davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1938-05-08

"The Leesburg Genius of Liberty will
please copy the above notice" Evil
IDENTIFY the laugh was on the Mayor.
THE Chain Bridge which was re-
moved last Autumn. and which is
now a matter of history. was first
opened to the public in 1874. At this
time several accounts Of the bridge
were printed in the local newspapers,
and the one here quoted is from a
clipping from morning paper dated
April l, 1874:
THE completion Of the new and
substantial bridge over the Little Falls
of the Potomac, affording as it does
easy communication between this Dis
trict and the numerous thriving vii
iages Of Loudoun, Fairfax and other
counties Of Virginia, must be source
Of qualification to every one interested
in the progress and prosperity of the
people. The great industries of this
rich section of the Old Dominion State
have long suffered for the want Of
such convenience. Lengthy marches
over wretched roads had to be accom-
plished and heavy tolls paid before
the products could be placed in de-
sired markets, entailed trouble and
expense to both purchaser and seller.
'Al this Is now happily changed,
and II the people on the other side of
the Potomac are only true to their own
interests and encourage Immediately
the formation Of good roads and the
prosecution of the improvements, they
may rely upon a rapidly increased
community, the advancement of in
dustrial energies and the development
of all the attributes and resources
with which Nature has endowed their
soil. Hundreds of people visited the
new bridge last Sunday and to Judge
from the interest and satisfaction
manifested on all sides, the compile
ton of the work must be regarded as
Of the most vital importance to a large
proportion of the inhabitants of the
upper portions Of the District and their
neighbors across the water.
Evening star., 1938-05-08

which the term chain bridge was
derived.
This bridge was destroyed by Ice
and driftwood, which lodged against
the chains and piers. The bridge has
been continually repaired up to the
time Of the construction Of the pres
ent one. The long stretch of rocky
flats, nearly 500 yards in width. be-
tween this channel and the canal, on
the District side, is seldom covered
with water except in times of freshets
Immediately below the Little Falls the
depth of water is over 80 feet, and
continues very deep until the Aque-
duct Bridge is reached So disastrous
hitherto have the floods been to the
bridges here that Gen. Babcock has
taken the precaution in this instance
Of having all the old piers raised 2
feet additional, thus giving more ele-
Evening star., 1938-05-08

Although anoxemia Is sudden death
only at sub-stratosphere levels. it is
a mental hazard much lower. Before
the days of flying, these mental
troubles did not cause much difficulty.
But for the strains of plotting plane
they are the worst peril at present
known.
Back in the Gamma again. Pilot
Tomlinson swallows several times and
then appears to be listening atten-
lively.
He is trying to shake on another of
the unknowns Of the sub-stratosphere
pressure. The swallowing clears his
ears Of q deafened feeling.
He begins to look annoyed. For hs
= getting OF the radio beam. what
Evening star., 1938-05-08

The results came out at 1854 per
cent faster. the reality almost match
ing predictions. The 500 horsepower
in the sub-stratosphere drove the
Gamma 225 miles an hour, where at
sea level it gave 165 miles.
The anoxem1a and pressure dangers
will be solved for passengers by use
of pressure cabins. The United States
Army Air Corps already has developed
such cabins that carry their own
atmospheres.
Boeing is now building the first
commercial pressure cabin planes to
fly at 10000 feet with atmospheres
the equivalent Of only 5000 feet.
These planes are building for 7. w. A.
and Pan.Ameriean.
Evening star., 1938-05-08

think might be done in 10 or II days
during the present mild weather. 80
Since the above was set in type we
have been informed that the woodwork
Of the Chain Bridge Is safely moored
up against the Long Bridge, which
will greatly facilitate the repair of
the former bridge. 1t is said that
there Is enough logs and lumber
lodged against the Long Bridge to
make 100 cords of wood. The poor
of the neighborhood are busily en-
gagged in securing it."
This must have been heavy storm,
since it took three or four weeks be-
fore the water fell low enough to
admit of a thorough examination of
the original abutment, which was
condemned as being beyond repair
and, as the paper states. q different
kind OF bridge was proposed"
A RATHER unusual thing about
the loss of this particular bridge
its that the Mayor of Georgetown
ordered it examined by experts late
in January. a little more than q
month before 1t collapsed. and had
the results published in the Advocate
Of February 8, as follors:
MAYORS OFFICE,
Georgetown, 4th Feb. 1870.
'Mr Editor-For the information
Of the public, you will please publish
the report Of the very respectable me-
chanics that I engaged to examine
the Chain Bridge at. the Little Falls
Of the Potomac.
Respectfully.
JOHN COX. Mayor"
"Georgetown. January 31st, 1910.
THE subscribers appointed by the
mayor to view and examine the
Chain Bridge at the Little Falls, and
to report on the condition it now is in,
certify that we have carefully viewed
and examined same. and find it to
be In good order, perfectly safe for
all manner Of travelling over it.
JOHN MYERS.
SAMPSON SIMMS.
Evening star., 1938-05-08

