davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1922-02-22
AIR EFFORTS MUST
co ON, SAYS KAHN
Committee Head Says Those
Who Are Martyrs Would
Wish u. S. Progress.

The disaster to the Roma and apall-
ing loss Of life that ensued will be a
serious setback to development of
Extraordinarily. craft in America. be-
cause the nation is deeply stirred and
will not forget, Chairman julius Kahn
of the House military committee de-
clared today. But. he added, the Off
GERS and men who perished "are but
martyrs to the art they were engaged
n, and would not wish their country to
fall behind the progress made by the
other nations of the civilized world"
Shock to All Interested.
'The destruction Of the Roma" Rep
resentative Kahn said, with the ter
rible loss Of life. is terrible shock to
all those interested in aerial naviga-
ton. The Roma was the largest lighter
than-air craft that this country owned.
I'VE have made terrific strides in
development and use of helium gas.
This gas is non-infammable. 1t is
hoped that we will be able to secure
enough Of this substance to fill all of
our lighter-than-air machines.
While / realize that the whole
accident, feel that those who perish
ed in the destruction are but martyrs
to the cause Of aviation. The world
probably will continue air flights not
withstanding the disaster.
Must Keep Pace With Others.
1.-THE chances are that efforts will
be made to prevent a recurrence OF
such a calamity. I feel, however.
that SO long as the other nations of
the world continue experiments re-
garding flights in the air our own
country will have to keep up to the
rest of the world in that regard. The
thing is altogether too shocking at
the present time, and it will be prob
ably several years before we can get
back to a normal basis.
Il feel confident that. despite the
terrible disaster to our officers and
men, the matter of aviation will still
continue to be taken up by those OF
our officers who are in the aviation
service, in order that the United
States may be able to make progress
in the art of flying and keep abreast ss d I
BY the various civilized countries OF
the world"
Evening star., 1922-02-22
TRAGEDY DEPRlvES AIR
SERVICE OF TWO EXPERTS
Mai. Thornel1 and Capt. Mabry
Among Most Progressive Officers
in Army Aviation.

By the deaths Of Maj. John G.
Thornell and Capt. Dale Mabry in the
Roma wreck the Army air service is
deprived Of two Of its experts on
lighter-than-air craft, according to Of
ficials here.
The blow Of their deaths will be
severely felt in the personnel of the
air service since their training in the
lighter-than-air branch of the service
was accumulated only after years of
study and experience, and they cannot
be easily replaced.
Both went to Rome with the Army
detail sent to bring the Roma to
this country and were considered as
among the most progressive officers
in Army aviation.
Maj. Thornell was native OF Iowa
and was thirty-six years Of age. He
was graduated from West Point with
the class Of 1910. He served with
the 26th Infantry. as q first lieuten-
ant in 1915 and later became a cap
tain Of infantry. In January, 1918.
he became a major in the Signal
Corps and since had been actively
Identified with the Army air service:
Capt. w. w. Vautsmeier, who was
also lost. was a native OF Illinois
and a classmate OF Maj. Thornell.
He served first in the Coast Artfl-
lery Corps, receiving his commission
as captain in the spring OF 1917. A
wear later he also went into the
aviation section of the Signal Corps:
Evening star., 1922-02-22
Superstitious Airmen
Recall Involuntary
Roma Distress SIGNAL

