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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1908)
1L 4 A." V 1 66 RAVO!" yelled the Impression able Frenchmen, when Henri Faruian, in his aeroplane, heav ier than air, made a measured kilometer, turning the stakes on the grounds of the Aero Club of France, just outside ot Paris, and landed back, at the point wber lie started. He had won the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize of 60,000 francs tlO.000! This was on January 13 last. The Frenchmen shrugged their shoul ders. There was to be no more sport in aviation the final priie had been won. Why should other persons risk their lives now? Farman had turned the trick. Ev erybody else was distanced. There was no more advantage to be gained. But in a twinkling the whole aspect of things was changed. Andre and Edouard Miehelin. the French millionaires, came "forward, wrote a formal letter to the Tresldent of the- Aero Club of France and more than quintupled the Deutsch Archdeacon prize. Two hundred and sixty thousand francs for the men who can fly machines heavier than air $52,000! But best of all, the contests do not "necessarily have to be held in France. America has a good chance of "holding one or more It needs only an Aero Club of official standing to act as Judge and the contest may be held here in the Unit ed States. There are 14 Aero Clubs now In this country, any one of which is eligible. Chief of these is the Aero Club ot America, with headquarters in New York, which is associated with the International organization, and there are clubs in Bos ton, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities. The flights for distance can be held ' anywhere under the conditions Imposed by the MIchellns; all they ask is that a recognized Aero club take charge. So it won't be long before right here in this prosaic twentieth century land of ours we may be seeing aeroplanesvcurvetting through the air for the Miehelin prizes. It seems only the other day that a bicy cle was a marvel. Yesterday the automo bile was a crudity. Today both are near ing perfection and the automobile that everybody laughed at ten years ago is the swift monster of the road today. - "Who shall say?" asks M. Miohelin, "that the aeroplane that can fly a mile today may not travel a thousand miles ten years hence. At any rate, 1 expect to see It. I believe It can be done." do. when they thought the time ripe the two brothers wrote this letter to the pres ident of the Aero Club of France: "Dear Sir: Being desirous of contrib uting to 'aviation' (the science of flight), the new Industry, one more which saw the light of day in France, we take pleasure in offering you a cup and special prize which are to be bestowed upon an i apparatus heavier tnan air. "1 Tha cup will be in the shape of an object of art of not less than 10,000 franca In value. It will be endowed with the annual sum of 15,000 francs for ten years. "2 A special prize of 100,000 francs. "These prizes will be given under the following conditions: "Annual Cup Kach year before January 31 (except for the year 190S) the Aero Club will fix the programme of the contest, which will close the first of January fol lowing. It will decide the dimensions of the track, the turning points, the heights, etc., and all the conditions under which the flights will have to take place along the track, which must be a closed circle. The winner will be the flyer who, by tnidr night of December 31, will have made the greatest distance on ' the given track, either in France or in one of the countries affiliated with the Aero Club. This rec ord, to be valid, must be confirmed by the International Federation of Aero Clubs. "The distance should be, each year, double that of the previous one traversed by the winner. Tha winner of the cup for 1908 should make at least double tha distance made by Mr. Henri Farman in his latest record of January 13. This cup will be intrusted each year to the Aero Club of the country where the established, .confirmed record has been beaten by tha greatest distance. "The prize of 16,000 francs will be awarded to the victorious aeronaut. "If in any year the cup is not awarded, the Aero Club which has held it up to that time will retain it, and the 15.000 francs will be added to the same sura the following years. "The victor of the tenth year will be come the owner of the cup and a fac simile of it will be .handed over to the Aero Club of the country In which the record was made. "The trials are to be made in France under the auspices of the Aero Club of France: abroad, under the control of the Aero Club of tho country where the races are held, on condition that the club is af filiated with the Aero Club of France, and under