is happening would be dangerous,
except that Tomlinson has expert
enced 1t several times before and Is on
guard.
In the changing atmospheric pres
sure his ears have become sharply
more sensitive to sound. AS q result
the radio beam sounds as il it were
increasing when actually it is fading.
Several times before he has completely
misinterpreted radio signals for this
reason.
Speed, one Of the reasons for sub
stratosphere flying, the Gamma has
definitely demonstrated. Her horse
power Is 500. With 1t, scientists calcu-
lated shs should dy % per cent faster
ct $1,000 test than at ~ lsvel.
Evening star., 1938-05-08

just as do their paleface brethren Of
today, and they also found excel
lent hunting hereabout, and more or
less security from unfriendly and
hostile Indian tribes. The women in
this locality did all the gardening, for
this type of work was deemed be-
meath the dignity Of these aborigines.
THE Chain Bridge and its surround
ings also played an important part
: the Civil War. At first the Dis
trict bridges crossing the Potomac into
Virginia were guarded on their re-
spective sides by the Union and the
Confederate pickets, but when Vir-
ginia, by a narrow margin, voted to
secede, May %. 1861. both sides Of
the Long Bridges the Aqueduct Bridge
Evening star., 1938-05-08

vation and affording more room for
the ice and driftWood.
I'm 1872 Congress appropriated
100000 for rebuilding the Chain
Bridge. from which appropriation the
work has been done"
OF course. as will be seen, this item
Is not without errors, but generally it
is worth while and interesting.
A THE February meeting Of the
Association of the Oldest In
habitants, in 1906, it was stated by
John r. Mahoney, still member of
this organization. that his GRANDPA
ther, Lemuel Shore, constructed the
first Chain Bridge.
The site of this bridge and the ad-
jacent country is of early historic sig
Evening star., 1938-05-08

made where the clouds were not con-
tinuous. There were four layers. One,
1000 to 5000 feet; two, 5000 to 10 900:
three, 10000 to 19,50O; four, at $4,000
feet.
The Gamma on this fight verifes
the existence Of another weather force.
This IS high-velocity winds below the
stratosphere, but above the area Of
storm conditions. Best estimates
place them at $50 miles an hour Of
more.
Blind in the clouds, deaf In the
static, with winds Of unknown speed
and the plane flying 60 miles an hour
faster than at sea level because Of the
rarified air. the Gamma wants to
make stop at Dayton, Ohio.
Tomlinson starts down when over
Indianapolis. Otherwise he fears to
overshoot Dayton, far ahead in an
other State. Dayton is finally found
by spiralling downward, until at 5000
feet the radio beam can be heard
again.
At this ltitude Capt. Armstrong and
Tomlinson are more alert in their
movements. There is no more slow
motion. For now they are miles below
the thing that retarded their move
ments, anoxemia.
THREE oxygen bottles in the Gam
mas cabin tell the anoxemia story.
One is liquid, for long flight: the other
two gaseous, for short hops and emer-
gencies.
Complete loss Of oxygen, at 10000
feet, causes great mental and physical
inetnciency in 80 to 60 seconds, Tom
linson says. In q minute to q minute
and a half it produces unconscious
ness.
But even If the acknowledgement
wants moderate. pilot and crew do
not escape. They are left for about 30
minutes in q state Of mental con-
fusion.
Riskiest fact of all IS lack of warn
ing. No one In the Gamma could
know, except by watching gauges.
Capt. Armstrong, who has made all
the tests in his laboratory at Wright
Field, says:
Oxygen want Is Like alcohol. The
worse OF ous y, the better hs feels"
Evening star., 1938-05-08
WHEN CHAIN BRIDGE WAS NEW
Early Indian Hunting and Fishing Grounds Were Features This
Part of Potomac-Many Bridges Destroyed by Flood
Waters of Stream-War Defenses

