. 4, which will be piloted
by Col. Jacob w. S. Wuest, Maj
M. ]. O'Brien and A. Leo Stevens
who will act as judges, the Cannon
Ball"
Miss Dortha Calender of Pasa-
dena, CAL, will release the 1,00C
small balloons on their voyage for
the ladies' prize.
DdlAOOllo Al anu 1NS".
All balloons to be christened are
brand new. The sponsors were Sc
lected by the Omaha chapter of the
American Red Cross at the request
of Lieut. Col. Jacob w. S. Wuest
commanding officer at Fort Omaha
A variety of material will be used
in the christening. Some will be
showered with grape juice, and it
is whispered that some will receive
their bon voyage in the orthodox
manner, with champagne.
Among the features of the aerial
carnival not mentioned before is the
first exhibition Of what is said to
be the fastest pulling windlass in
the world. 1t was invented by w.
D. Burton of Omaha.
Another novel feature will be the
"megaphone balloon" which will
rise and announce each event. The
huge megaphone is said to be larg-
er than the 5000 cubic-foot-capacity
balloon which carries it. Any man
enlisting at the fort on the day of
the carnival will be assured of a
balloon trip shortly after. Three
places to enlist will be open.
Interest Centers on Four Events.
The four events on the program
that are likely to command the
greatest interest of the public are
l.. The balloon race for distance.
(Three balloons entered.)
2. Exhibition of captured Ger
man sausage" balloons and Ameri-
can propaganda balloons" in &C
ton.
3. Observations of Prof. David
Todd, Amherst college meterolo-
gist, who is coming from New York
City to ascend in the judges bal
loon to STUDY physical features of
the planet Mars"
4. Release of 1000 balloons
simultaneously.
Besides these, the afternoon will
be packed with IS other events, in
Guiding athletic contests, races,
band concerts by army bands from
both Forts Crook and Omaha, a
balloon jumping contest and an ad-
dress by the commanding officer,
Lieutenant Colonel Wuest, from
the air"
Practice for Jumping Contest.
The entire command at Fort
Omaha has been busily employed
all week cutting grass, plotting the
grounds and driving stakes for po-
sitions of the balloon craft that are
to fly. Officers at the fort have
been daily practicing for the Jump
ing contest" which will be one of
the big features of the days
events.
The long distance balloon race
will be the biggest event by far.
Official sanction was received
Thursday by A. Leo Stevens, chief
balloon instructor, from President
Allan R. Hawley of the Aero Club
of America at New York for the
race. Records established will be
recorded in the statistical racing
compilations of the club. Further
than that, the race will be given ma
tlOndl publicity.
The telegram received follows:
Glad to sanction race for 18th.
Best wishes for a successful event.
AERO CLUB OF AMERICA"
Six pilots and three balloons are
entered.
The pilots are:
Balloon No. /, Capt. Ashley c.
Mckinley, 1870 pounds; Lieut.. James
T. Neeley, l45 pounds.
Balloon No. 2, Lieut.. Richard E.
Thompson, l54 pounds; Lieut.. James
B. Jordan, l59 pounds.
Balloon No. 5, Lieut.. William E.
Huffman, Isl pounds; Lieut.. Viii
liam E. Connolly. 1ol pounds.
Many Wagers Laid.
The judges balloon which will ac-
company the others on their flights
will carry three persons, Colonel
Maj. Martin J. O'Brien, ad-
jutant at Fort Omaha, and A. Leo
Stevens, instructor. The judges bal
loon will announce by signal from
the air to attendants below which
attains the highest alti-
tude.
Wagers among officers during the
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