the conditions above mentioned. "Special Prise If before January 31, 1918. a flyer, piloting his two-seated ma chine, occupied, sains this record, con firmed by the Aero Club of France: "Flying from a given place in the De partment of the Seine, or that of Seine and Olse, turning the Arch of Triumph In Paris, then around the Cathedral at Clermont-Ferrand, and settles on the summit of the Puy-de-Dome, H5S meters high, and in loss than six hours counted from the Arch of Triumph to the sum mit of the Puy-de-Dome, a prise of 100,000 francs J20.000." These then are the prizes that Amer icansor anybody else for that matter- may compete for. Farman has made his kilometer about three-fifths of a mile, only to quadruple that distance two Weeks later. And now the Wright brothers, .Wilbur N - i and Orville, of Dayton, Ohio, flying over the sand dunes near Manteo, N. C, have made a 32-mile flight or 40 times as far. Nobody knows very much about the aeroplane of these men of mystery. The reason is not hard to tind they don't want any one to know. "We want to try for the Miehelin prizes, of course," said Orville Wright, "and we are not going to let anybody get our ideas from us. Our machine Is the outcome of years of patient effort. We believe that the secret of the navi gation of Die air lies In being able to con trol constantly the gliding of a man-carrying aeroplane. Are we going to enter for the Miehelin prize? Of course we are!" One of the brothers was In control of tire machine when it made an eight mile flight at the rate of a mile a min ute, and in trying to soar over a sand dune he pushed the lever the wrong way. The aeroplane dasbed to the earth and was a complete wreck, when, If the lever had been properly worked, the apparatus would have cleared the dune Ike a bird. However, It was wrecked, and the Wrights cut the damaged aeroplane to bits rather than have any one sea how it worked. All they saved was the gas oline engine. The Wrights are the premiers today in America, and there Isn't the slight est doubt but that they have the prop er conception of a machine that can really fly. Down in North Carolina, be fore the accident, they made daily flights wnh success every time, until Wilbur Wright unwittingly touched the wrong lever. Even the denizens of the air took the thing for a huge bird, and flocks of crows and even an eagJe followed it as it whizzed through the air, 60 miles an hour. After the accident the brothers went back to Ohio, and are now build ing a new machine. In the hopes of winning the prize. If there had been an official trial, they would have won It with miles to spare already. "We are flying a little now," said Wilbur Wright, as they were taking the train. "But soon we will fly at will. It Is only a matter ot a little time when those who wish to keep an airship may do so just as automobiles are In use today. The Miehelin prize will be won easily, and it is just as likely it will be won here as abroad." Of course, the news of these prizes has stimulated everybody interested In flying machinos in this country. .The Aero Club of America has taken up the Miehelin prizes, and if some of the distance flights are not held on this side of tho Atlantic, the members will be extremely disappointed. "There isn't any reason," said Cap tain Homer W. Hedge, one of the founders and first president of the Aero Club of America, "why all the Miehelin prizes should not be tried for in this country. Our aeronauts are as good as any on the face of the globe. Farman made a measured kilometer. Right here in America the Wrights have .made eight miles at the rate of 60 miles an hour. "We are aH tremendously interested in the event, and New York aeronauts are immensely grateful to ths Messrs. Miehelin for their generosity In offer ing such splendid prizes. The Aero Club of . America Is affili ated with the Aero Club of France, and under the deed of gift we san have any or all of the distance trials here in this country under our sanc tion. Of course, the flight to the Puy-de-Dome. must be held in France. I bave no doubt, with Faxman, that this i ) . x V - & , .LcX'Xrr Si . -- I I II' II I jvIXK ' '''-yr I THE PAT OREOOXTAN. PORTLAND, JUNE 21, 1908. .vi'jsrf;; tr, r t -'-r n...s... - ...t.ry h prize will be won within the next four or five years. "Farmon's four records will easily be doubled In 1908. There are a dozen men now who can do it. Eight kilometers, about five miles, will be made, and the Miehelin prize will surely be won. And as the years pass you will see the previous year's record doubled. We will see an aeroplane make 20 miles before the end of 1909. Nothing can stop someone making 50 miles In 1910, and a thousand miles in 1911. It Is only a case of building motors, sufficiently