spans the river, during certain times
Of the year.
In the winter of l840, still another
Of the many Falls bridges emulated its
predecessors by going down to Davy
Jones locker. and the writer was for
tunate enough to find this disaster
recorded in the Georgetown Advocate
of February l3 Of that year, which
follows in part:
The Freshet-T'he great and un-
precedented flow of water from the
head waters of the Potomac appears
to have nearly subsided. and at low
water yesterday the ends of our dam
Evening star., 1938-05-08

the long run, fully reward those who
have been inconvenienced by the tenn
porary and necessary closing Of this
indispensable approach to the Capital,
and the chances are that it will be
many years before another bridge is
deemed necessary to take the place of
this one, for there Is substantially no
comparison between this bridge and
Its many predecessors. some of which
were merely toys in size and stability
to the present modern structure, which
will probably be thrown open to the
public some time next month.
The history of this site for bridge
purposes runs back at least to 1871,
when we find the Legislature of Mary
land Incorporating the Georgetown
Bridge Co. for the purpose of erecting
q toll bridge at the Little Falls of
the Potomac River, and four years
later the same body gave this COM
pany authority to construct a road
from the bridge to Georgetown, which
was to become "a public highway
forever and kept in repair by said
company"
THERE seems no certainty in just
what year the first bridge was
erected, but there appears to have
been one on this site some time prior
to 1897, and that 1t was a wooden
roofed-in structure which, in seven
years, collapsed from natural decay.
Soon after this another bridge was
erected. but this one was swept away
in six months time by a freshet Of
unusual proportions.
From the first the bridge was gen.
orally called the Little Falls Bridge or
Falls Bridge. and Mrs. William Thorn
ton, in her diary, comes to our rescue
with some facts as to dates, when on
February II, 1900, in referring to some
friends, she makes this entry: They
had been in the morning to see the
bridge at the Little Falls of Potomak." )"
And further supporting references as
to dates appear in the National Intelli-
gencer of April 81, 1904, and March
16. 1908.
The hrst bridge constructed here In
such q manner to justify the use of the
name Chain Bridge" was the one
erected In 1908, and this one was sup
ported entirely by iron chains, and it
remained standing until November "a,
1910, when 1t, too, was destroyed by
flood waters. Later Congress author
tied the company to make q new as
sessinent upon the stockholders to re-
build the bridge and keep the same in
repair, together with the road leading
thereto from Georgetown. The bridge
and road were constructed by the same
company, chargeable upon and to be
kept in repair by the same company
for the use of the public.
Following this, in 1892, the bridge
was taken down by the bridge company
ION account Of the great accumulation
Of ice in the river and the breaking of
the same against the. bridge" How
ever, the. bridge was soon replaced by
. more substantial one. But that must
have been q severe winter, for Mr..
Jackson, in his Chronicles of George
town." says that persons who went
fishing the following May or June
could always find . lump Of ice to put
IN q bucket Of water. -.
Evening star., 1938-05-08

aged wharves could be distinctly seen,
but few Of which are not greatly
injured.
THE Chain Bridge has. we under
stand, been entirely swept away, the
water on Tuesday being level with the
top Of the abutments. We hope that
the mayor and corporation will not
allow one moment Of time to be lost
in repairing the bridge. which we
Evening star., 1938-05-08
Experiment by Pn(
FhyS1c1an.

in the cloudless blue sky. They were
invisible, made of transparent stuff
But they were immense. counterparts
Of the sea serpent Of sailing days.
Tomlinson and Armstrong, in this
flight Of the Gamma. are up at those
heights, and are looking for real
monsters. The names are known.
anoxemia, pressure, weather, speed.
Misunderstanding names. But each
Of them with deadly powers at that
height and one of them anoxemia-
oxygen-want-the most insidious death
known to science.
Tomlinson and Armstrong, doing
this research, are helping make pos
sible victory Of man over Nature in the
higher attitudes. Within 60 days
transports with sealed cabins, carrying
their own atmosphere with adequate
oxygen for passengers and crew, will
be tested.
New York-to-Los Angeles schedules
Of 10 hours, miles above the earth, will
be made possible.
ON THIS flight, as the Gamma
speeds eastward, she uncovers one
Of the unknowns. This is the height
Of storm clouds that blanket the
United States on this winter day from
the Mississippi River to the Atlantic
seaboard.
This flight" Tomlinson writes in
report to the American Association
for the Advancement Of Science" COM
pletely altered my opinion, shared by
many others, that storm clouds
thunder-heads excepteO did not ex-
tend above 10000 feet.
In all probability the top Of the
storm extended to approximately 40,-
900 feet"
But above 10000 feet in this cloud,
which is as big as quarter Of the
United States; the air Is smooth as
glass" for flying.
A 40.000-fot-high cloud, Tomlinson
concludes, is no handicap for sub
stratosphere flying, provided the radio
antenna Is shielded from static.
For in this cloud there is no radio
at all, only roaring static. It may be
due to particles Of ice.
The Gamma first uncovers this new
phase Of radio deafness In the climb to
10000 feet. The start Of the climb WAS
Evening star., 1938-05-08
"MR. THEODORE B. SAMO was
AvA the enpineeA in charge Of the