Superstition Of the air serv-
ice was evidenced today when
officers recalled that the Roma
ON her fight to Warrington
arrived with her c0lOrs up.
ended, flying, without knowl-
edge of the crew, the signal Of
distress.
The flag halyard which kept
the color:s in an upright posi-
tion had parted and the flag
was supported only by its low
er halynrd, thereby fnvertfng
it In the signal OF distress.
1t YVES thought at the time
that possibly some d imcuIty
was being experienced in
tockeyinE the ship over the
hills near Boiling Field. but 1t
was asccrtained later that the
distress signal was being flown
involuntnrily because of the
parting of the upper halyard.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
CONTROLS FAILED,
SAYS GEN. PATRICK
No Explosion Nor Fire While
Roma Was in Air, He
Is Informed.
BOARD OPENS INQUIRY
Thorough Investigation Under
Way to Determine Real Cause
of Crash.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NORFOLK, Va. February 22.-Maj.
Gen. Mason n. Patrick, head Of the
Army Air Service. made this state
ment at the Army base today regard
ing the Roma disaster:
From the testimony I have heard
SO far it Is indicated that the accident
was due to an accident to the controls
regulating the altitude of the Roma
'The ship came down, striking high
tension electric wines, which caused
the fire. There was no explosion nor
fire while the ship was in the air.
Board Taking Testimony.
THE board Of investigation is TAX
ing testimony from all the men. and
! it's report Will be made as soon as
possible. A very thorough investiga-
ton is being made to determine. if
possible, the cause of the terrible dis
aster. which is an awful blow to the
air service.
Everything possible is being done
for the families of those who lost
their lives and for the comfort of the
I survivors of the great disaster"
Il have no idea what caused the
accident" said Capt. Walter J. Reed.
chief pilot of the ill-fated airship
Roma. in a statement given out at
, the Public Health Service Hospital
here today.
] uOuDL IL Will ever De KNOWN.
or course. We have our own theories.
! but we are not certain which is cor
rect
i knew that there was trouble with
/ the control of the ship, and it was inn
possible to correct it after it was dis
covered.
Saw Nose Dro, Down.
THE first intimation we had that
there was trouble was when We saw
the nose of the ship down. We went
back to see what caused it and found
the control was not working.
Everything possible was done to
straighten the ship and get her on an
even keel again. Capt. Mabry gave
orders to shut Off all motors. The last
four were shut off. The forward mo-
tor was running. 1t is possible that
the engineer was so thrown out of his
position that he could not see the sig
nails on his dial.
Every effort to get the Roma on an
even keel proved useless and she
pitched into the ground in a nose dive
and turned over on her side.
Thrown Into Cabin.
when the ship hit I was thrown
into the upper part of the cabin. /
hole was burned into the cabin Lieut..
, We!ch crawled out with me. Both of
US had to go through flames to get to
safety.
"Sergt. Chapman. who was also in
the cabin. cut hole in the wall and
he and Reardon "a major and pas
senger who survived the disaster)
| crawled out through that hole.
MY ha5y recollection is of being
/ thrown from one side of the cabin
to the other and of looking up the
keel where saw men forward"
Capt. Reed said that it was a plaus-
ible theory to believe, as had been
suggested, that the kite box hung
down at the tail of the Roma SO heavily
IS to displace the balance and point
the ship into the nose dive.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
TRAGEDY CREATES
AST|R IN LONDON
Papers Print Long Accounts
and Compare Details With
Those of R.38.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, February 22.-News Of
the destruction of the United States
Army dirigible Roma is the feature
in London morning newspapers.
which print long accounts Of the
tragedy and pictures of the airship
Similarity of the details with those
Of the destruction Of the R-3S, at Hull
last summer is widely remarked. The
Times says that while in the Hull
tragedy the people of the United
States and Great Britain Joined in
a common SORROW
This time the blow has fallen on
America alone. but England feels
with her and for her today no less
than she did when her own sons were
numbered among the dead"
Regarding the investigation of the
R-3S disaster. it Is understood that
the question of publication Of the
air ministry's report depends upon
the admiralty. to whom 1t must be re-
ferred. The report has also been COM
municated to the United States gov
ernment, as the latter's representa-
tives were associated in the investi-
cation.
Evening star., 1922-02-22

after the big ship hit said. "Our rud-
der broke and the planes did not
work. So far as I could see, there
was no fire until we hit the ground"
Col. p. NJ Quincy, commandant of
the Army base, who witnessed the
fall of the Roma, bears out this state
ment. He said he did not see any
fire until after the big gas bag had
landed on the ground.
AS the Roma neared the scene OF
the disaster it was apparent that she
was in trouble, other officers at the
base say. The big rudders seemed to
be working badly and the crew was
desperately throwing off ballast
Their efforts to put the big airship on
an even keel succeeded for only a
minnie or two, as the ship again tilt
ed and began plunging toward the
earth, narrowly missing the smoke
stack Of the base power plant, but
failed to clear the network OF high
voltage electric wires which covered
the spot where the Roma was de-
stroyed Two sharp explosions were
heard before the firemen began fight
ing the flames, but 1t Is believed these
We're caused by gasoline in the fuel
tanks.
After the mass Of wreckage had been
sufficiently cooled of to permit search
Of the debris derricks began clearing
away the heavy parts Of the framework
and the removal of the dead was begun
Felt Ship Tilt Up.
Albert Sloras, who was in the OBJ
servers pit on top Of the bag, said: Il
feit tle ship tilt up from the -ack and
start to slide down. tried to go back
down inside, but then decided to come
out forward again. BY that time we
hit the ground. and was thrown out
on the ground" Sloras was burned
about the hands and is suffering from
shock.
Maj. ]. D. Reardon. who was in the
control cabin at the time of the accident,
said that the work of the officers in
charge was excellent Lieut.. Burt and
Capt. Mabry were at their wheels" the
major said, "the ship gave a duck and
1 saw Lieut.. Burt pull with all his
might on the elevation lever. He yelled
out, She won't respond" and then, Cut
the motors!' One by one heard the
motors shut off and then we struck. II
the motors had not been shut of we
would have hit the ground much harder. '
Evening star., 1922-02-22
$500. 600 TO OPERATE
HELHUM GAS PLANT
TURNED DOWN
CONTINUED from First Page:l

