Evening journal., 1919-08-20
CITY Is TOYTOWN
FROM THE CLOUDS
Mayor and Serb See New
Visions on Slight Above
Clouds
THRILLS! WELL THEY'LL
NEVER forget THEM


ing but triflc larger than the other
toy houses. and with pretty little silver
ribbons that no one would recognize
as the Chrlstiana and the Brsndywine
rivers, were what the first Wilmington
/ isns taken up for airplane spins saw
/ yesterday afternoon when they dew over
their home city. There was the vivid
green OF thick midsummer foliage,
Z added beauty TO the view, solid masses
of the green marking the city parks.
Two machines went up yesterday.
starting from the Rupert farm at 3
O'Clock. Mayor Taylor was the psssen-
ger in the ilrst plane, piloted by Lieu
tenant Charles Potter. In the second
! plane, Lieutenant Floyd \. Wilson car
ricd a newspaper man as passenger.
The mayor and the scribe took their
places Outwardly calm. but With an
inward prayer and wondering what
sort OF a funeral the folks would give
them and whether there would be
many flowers. The two machines, but
few minutes apart fr0licked over the
field on their ssucy little wheels, In
the kitten.sh way OF such conirap-
tions. while the passengers suppressed
an inclination TO Jump out while the
! jumping was good Then gracefully as
birds. the planes took the afr, and the
passengers discovered that the sensa-
ti0n was pleasurable and not at all
/ terrifying. The motion was smooth
and gliding. and less noticeable the
more indistinct individual objects be-
came upon the earth. There was an
appalling uprOar from the powerful
nsines, making conversation impos-
lille. but quickly becoming an accus-
omed sound
The passengers were intensely aD-
sorbed in the novel angle given 10 their
citv by a view from the air. II was
a silent city, nat as pancake ana
seemingly without inhabitants. The
roar OF traffic. the melodies OF innum'
cradle canned music machines uhe
.ireet cries were eXtinguished as
.hough by a giant muller. As the ma
chimes zoomed up high no motion oi
any kind could be seen in the ell!
streets.
The city IS very beautiful from the
air. lis growth in all directions is
/ emphasized from the birds-eye view
which shows the entire prospect at
! glance. Wilmington. from the air, re-
minds the down-looker OF healthy
Young giant-young and growing.
! Sprawled out across the map in grace
| ful disorder. IL looked like nothing as
much as a lusty yOungster, with eX-
ploring arms and fingers flung to ihc
/ northwest and southwest slowly feel
/ ing its way in its expansion ann
I growth. ,,.,
Prom the air the streets and build
5ngs stand out distinctly. nut blend
/ ing into a harmonious whole, win tlle
/ Delaware flowing calmly by in broad
( cleaning band. Shipyards, power
! plants. mills and factories TESTIFY 10
the city's fast-growing industrial I'M
! portance.
Z The suburbs roll out under the fast
moving plane in a succession or pretty
homes. fine country estates and farms
The country diutricts are laid out IN
a rolling cheSScr-board OF alternate
fields and woods. There IS a far per
/ spective Of pasture lands and fields
/ studded with the shocked wheat. Fur
! lher 10 the south is a field where a
white cross stands ou. distinctly. il Is
the landing mark at Greenville. laid
iby Lieutenant Wilson. but missed by
l his ayiat0rs, who chose instead the
field at Sedgely Farm where the Ru-
pert girls waited for them.
But the pilots had new thrills IN
store for their passengers. in a hight
above the clouds, with the Indicator
marking 5000 feet.
in a few minutes the sun and the
earth were obscured and the machine
was lost in a rolling sea Of white. The
! landscape ceased wheeling away from
below and all sense OF motion was
gone. Although ihe airplane was
speeding at over 100 miles an hour,
it seemed idle as a painted ship upon
painted ocean," The drifting mois-
ture was flung backwards by the rush
OF air from the propeller and splashed
cody in the face OF the pilot and his
observer. 10 was distinctly refreshing
and pleasant in there.
Suddenly the pilot pointed downward
and through a rift in the bottom OF the
cloud the landscape could be seen NOV
/ ing along as before. The sense OF mo-
ton became apparent again. Other
clouds. drifting the opposite way from
| the moving panorama Of the fields,
were visible a thousand feet below.
Then the sun broke out and was re-
| nected in a CLEAN OF glory against
high. perpendicular bank Of cloud
mile away.
Pictures OF the city were made in
flight Of the Photographic plane yes
terday morning and are now being de-
veloped.
When put together, these pictures
will form a perfect map Of the city
and its environs. The public have
been invited to view the machines and
the Start OF the flights from the Ru-
pert farm at Sedgeley. The place is
easily accessible by automobile by
taking the Lancaster turnpike and
making the first turn to the right past
the Masonic Home. II is about mile
and a quarter walk from the end Of
the Fourth street car line.
Lieutenant Selff flew TO Aberdeen,
Md. yesterday to replace the part
broken on Lieutenant Whites machine
when he landed here Sunday. The
machine is now at Greenville and
probably will be put in flying shape
today. This will make four machines
in active service with the expedition.
THREE LARGE CHARTRs.
Special TO The Evening Journal.
DOVER. Aug 20-Charters filed to-
dav include: United Kola BOttlers Cor