Mn. AnEOL"1nG d. oAMO was
A the engineer in charge of the
work and the contractors for building
the bridge were Messrs. Clark, Reeves
& Co.. Phoenixville Works, near Phila-
delphia. At the point where this
bridge is built the channel is quite
deep. the bottom rocky and uneven,
the current swift and running close to
the Virginia shore. There have been
several bridges on this site. and on
each successive one being built, the
defects in the plans and construction
of the former ones have been avoided.
The first bridge erected on this site
was constructed about 40 years ago,
which was an iron suspension bridge,
supported by immense cable chains
stretching from pier to pier, from
Evening star., 1938-05-08

another bridge was erected, and this
one, said to be more substantial
structure, was built "out of the $780,
600 given to the town by Congress"
but. like all Of its predecessors. this
one also succumbed to the powerful
flow of water that races like mad down
the steep Potomac. and which seems
to converge and center all its strength
and fury at point where this bridge
Evening star., 1938-05-08
IN 1888 CONGRESS made an appr

IN 1888 CONGRESS made an appro-
priation sufficient to enable the cor
poration of Georgetown to purchase
the stock in the bridge and make for
ever free bridge over the Little Falls
of the Potomac River" and also pro-
vided for free turnpike road to the
District line and to the Virginia side of
the river.
The bridge that replaced the one
removed in 1882. was built Of timber,
and was supported by immense cable
chains, stretching from pier to pier,
and thus again the name Chain
Bridge" was justified. However, still
Evening star., 1938-05-08
By John Clagetf Proctor.

TT WILL not be long now before
the so-called Chain Bridge is
again opened up to traffic, and,
4 undoubtedly, great will be the re-
joicing among the people on the Dis
trict and Virginia sides of the Po-
tomac River who depend 50 greatly
upon this particular highway. and
who have, as we know, been so greatly
inconvenienced since the bridge was
closed some time last summer.
However. whatever the inconvenience
has been. the new bridge will surely, in
Evening star., 1938-05-08
BY HO,vard W. Blakeslee.

w ~ DsSS" "OCtOOS
Associated Press Science Editor.
NJ hot d. W. ToM1NsoN peers
- through the window Of the
Gamma. Six miles down,
straight underneath, should
be Kirksville, Kans. There is too
much haze to see.
The short, square-built airman turns
from the window and leans back in
his seat 50 slowly his motion is hardly
perceptible.
With the same studied. slow-motion
he raises his hand and points to his
ear phones.
Beside him. tall bulky Capt. H. q.
Armstrong, M. D., Of tn" United
States Medical Corps, looks at the
pointing finger. Armstrong mods With
the same slow tempo.
The pointing hand and the nod
that Tomlinson's ear phones have
come into the cone Of silence that in
dicates they are directly over Kirks-
vile.
The Gamma continues eastward.
She is the experimental stratosphere
plane Of T. w. A. Pilot and physician
are up in her in q new adventure in
science.
Planes have flown as high, and
higher, before. But they were going
places The Gamma is looking for the
unknowns: staying up until her crew
finds them; the unknowns of the sub
stratosphere.
When the Wrights were Just be-
ginning to fly. there was . hction
story about monsters that hide high up
Evening star., 1938-05-08
~FLIGHT SURGEON TESTS HUMAN DESERTS
Mans Battle With ghAlude Dangers Being Fought With
Experiment by Pilot and

Editors note: The "Anoremia
Deserts" of the stratosphere, where
a dozen breaths uould make man
unconscious, hdue been conquered
for passenger flying. In the Gam
ma. flying laboratory. s to 8
miles aboDe earth, medical and test
pilots hare made the cabin, engine
and speed tests that resulted in
new stratoliners, iDhich are expect
ed In a te1o months to break all
records for fast passenger trapel by
flying through the "high deserts"
Here Is a revealing and interesting
story about the little knopn e1.
perfments.)
Evening star., 1938-05-08