Army and Navy, each paying on the
talf-and- half basis. The former plant;
IL was asserted, is the main plant ana
the latter the experime ntal plant.
owing to the shortage OF the appro-
priation it was necessary to close the
plant on November 80 last, after nve
months operation. and after 1t It had nad
turned out approximately 2.00o.00O
cubic feet of the product. This Is
little more than enough to fill an en-
velope the size of the Roma, 1t was
said.
to close makes the production OF the
gas more expensive. Representative
Ianham explained, as the employees
scatter, and it is expensive to get
them together again. At the same
time, he asserted, the helium is pass,
ing through with the natural gas and
can never be recovered.
IL the helium is to be recovered so
that all lighter-than-air craft can be
filled, the plant must be operated con-
tinuously. He pointed out that it
would take four months operation to
get enough of the product to fill the
Roma alone, and a longer time to NIL
the envelope such as the ZR-2 carried.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
Roma Third Big Airship Lost
In Mishap in Past Is Months

The dirigible Roma. which blew up
yesterday over Hampton roads. was
the third big airship to be destroyed
in a spectacular mishap in the last
thirteen months.
On August "a, 1921, the ZR-2. built
by the British for purchase by the
United States at a cost Of $4,000. 900.
exploded over Hull, England. killing
forty-two. including sixteen Amer
leans.
On January 1. 1921. the RIA. which
flew from England to Long Island
and back in the summer of 1919. the
first >airship to cross the Atlantic,
was wrecked in gale while tethered
outside her airdrome in Howden, Eng
land,
est number killed in an airship ac-
cident in peace times was twenty
eight, the toll of the explosion of the
German Zeppelin LIZ over the
Johannisthal aerodrome on october
Some of the other airship accidents
Evening star., 1922-02-22

in which heavy losses of life occurred
follow:
July 81. 1s1s-Ten lost when diri-
gible exploded at Chicago and fell in
flames into the Illinois Trust and
Savings Bank.
July 2. 1912-Five killed at Atlantic
City when balloon Akron. in which
Melvin Vaniman hoped to cross the
Atlantic, exploded shortly after leav-
ing the ground.
September 9, 1913-Fifteen lost in
destruction of Zeppelin LII of Hell
July IS, 1s1s-Twelve lost when
British airship NS-11 fell into North
sea after being struck by lightning.
June 20. 1914-Nine lost in col
lision of airship and airplane at
Vienna,
Six Of the great peace-t time diri-
eibles built by Count Zeppelin. the
German aviator,'were wrecked in ac-
cidents. They were Zeppelins 1, II.
Ill and vi, and Deutschlands l and
IL.
The Germans lost sixty-six of the
eighty-three dirigibles sent out dur
ing the war, thirly-four of them be-
ing accounted for by the allies. and
the remaining thirty-two wrecked.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
EXPLODED IN AIR.
oficer Says Contact With Wire
Caused Blast.

NEWPORT NEWS. Va. February
22.-Lieut: Burt. who rushed, back to
Langley Field yesterday despite seri-
ous Injuries sustained when the Roma
fell. stated that in his opinion the ac-
cident was caused by q high tension
The ship was doing nicely until she
waa forced to come down. There was
no fire until she hit the ground. The
The hight OF the Roma was the first
.official rest Of the ship using Liberty
motors instead 80 Of those Of Italian
make. =, 5 =. .,-... p = ..sf -
Evening star., 1922-02-22
ROMA'S FATAL FLIGHT
FIRST WITH LIBERTYS
Dance Had Been Given Monday In
: Celebration Of Trip With
All-American Equipment.

HAMPTON, Va. February 22.-The
Roma's flight yesterday was the first
she had taken since the installation OF
Liberty motors in place Of the Italian
engines which were in the immense
airship when she was purchased by
the United States Army from the
government of Italy. It was a mo-
ment of anticipation when the great
dirigible rose from in front of her
hangar in Langley Field. On Mon
day night there had been a dance,
given in honor Of the. regular crew
Of the Roma, in celebration of her
fight with all American equipment,
which was to be embarked upon as
soon as weather conditions permitted.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
HAD ONE NARROW ESCAPE.
Can't. Watts, Lost If Roma Wreck,
In Thrilling Descent Last Spring.

