Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-05

washington, D. c. Fsb. "A
laree commercial company for the
production Of helium has Just been
formsd with retired omcsrs Of the
I,nitsd States cir service among
its directorate. At the same time
the government u initiating . sur
yey Of the hslium resources Of the
United States. It u confidently be-
lisysd that these are very large.
and they arc the only known helium
nslds In the world.
Hslium, you know. q the non-in-
nammabis gas which II now used
in place Of hydrogen for the filling
OF dirigible balloons. A former
Hsskin letter told how helium was
made in this country during the
war. and was ready for shipment to
England to be used in = great air
raid ON Germany when the war
came to an end.
The interesting thing about be-
lium now is the fact that 1t seems
to afford the safest means Of n.y.
ing yet discovered. II helium IL
found in the quantities which ex-
pcrts believe to exist, it is quite
probable that all of US will be
safely travelling by air much sooner
than would have been possible with
only the heavier-than-air machines
to rely upon.
While believers in helium do not
underestimate the possibilities of
the airplane, they regard the helium
inflated balloon as the safest and
most practical airship, especially
for long voyages. They declare
that the dirigible can travel a much
greater distance than the airplane
without stopping for fuel, that it
affords a much smoother way to
travel the air, and with heliums sub
stituted for hydrogen, is practically
indestructible.
Heretofore the greater danger in
balloon travel has been the highly
inflammable character of hydrogen,
and this one difficulty has been SO
great as to practically eliminate the
dirigible as a common means Of
aerial transportation. A tiny spark
from the motor or fash Of light
ming has been sufficient to destroy,
in the twinkling Of an eye, an air.
ship costing hundreds of thousands
Of dollars sending the machine
with its crew and passengers crash
ing to the ground in q mass of
flames.
Airplanes are dangerous, but
compared to the hydrogen-inflated
alrship, they are as safe as cradles
in a fireproof building. Scientists
were at loss for a substitute for
hydrogen, for apparently it was the
only gas obtainable light enough
for the purpose.
The fire hazard practically elimi-
rated the dirigible from the war
program--the lighter-than-air craft
going down to ignominious defeat
before the anti-aircraft guns of the
enemy. During the hostilities the
United States lost A observation
balloons with a replacement value
reaching over "a million dollars,
and, as Major Paul Pleiss declared
in his report on helium, the loss of
observation time was incalculable.
A dirigible can carry a much
greater load than the airplane, it
being possible to construct an air
ship with lifting capacity reach
ing 100000 to 10000 pounds, while
the largest airplane ever built can
carry only about 5000 pounds.
The original discovery of helium
in America was made in a little
town called Dexter in southern
Kansas where the event Of its dis
covery was regarded rather in the
light of calamity than a blessing
by the Inhabitants of the town and
the owners sf-the well.
The men drilling for the natural
gas had been confident of securing
& supply sufficient for the house
holds and industries of the COM
munity, so the event Of opening the
well was made a holiday for the