light, that will not break down. Of course, if the dis tance keeps on doubling, we will get fantastic figures at the end of 10 Good Stories Told by and About Prominent People A Temperance Talk. . CAL CHASE, the famous first base man, was advocating teetotalism among ballplayers. He argued well, and In the midst of his argument he told a story. "Le'roy Vigors, a friend of mine," he said, "turned up to play In an ama teur game with a skate on. "When Vigors stepped up to the bat, he smiled a silly smile and said to the umpire: " 'I shee three bats an' threa balls here. What am I to hie do?" " 'Hit the middle ball,' said the um pire. "But Vigors struck out " 'Durn ye, Vigors,' said a coach, "why didn't you hit the middle ball. Ilk the umpire told you?". " 'I did,' says Vigors, with an injured air, 'only I hit It with the hlc out side bat.' " A Good Dodge. SENATOR ELKINS was congratu lated a.t a Washington dinner on his fine new yacht, the Marietta. From yachts to yachting clothes the transition was easy, and Senator El kins told a story. "An old fellow," he said, "sat in a seaside cafe. He had finished lunch eon; he was now drinking champagne. "The tun shone on the white sand, the sea sparkled, and every little while the old fellow ordered another cold half-bottle. "With the third order he eald un easily to the waiter: "'Waiter, is my nose getting red? ""Yes. sir,' the waiter answered, 'It is, sir. I'm sorry to say, sir." '"That won't do.' said the old fellow. "That won't do at all. Walter, send out and get me a yachting cap.' " If That's Society THE Rev. C. W, Gordon, of Winnipeg he is better known as Ralph Connor, tha brilliant novelist startled his broth er clergymen at a recent convention at tha Hotel Astor in New York by advocat ing the saving, of souls "right off the bat." He said that souls worked upon slowly were apt "to. go bad on one's hands." Afterward Mr. Gordon compared the honest and sincere ways of the frontier with the false and venomous ways of cer tain circles of society. He illuminated the comparison with a dialogue. "I overheard this dialogue," ha said, "at N lAMERICAZS CHANCE BEST POR WINING THE MICHELIN PRIZE years It will take a trip around the world to win the prize In 1918, But here are automobiles going around the world today, where 10 years ago they were nothing but -toys and the joke of everybody. Cannot the aeroplane be developed as fast In another 10 years? I think so. Perhaps I may be wrong, but I remember the story of the gentleman who offered to eat a locomotive wheel if it could drag a train along the track; the first steam boat was called 'Fulton's Folly." "As for the flight to the Puy-de-Dome, that will be easily accomplished within a few years. All we need Is a better, lighter motor. The distance is S50 kilometers, or about 210 miles. It a reception that I once attended in Wash ington. The speakers were two grande dames I believe that Is the word two powerful social leaders, one from Phila delphia, the other from New York. " 'Well, "said the first grande dame, "I must be off. I've got to go and see my mother." . "The second put up her lorgnette -and drawled: " 'Really at you don't mean to say you've got a mother living?" "The first grande dame laughed a high, thin laugh, with something biting, like acid, in it. "" 'Oh. yes,' she said, 'my mother Is still alive and she doesn't look a day older than you do, I assure you." " Another Food Fad. IN New York's Mexican colony they were praising at a recent dinner, Pe dro Alvarado, of Parral, who had just given $2,000,000 to the poor. "He was poor himself," said a broker. "That Is why he is now kind to the poor. A splendid fellow. Whenever I go back to Mexico I look him up. . "Alvarado likes to tell the quaint ex periences of his days of poverty.' "In Mexico City he once poinled to a bakery and said to me: " 'You see that bakery? Well, as I looked for work one morning early, I saw a tramp on hands and knees at the grat ing above the ovens. " 'A policeman appeared. He tapped with his stick the seat of the tramp's trousers. " "Here, you, move on," he said stern ly. " "That's Inhuman, mister," whined the tramp. "I'm Just inhalin' my break fast. The Credit Side W ould Tell. THE late Admiral Balch," eald a I Raleigh man, "used often to complain of the increasing cost of Na-. tional armaments. "The armaments, he would say, con tinually cried out for money, money, nothing but money. They were like the shopkeeper's son. '"When did James last write to us?" the shopkeeper asked his wife one day. " 'Dook in the cash book, tho wife replied. The Ready Chauffeur. HESE new taximeter cabs are a wonderful thing." eatd the ac tor, Henry E. D,ixey. "They cost more than in London; In London they only cost It cents a