Capt George D. Watts OF Missis.
The Roma yesterday, thought he had
lost his "hoodoo" last spring, during
observation work in a captive balloon
at Ross Field, Calf.
He had a narrow escape at that
time from death or serious injury when
the cable securing the captive bal
loon to the earth parted while at an
altitude of several thousand feet:
The gas valves on the captive bal
loon were Immediately opened by
Capt. watts, but this action could not
have been taken in sufi,cient time to
Soaring skyward to an altitude ot
apsroximstely @ 5000 feet feet When snsT,nt II
9ran, na1 rsSI sida to. side and listing It q
precarious angle. the opening Of the
valve and the escape. Of the gas al
lowed 1t to descend.
The descent was 50 speedy that At
a height of 1000 feet Capt. Watts
realized the impossnio,,t+fs nsn nt+ ~ OF = nae s.e
chute.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
1haed Bodies Taken From Ruins of Wrecked Army DgibLe Roma
MESSAGE OF SYMPATHY
TO FORMER COMRADES
COMES FROM FRENCHMAN

Col. C. de F. Chandler, u. s. A.,
retired. who was In charge of
balloon service in France during
the war. today received the fol-
lowing dispatch from Col. Berard,
the French officer assigned with
the American balloon forces in
France, in regard to the wreck of
the Roma yesterday.
Am deeply moved by the terrible
lstrophe. My sympathy to
American aeronautic comrades.
Signed. Berard"
The cable was from Paris, where
Col. Berard II now vice president
Of a bank.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
LIVED IN WASHINGTON.
McNair, Roma Survivor, Employed
at Bureau Of Standards.

Walter A. McNair. twenty-one
years old, one of the survivors of
the Roma disaster. resided in WASH
ington for more than a year past.
He has been employed at the bureau
Of standards, in the airplane instru-
ment department, and was at Lang
ley Field for q week previous to
yesterday, working on a test for a
recording instrument.
He is a native of Houghton, Mich,
and the son of President F. H. Nc
Nair Of Michigan College Of Mines.
No relatives live here.
During his stay here. young Nc
Nair lived with L. J. Briggs, at 320S
Newark street
Evening star., 1922-02-22
EXPECTED TO MOVE.
Roma Was Scheduled to Go to Scott
Field.

BELLVILLE. ILL.,. February 22.-
Col. G. C. Hall. commander of the fly
ing field at Scott Field, near here.
said the Roma had been scheduled to
arrive at Scott Field in the near fu-
ture. A hangar costing $1,0o0.000 is
under construction at Scott Field.
Col. Hall added he had flown the
Roma on its trial trip from Langley
Field to Washington, D. c., two
months ago and believed the aircraft
at that time to be perfectly safe.
Construction of the hangar has
been under way for several months
The large building, designed to house
smaller dirigibles in addition to the
Roma, Is to be completed about Aug
ust 4 next
Evening star., 1922-02-22
BODIES OF VICTIMS
I. HORRIBLY BURNED
Identification of Charred and
BIackened Remains Will
Be Difficult. =
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEWPORT NEWS. Va. February ~.
"A stream of ambulances poured into
this city last night with bodies that
had been taken from the ill-fated
airship Roma, queen of the American
air fleet.
It was apparent at once that
ultimate Identification Of the bodies
will be virtually impossible, for many
of them were so horribly mangled and
disfigured as to make them utterly
unrecognizable. Many were lacking
arms and legs, some were headleSS,
others torn and burned so terribly
that extreme care had to be taken in
handling them.
Parachute Jumper Crushed.
Many people went from here to the
Army base during the afternoon to
view the ruins and witnessed the
finding of many bodies, some of them
taken out while the great ship was
still burning. Describing their ex-
periences, some Of the witnesses
affected so that they had to choke
back sobs, declared the scene to have
been one of the greatest horror:
Soldiers and officers at the Army base
who witnessed the disaster saw sew
eral members of the crew leap from
the doomed machine while 1t was still
high in the air. One Of these who
jumped had a parachute, but 1t failed
to open. He landed on a concrete
pavement and was crushed.
In the local morgue the thirty-four
bodies sheeted on the tables attracted
many, among whom were a smatter-
ing of Army officers and men, seek
ing to identify their comrades. 1den-
tification in most cases was impos-
sible.
Like Death Masks.
These masks of men for the most
part lay encrusted within a charcoal
shell of blaokened flesh, like ehigies,
caught in a moment of transfigura-
ton. Burned, though they were. 1t
was evident that death had come to
them instantaneously. One body. the
long 1.-the one of an athlete, lay on
its cot with one leg upraised. The
trappings of a parachute hung in
threads of burnt rags to the shoul-
ders, yet the features. with their hol-
low eyes, their relaxed cheeks. their
erimly set mouth, suggested strange
ly those few authentic death masks
Of Napoleon, which may be seen In
copies in two or three American mu-
seums and universities.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
RITES FOR A. t. CHENEY
Services Will Be Held at McKendee
Church Tomorrow.

