Sioux County pioneer., 1922-03-09
NEWS REv|ElN0F
CURREN EVENTS
Airship Roma, Bought in Italy, Is
Destroyed With Loss of ....
Thirty-Four Lives.
PROBABLY WAS DETECTIVE ! !: I 4 ! !:
Senate Resevationists Busy with the,
Four-Power. Treaty-Movemen to >
Postpone Soldiers Bonus Leg
lslation-lrish Factions In ).
Three Months, Truce.
By EDWARD W. PlckARp /

BY EDWARD w. PlckARD ai5sss,
THIRTY-FOUR more lives have been
L sacrificed to Americas infatuation
for foreign-built airships. If we must
have these craft is it not about time
we relied on our own designers and
constructors for them? Unless the In.
formation available at this writing Is
misleading the disaster that befell the
Roma near Hampton Roads last week
will be found to be, in its causes, COM
parable to that Of the ZR-2 in Eng
land last August. In both cases, ap.
parently, there were vital defects In
construction of which the builders
were cognizant. ,.s
So far as investigation has revealed,
the fall of the Roma was due to the
breaking of the controls that regulat-
ed the altitude of the airship. Despite
the heroic efforts of her navigators and
the frantic casting overheard of all
ballast by the crew, the huge balloon
plunged downward from a height OF
about 400 feet. AS she crashed against
the ground she broke some high ten
sion electric wires and at the same
moment the big gasoline tanks burst.
In the resulting explosion and fire
most of the victims met mercifully
instant death. Even If the Roma had
not struck the wires, say army air ser.
vice officials, the men, caught under the
vessels gas bag and steel frame would
have burned to death, for the gasoline
from the broken tanks would have III.
nited from the engines. This fact may
avert possible blame for the using Of
ordinary field gas in the Roma instead
Of the noninflammable helium gas, de-
veloped by the air service. AL the
helium in the country. was in the Ro-
mas bag when she was given a trial
trip late in December, but as this was
wanted for contemplated long tour
over the country next summer, it was
drawn out and the ordinary gas sub.
stituted. z
Il Although General Mitchell, head Of
the United States afr service, now in
Berlin, says the Roma was perfect,
there is reason to believe that he is
mistaken. Last summer, Kenneth Z.
Roberts witnessed a demons stratioR
flight of the balloon in Italy shortly
after she had been sold TO Alnerlca,
and he wrote for the Saturday Eve
ming -Post a story of that flight lin
@Ficfshe brought out these points !:
Yhat HE gas bags were old nd
leaky,H that the Italians wanted a calm
day for the trip; that they refused to
sail the ship over Mount vesuvius, ap-
pareptlys fearing the heat of the era
ter, that they preferred sailing oyer
the ocean, the air being more quiet
there; that the ship reared, bucked.
jumped, and was buffeted about like
feather In cycl6ne; that the ship
had tendency to nose downward .at
a high rate Of speed
It may beathis new disaster will le-
suit in the canceilationof the order
for Zeppelin for America to be built
in Germany. General Mitchell says
this craft is not under way, because
of the numerous difficulties between
America, the entente and Germany.
These difficulties center on whether
America shall get the latest type Or