Show I d 1 i j c C j I i 1 Q cu Facts ez- ez 2 1 ti iL B Bk l f. I v vb r. r b k r. r I t f C I 1 i i J t r t r. r iJ I J iZ q Z 1 J Jf 1 f t h J. J r. r iE l Zt e IT J. J V Y r. r h lI J. J J t 3 1 r titI o hh J tt t ti r x Z i 1 ih 01 OCi OCil l t r t r r r s y f t q t. t iLl s t i t fl t t rt A f r L. L S r r ati r 4 t y ti tir t- t t r i J M t ix ixtA T t r 1 Ir s ti J i iY Y J ta f r S 75 k e. e dru sr S' S r i J r i tS-ft tS Nf A L. L V s t f S r it Lr j n f y 1 r r 1 71 iJ t r f 1 sC I t- t r a ra i ir 1 r. r 4 C r 4 x PEG l r- r 1 t J 3 n Lv 1 r a S a v t t a S ff r fk J r r T. T LZ a a t ti f S jL 1 1 ro tt u a f j 1 a a ta r v y yV V 1 r i tt k i r F L. L W r r S w Aa a. a I. I rr f tc J. J I c f vLy t l v t b tf 1 i rl f U. U i t rj- rj fj ti f r f- f j Il t 9 C tI k 1 i f f J IO IOli v r t i t- t u ar a a r t ro v r r W ie S Y Jr r I t I f i. i t y M r J rn 4 t- t i 1 to- to f It v I e t p a JIo fK i I ilP lre J You Toe can con hardly imagine a more a t I prosaic alc spot on the face of ot the earth earn h t. t J than Ninth avenue a Just above e Twenty Twenty- 1 r third street In New York Tort cH city Fore l INt Nt I I most and above nil all else there is that l hideous structure which on the elc at elevated ed I thunder r by casting gloom ore r u Il p pin shoot straat rOc below Mingled H iho ot thu Iron monsters p ov nrc arc the the ci riles clIf los of or the UlC spawns jr rn ns of oC smudgy half etl rt U chIld children chil chIl- d dren ref ho litter the thoroughfare underneath un- un and the unholy I ot or the driving drivers ns and und motormen on who are aio forever lighting fighting valiantly with their lCJ And out of or the thc curiously curious ap- ap 4 s a medley of 1 t. t t unsettling g smells Among A 1 these these hese t R lh there IC IH Is nono untie morn more unto unto- t r. than the tho low r t tin on which ln I found a n little J. J sign cohl gold lettered j A. A LEO STEVENS VENS MANUFACTURER OF OP ti BALLOONS rh The Tho sign was sand sandwiched among amont I r. r several sQ others Indicating that besides r. r the balloon factory there was everything everything every every- j thing tiring in the place from a n piano hospital hOi hos I pital to a brass foundry I dont doni know just l exactly what I expected but in ii some manner aerial navigation had hall associated In my mind a certain degree of cleanliness and idyllic sur sur- L l. l The balloon I Is on the very ry topmost floor You climb a 0 dingy ding m I rough he set ot of stairs and breathe dust and peeling Finally Final you lon walk walle directly into a long narrow S low Jow loft loll where oti fUi you see c in the picture picture pic plc- ture litre there arc are heaps and anel heaps of or yellow and an 1 while cloths cloth and baskets els elsI J I I an and roP N rigging and ami numerous mechanic mechanical me me- i. i al In instruments that your mind 3 loe nt nl I oom In n all at once I 1 came up on a n bright afternoon A mandros man dros dressed le ted d simply in m a blue cotton und undershirt undershirt under under- l'- l' shirt and anel iti pe perspiration ph pourIng pour pour- trig Ing coin his Glee face ao was swiss industriously r working working- over what seemed to be te a n at athin thin oilskin III such uch as us sailors sailors' w weather athel t coats are made of spread out nut on nn the floor Off OfT to one one side sat a 0 woman working at a n sewing P machine 1 asked foe Mr Stevens me As An I did 1 so 0 I had an Intuitive l sense serum that the worl workman man was an and I was not surprised when n he hC introduced himself is a n shouldered broad muscular mus mus- cular ular undersized man II lie has a broad i high curving ing forehead NUl Indicating th lir combination of or Imagination and antI practicability 1 lf together with an un executive C ability t that he nerds needs ne ds In hr his business for he is the foremost t swoons in this 4 I country countr lie Is IN on only I 31 years year old but buthe he ho has hns gone Aone to the Uw elf U clouds S in ships ever over since he has been 13 He is the man who vho constructed the first dirigible Itle hanon balloon bal ha- f. f loon Joon non In this country which ho sailed In lit a n test with Santos Dumont in 1902 at Manhattan Beach If you ou can remember re remember re- re member your our newspaper rca reading so 80 far hack buck as that you ou will recall that a 11 man named Boise ol M sailed the Santos Du mont machine and that Ht Stevens ens created creat treat ed cd an intense sensation by h sailing over oyer overS I S I s nd under and all aJl around tho the French Frenchi v i aeronaut so 80 arousing his Ire by ty his c ln skill that the Brazilian per per- permitted lr several se ebullitions of himself anger that cost him the toleration coloration ot or the New W Yorkers and sent him back t to France Franc with a ver very sorry orry story stor to Sr tell toll the Parl lans about his reception In New ew York