mile, iieverttieless, let CHINE , y t' t x " " S will be easy to make 40 miles an hour the Wrights have already done 60 and with a good day it ought to be done in Ave hours. The machine with (wo seats has not been used, but sev eral are in course of construction. "From what we have heard from abroad, there is a squadron of ma chines already in course of building. Here, half a dozen aeronauts are get ting to work. Here we will have the Wrights, Maxim, Baldwin and others. In France there are Farman, Dela grange, Santos-Dumont, Esnault-Pel-terle, Count de 1ft Vaulx, Lebland, Zens, Blerlot, Gasnier and a host of others. Then Ellehammer In Denmark, Schabs ky in Russia and several others In Germany and England who would stand a good chance of winning. I haven't the slightest doubt buc that each year from now on will Bee the distance doubled, according to Messrs. MIchellns' generous deed of gift, and a 1000-mile flight is not far off." The Baldwin machine, which has been flying very successfully near Hara mondsport, N. Y., piloted by Lieutenant Selfridge, U. S. A., will be entered from America. F. W. Baldwin, its Inventor, hopes to win, too. us all patronize fhera, and then New' York, like the other great cities of the world, will eventually come to have a reasonable cab service." "But we must use the cabs, if we would bring on the service." Mr. Dlxey smiled. "I saw a well-dressed man approach the chauffeur of a taximeter cab the other day and ay: " 'Can you tell me the shortest way to the ball grounds?" " 'Right Inside my cab, sir," was the ready answer. "And the well-dressed man, I was glad to see, took that short route." Heat Tears. v IVI MS. ELINOR GLYN, the brilliant au- " thor of "Three Weeks." compared TAKING A HY Is canoeing considered a dan gerous sport? There are several reasons, but the first and most important Is that the canoeist fails to keep the greater portion' of his body's weight below the riealine. Manu facturers of canoes have, to a large measure, - discarded practical lines In building, and have catered to the com fort and appearance Ideas rather than to the most approved methods. The con sequence is that the canoeist Is handi capped in these waters, and the freak caneseat in the gunwale makes of his frail and top-heavy bark a veritable shuttlecock. The best canoeists In America are the Canadians, and their canoes are very practical, though rather uncomfortable. Of course they are graceful, and, when properly and efficiently . manned, can make the best kind of time over the rivers, of that country of wide and deep streams. Canoesists are not born. They need years and years of practice before they can feel safe under all circumstances. A clear head, sharp eye and a steady nerve are necessary, and it is always found that those who begin exercising these faculties in youth have a decided advantage over persons who try to develop them later in life. Canadian children learn to paddle almost as soon as they learn to walk, and this is the reason of their perfection in the art. When you purchase a canoe see to it that you do not get a "man drowner." The market is flooded with canoes of va rious designs. The most prominent feature about many NVE ,w r , , "My machine," said he, "the 'White Wings, has struck the right principle, and as soon as we get details perfected we expect to make long flights. Shall I enter for the Miehelin prizes? Of course. And mark my word, more than one of them will be taken by Americans. We are on the right track now, and It is only a question of a good motor." J. N. Williams is another American who will enter for the prize, and so will C, Oliver Jones1, both of whom have built aeroplanes with novel features. It will be a great sight when these pioneers of flight get together somewhere in this country to fly for the Miehelin prize! Picture the great things of silk and aluminum and copper maneuvering over the plain, darting here and there at the speed of a railway train! JVIan will soon become a bird with wings and body the wings the great sails and rudders of his aeroplane; the body the motor working away hour after hour with the regularity of a bird's heart beats. Farman has already won the first Miehelin prize, flying four kilometers without touching the ground, or two and a half miles, and in less than four min utes. Next year the man-bird who wins must fly five miles. Who doubts that It will not be an easy task when the at Santa Barbara the American with the English Summer. "Here it is always fine," she said, "but your Summers In the East are cruel. Tropical countries, such as India or Ara bia, have no worse heat. "On a Summer day In New York I said to a dripping and scarlet urchin: " 'How hot you are, aren't you?' Your blouse Is wet through.' "'I can't help it," said the urchin fret fully. 