7. Rites for Albert Loren Cheney, who
died suddenly at his home. 1875 sth
street northwest early Monday morn
ing, will be held from McKendree
Methodist Episcopal Church tomorrow
afternoon at o'clock. Mr.. Cheney was
formerly chief Of the personal tax
office and was well known in this city.
For a time he was editor Of the Oyster
Bay. Pilot and counted the late Theo-
dore- Roosevelt. among his friends.
Later he published q volume on his
Personal Memoirs" Of the late former
President.
Mr. Cheney 10 survived by his wife
and two daughters, Mrs. r. 8. Clinton
Of Washington and Miss Mabel G.
Chsney az New Yoek city. and g sis
to. Mr.. May ~ Clne1go 8 WAt1ss
bur4 Coo2, ss :
Evening star., 1922-02-22
new GAS BAG SOUGHT
FOR lLL-FATED ROMA
BY ARMY AIR SERVICE

Arrangements for the purchase
of a new. envelope for the Roma
were suddenly halted today fol-
lowing the accident, and steps will
be taken tomorrow for the can
collation. Of the contract, which an
Italian firm was expected to exc
cute.
The Army air service, 1t Is
understood, decided some time ago
upon the purchase Of a new gas
bags for the semi-rigid dirigible,
and had gone 20 far. a9 to make
The pyelimjnary moves for q cons
kaaSH1tAzAo sItsHs1 dEuls
Evening star., 1922-02-22
FIVE CIVILIANS KILLED.
Dayton Men From Mccook Field
Lose Lives.

DAYTON, Ohio, February 22.-of-
ficials OF McCook Field received word
of the death of ave Dayton men In
the accident yesterday afternoon
which resulted in the destruction OF
the giant dirigible Roma. The men
were civilian employees in the Army
engineering depot maintained here.
The men previously reported piss-
ing and now reported dead are w: w.
Stryker. engine expert; Robert Han
son, William OLaughlin. Thomas
Hartman and Charles W. Schulen-
berger, airplane mechanics sent to
Langley Field to install the Liberty
motors in use when the ship capsized
and fell.
Charles Dworack, superintendent
of airplane assembly at McCook Field.
and Raymond Hurley, mechanic,
escaped with only minor injuries.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
SEA SCHOOL GIVEN UP.
Many Trained Sailors Found t
Be Out Of Employment.

The project for establishment Of a
nautical school on the Atlantic coast
for training former service men for
the American merchant marine has
been Indefinitely postponed. the Vet
erans Bureau announced today.
Investigation has disclosed. officials
said. that SO many trained seamen
are now out OF employment that it
would not be advisable at this time
to train former service men for the
merchant service with but slight
possibility of their finding berths on
| leaving the government institution.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
STATIONED At OMAHA.
Mai. John d. Reardon Was Listed
as Washington Man.

Mai John D.. Reardon. whose ad-
dress was given by the Army air
service as of this city, it was learned
today, had been out of Washington
at Omaha Neb., until January OF this
year, when he went to Langley Field
He was continuously at Langley Field
from that time until the day Of the
disaster. -.-
Evening star., 1922-02-22
WEIGH CRACK PILOT.
Survivor Of Roma An Air Expert
in Several Lines.

First Lieut.. Clarence R. Welch of
Papillion, Neb.. who was among the
survivors Of the airship. is recognized
as Sne of the crack pilots of the
Army. He is first-class captive
balloon man also and an expert with
planes.
He was taking q course OF study
In lighter-than-air craft and was in
the Roma taking part Of his course.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
HELPED PACK ROMA.
Maj. Thornell One Of Three whe
Went to italy,

DEs MONIES, Iowa, February "a
Maj. John q. Thornell. Roma disaster
victim. was the son of District Judge
A. B. Thornel of Fremont county.
He was one of. three United States
Army officers who went to italy to
supervise the packing of the ship
when it was purchased by the United
States in 1920.
Evening star., 1922-02-22
oUARTERMAsTER SMOKER OFF

The smoker Of the officers Of the
Ouartermaster Corps Of the Army.
which was to have been held tonight
at the Army and Navy Club. has been
indefinitely postponed, owing to the
accident to the Army airshfp Roma.