Stevens Ste vetis in n physiognomy and general genera t bears u a striking l' l re resemblance re- re bodily geography raph 5 semblance to Napoleon apoleon I J. J His Ills dark arl eyes e are arc set deep-set and satisfactorily separated well curved nose nom ed ul by a n keen strong r Ills Ilia mouth I 1 is sta-al sta straight ht nn and thin lipped clenched firm firmly I Ills His Jaw Is strong and and his voice has a vibrant liu But nul quickness and authoritative e snap of or ot attribute r he lacks s tho the Napoleonic tS 11 He is 11 ver very patient much and amI cr very courteous I was ca very s r pleased Ile ased ase with hi lit Ills personality balloon that had He lie was mending a Just come in from out nut In the country is only somewhere for tor r repairs There Th ro United in the balloon factory slue one there is something nR unless t States and S S radically wrong with the tho con 5 h s ms It makes the tho balloonist who owns 1 ro f. f 1 i. i I lr V.- V. J I f 1 1 i J G. G 1 1 I repairs himself The The- rigging in ht this balloon balloon had IU been torn lorn and tho the en n- n Jlee needed c a new now covering co of ot rub rub- ber and tarnish In the couise sc of our oui on Stevens told lold ol me that In hIs hla there thore was no such lIch h it word wOld ord as Impossible Impo bl Ho said that he had never ne yet ct found tho the noc that he co could not not- no r r ant anti and In n 11 machine him patiently working among heft maze maxo or smelt sInn ropes Ing ng carefully but nn and deftly I rear readily lly saw sa Why here thlE was nas no nD sue such h word as impossible In his vocabulary Ihn man Inan's to capacity Cor tor Infinite attention to minute detail detail IS 18 ti I called caned on him several coral times llanos later ater In gathering the material for tor or this article and oven even as rue late Into aa as I a qUarter o of midnight I found him working among hl his hili riggings an and I knew know that he ht had hall been Leen at It ever since carl early morning morning- Association with ith him Is stimulating Naturally most of the balloons shipped out of or this factory are mad for tot aeronauts at country countr fairs and for advertising ad purposes These are the staples of Stevens Stevens' business On his Income from front this source he depend to lo I make his experiments in aerial navigation rm He lie turns out I something like j 5 balloons a year for such usIe uses us He Ie sells these balloons balloon f for I an t avi-t- age uge g price of each The They are matt math of ot a material similar to percale which Is varnished he with a 0 mixture usually usual compo composed ell of or linseed oil varnish an and l rubber These balloons are idled with hot alt air and have ha none of f the safety appliances of ot th the passenger balloons I did ltd not understand exactly exactly ex ex- what hot air all was so I asked Mr 11 Stevens If you are a as Ignorant as 11 I Ivas Iwas Iwas was vas it ma may interest you to know lenow that It t Is nothing more nor less than the lice heat ical emanating from any kind of lim c built under the deflated balloon This is as u you ou know knots from your oui experiment l with the Fourth o of July paper balloons bal- bal loons has an power Wit i all the heat ha has been caught up In the bull bulky y envelope It rises ilses an anIt andt and It t continues to float In the all ale until tin till neat float turns into smoke The rhe aeronaut with an experience intuitively know Km this change is about to on II I and just before th the heat heal turns into smoke and the balloon consequently consequent u collapses the aeronaut pulls pUlis a 0 little tackle ackle which is Cl llY attached to lu a penknife which cuts the trapeze n in which he sits nits from the dangerous balloon baloon bal- bal loon oon and anti down he ht sails on his para pura- ch chute U At alt t balloon ascensions 1 had often oaten witnessed th the aeronaut what hal t set scented to me to be the limit u or of human luman in performing trapeze acts while sailing through the theair air lIe He would swing frown from his hits unCanny I perch on one fOOL foot and chin the ba band bar and nd turn cartwheels wail until 1 sick ick with r apprehension I 1 would turn away ay 1 i asked Mi Mr 11 Stevens about this He lie said sold that these aerial performers are aie always nl- nl al always ways secured seemed so that they cannot full fall Th They Y arc are fastened to the trapeze b by a u abelt brit belt which Is three feet feel long Most aeronauts work for someone who controls controls con con- an un entire company compan of balloonists On the lust Fourth of or J July Iy ly Stevens had hall 40 men and balloons Jut Ul working woi king allover all allover over o the United States The balloonist t gets 21 i for each n ascension and all his expenses are arc paid Th The man who ho 5 sends him hint out gets for fot tho the service and IB lIS obliged to furnish furnIsh furnIsh