'This here heat makes me cry all over.' " Explained at Last. HE late Dr. Morgan Dix," said a clergyman of New York, "had a droll way of lightening grave subjects with little humorous asides. "Once I heard him addressing a grad- CHANGE ON of them Is their apparent unseaworthi ness; their greatest fault a caneseat built across the gunwales at bow and stern. These seats are contrary to all rules of boating, for the fundamental law Is to keep your weight below the waterline. In the handling of a canoe common sense and care should be used, for canoes are very much like other small boats, and will resent "rocking" and other tom foolery by capsizing. When embarking place the foot square ly but lightly In the Center of the canoe, then, resting a hand on each gunwale, lower yourself down until yon are on your knees in the bottom. The stern man, or steerer, should embark first and get settled before his partner gets in. When two paddle In the same canoe it is called "tandem." in this case the heavier man takes the stern, so as to raise the bow a little, provided, of course, that he understands the art of steering. The bow man must .kneel In front of the first thwart and never attempt to gukie the canoe unless requested to do so by the, stern man. Both men In position, the oanoe proper ly balanced so that she Is slightly deeper in the water at the stern than at the tow, and you are ready to start on your voyage. When two are paddling tltey should try to keep in stroke, as nothing looks worse than uneven or "ragged work," and, apart from appearances, it Interferes with the steering. It is impossible to give full instructions as to the use of the single paddle In steering. There are so many little twists and, movements that the eye can hardly to Wrights already have made their eight miles? And why do the generous Michelins give the prizes? The answer is simple. They are the manufacturers of automobile tires. To reduce the weight of the auto means to lengthen the life of the tire. To achieve that result now, the automo bile engine must be made lighter in weight. "That is why we have offered the prizes," said Edouard Miehelin, in Paris, President of the Miehelin Fire Com panies. "We recognize that the aero plane will contribute to the advancement of the motor car by reducing tho weight of the engine. Today we have motors that weigh but two kilos per horsepower. Tomorrow it may be but a kilo and a half. And who shall say where It will end. "Reduce the weight of the automobile one-third and you lengthen the life of the tire by one-half." Now for the tests! It won't "he Ioiir before the aeroplane, the machine heavier than air, will be essaying flights as far as the automobile travels today. aiic iiiitL ivi ii-iiei in prize vwim won MMII- In a week after it was offered. Who gets the second? May it not be an Amer ican'.' Who knows? uatlng class at a medical school. He be gan in this way: " "Physiologists tell us, gentlemen, that the older a man grows the smaller his brain becomes. This explains why the old man knows nothing, and the young one everything.' " Tho Baseball Spirit. if HE baseball spirit is a wonderful and Impressive thing," said a New Haven barber. "New manifestations of it continually crop up. "Tad Jones, the great Yale catcher, flopped Into that red plush chair there the other day.' " 'Shave, sir?" said I. " 'No,' said he. "Throat cut. Yale lost." EVEN KEEL detect, but which Influence the direction of the canoe, that they can only be picked up by practice and experience. In the stern stroke the blade should enter the water almost perpendicularly and be brought back with a steady pull, so that it leaves the water behind the stern. If you are paddling on the right hand side of your canoe and wish to turn her to 'the left the paddle must enter th water a foot or two away from the sida and then sweep Inward, making a curve stroke that finishes behind the stern. Tho best position when alone Is "amid ship," or in the middle of the canoe. This keeps the entire keel in the water. If a man has no weight forward and kneels in the stern he raises her now clear of the water, and tho slightest head wind will make steering very difficult, if it does not spin the canoe around like a op. The rules of canoeing are: team to swim. Con't have seats built across the gun wales. Oon't sit up on the thwarts. Don't go into rough water until you un derstand the canoe. Siever overload. Always have a life preserver with you when there Is a woman aboard. Never change places with another. If It must be done, paddle ashore and change there. Don't skylark. Keep your head under all conditions. Think and act quickly. Don't wear a boiled shirt, top hat nor creases In your trousers.