(See PROCTOR, Page C-0.)
Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-27
SHELBY REFINERY
PROJECT MOVING
ALONG STEADILY

Steady progress in the arrange
ments looking toward the construc-
ton of a modern refinery at Shell
by by Producers Refining Co. was
reported this week by J. w. John
son, agent for this enterprise, in re-
Spouse to inquiry.
"All arrangements are being
completed and are gradually NOV
ing along" he said. mo obstacles
which cannot be overcome have been
encountered but we have a mass OF
details which take longer than we
had expected. Summer vacations
have 1ntereferred somewhat with
our progress but we have now COM
pleted compilation of all Of the nee
essary financial statements of mem
bers of the organization, as requir-
ed. There is no reason why the 9TH
er details should not move more
swiftly"
Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-27
kelvin LEASES
Being BOUGHT AT
BARGAIN PRICES

Several oil properties in Kelvin
Sunburst field have changed hands
in recent weeks, marking the
availability of bargains growing out
of the curtailment of production in
this pool.
James A. Crabtree Of Standpoint,
Idaho, has purchased for $4,000 a
half section of proven oil land in
the central field, in VIZ Sec. 3d.
35-2W, including four producing
oil wells and two gas wells, from
NJ. F. Thompson and Aurel ]. Abell
The consideration for the lease was
$13,500 and $4,000 was paid for
the tanks, nipeline, casing, pumps
and other equipment, including the
natural gas business these wells
supplying certain customers in Oil
mont. This property was in litiga-
ton for several years and has
changed hands several times. Most
recently it was held by Bryant
Brothers.
Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-27
WALTER BENNETT
PASSES SUDDENLY

News of the sudden passing Of
Walter Bennett, former Great Falls
attorney, was received this week
by R. P. Jackson, secretary of the
Oil Conservation Board of Mon
tana. Bennett passed away at
Mccoy, Ore, where he was INSISTING
with friends, last Saturday night.
He was So years OF age and his
home was at Culver City. He was
register of the Great Falls land Of
flee from 1922 to 1926 and engag-
ed in this practice of law for II
years previous to that time. Later
he was connected with the prohibit
ton enforcement branch Of the
treasury department and he was
credited with much of the work
which resulted in the indictment of
AL Capone. He retired from the SER
vice in 1888. with partial disability.
He visited Montana last summer to
inspect his oil investments consist
ing chiefly of royalties.
Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-27
PLAN WILDCAT
TEST 10 NILES
EAST OF COUTTS

LETHBRIDGE, Francis P.
Byrne, president Of Anglo-Canadian
Development Co, and H. p. Milner,
president of the Canadian Western
Natural Gas Co.. passed through
the city Wednesday morning enroute
to Great Falls.
1t is learned on trustworthy au-
thority that AngloICanadian will
put down at test well 10 miles east
OF Coutts. Large gas-bearing struc-
lures have been found east of
Coutts on the Canadian side of he
great Sweet Grass arch. Range Oil
& Gas is now completing a well on
the old Rogers structure
One thousand gallons of acid
were used in treating the Imperial
Oxland well, seven miles south of
Lethbridge, and the well is now on
test.
Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-27
ALBERTA ExTOLS
PROBATION VALUE

Canadian people are being edu-
Gated on the virtues of proration, as
evidenced by a news article in the
Wainwright. Alta, paper under the
heading. 'sOil PROBATION Benefits
Consumers"
PROBATION regulation in the Tur-
ner Valley oil field IS benefit to
consomers apart from its desirable
ity in the interest of sharing the
market.
1t is a physical fact that If wells
are run wide open, 1t is not possible
to make as large a recovery of oil
as if they were held down. Natur-
ally the consumer is interested in
having a continuous supply of oil
at low prices.
If for instance the wells in Tur-
ner Valley were to run wide open
the temperature in the oil bearing
rock would rapidly decline. 1t is
another geological fact that there
is a lot of wax in Turner Valley
oil. In the process of cooling it
would CONCEAL and block the tiny
rock pores through which the oil
oozes to the foot of the well.
Once this happened, great guam
titles of oil would be placed for
ever beyond recovery. Heavy econo-
mic losses would follow for both
producers and consumers.