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.