furn furn- ish the balloon and tUlu all aU the accessories As a professional lonal Stevens made his first ascent when ho Ito was 14 years old and tend that time he says ays the man h he worked for received as UIS much a as 2600 for ono one ascension while out of that he ho would pay Imy him or 01 OO An And he lie hema ma made as many 01 as five ascensions In one week But nut the money vas os easy come com and ea easy go and the balloon- balloon mal maker el says ys that he would woul wind up yio season Just JUlit as poor as he was when he started and he would go back tack to his home in Cleveland 0 O where his father owned an amusement park which was then known as park and later was known as Forest City CUy There he would got ot a a. position as shipping clerk in some mercantile establishment until tho the winter r months wore over I Tho The manner in which he became a balloonist Is 19 amusing nail and exciting As Asa a boy he loved to tinker cr around machinery ma rna- chinery He Ito was eminently One day his teacher gave him an Ap- Ap Appleton's ploton's ploton h Childrens Children's Library volume which narrated the a adventures of ot two children who In some manner got into H. H f b i k s r sI I i S r nr H- H 0 5 ti 17 l' l r e. e r d w wr jJ jJ ri r aZ Tco 1 iY r rf n-c n A- A t. 7 H l. I 1 W i i II f t y bi c r r. r i rt G 4 4 r rA z f r A vY a 2 C rp f Lr C a R Kh a t t rF 1 Y v. v 4 a balloon and were borno borne awa away When they were sailing In the empyrean blue they did not know what to do I Eventually however as always happens hap hap- polls pens in all childrens children's stories of ot well- well regulated morals they came to earth safe and sound ROund In limb and body But Dut the moral was wa that thul they had not been teen self possessed for tor It if they th y had they lh I would ha have v. v remembered that someone had once explained to them thom that thal to lower the balloon all ull the they had to lo do was to pull puB a small rope ropo which all the had dangled danged In their reach Stev Stevens ns thought that the children were very silly illy not to have discovered the th rope for themselves th ms os l and the story generally streaking speaking aroused his contempt contempt contempt con con- tempt but it set et his mind to running upon Ion aerial navigation though naturally naturally naturally nat nat- that phrase was not In his vocabulary vocabulary vo YO- i at this time The fact tact that a balloon could be made to rise or sink at will was a revelation to him and tho the Idea of tra traversing ersing the air all as easily i as he sailed tile tIte water with his boat tired fired his imagination Ho He determined to become an air sailor and In all seriousness he broached the subject to his father Ironically the paterfamilias Informed him that he had no objection objection objection tion at all that it If he lie over ever managed to find his boat tout to Lo sail san away in ho Ito would be glad Iad to see soe him oft off There came to the Uw park about this time a L man mon named Warden Varden from Crom London London London Lon Lon- don who was advertised to make an ascension with his balloon Young Stevens zealously cultivated the theT T rf 1 y r J t i J i l o 7 t 1 aeronauts aeronaut's friendship and helped him work about his balloon thug thui thu learning a a. great man many things n it The following Sunday Sunday- he lw a announced to his lather father that he lie was wing going to tomake tomake mal make a trip In inthe tho balloon H s father r thinking it vas wo- but the Idle boastfulness boastful boastful- ness of a n year 13 13 y ar old boy told him to toSo togo togo go So right ahu In fact he ht urged UI Fed him to do O so Piqued by his bathers bather's sarcasm the youngster stcl picked up his fathers father's jacl knife Jack Watching until he saw sow that thero was no ono one aroUn around the huge bag hag lie lw stole up the hill oil oft which it was anchored He clambered e into the car and leaned over o and cut the rope which hold it down on n ea earth th Ina In Ina a second he lie shot hot up into Inlo tho the nir J Ir with witha a n. rapidity that bereft him him of His lilS wits Shutting his eyes tight he crouched in ina ina a 0 corner of the he t. t e car clenching th time the e open knife Jack-knife in his hand How v long longhe longhe I he remained th there re he himself does docs not l know now ly however his native spunk cameo camo back taek an and ho he stood upright upright upright up up- right In tho rho car cur He lie loo looked e around aroundhim him hint and wv W strange terror filling masses of clouds When he lie gazed d below below be be- low he could only onh faintly distinguish clumps of ot blackness q and streaks of or something shimmering And as ho he g gazed ho he received a newt newl fright He seemed to be going on higher and higher The earth was rapidly fading from his sl sight ht He says dear old T i Mother other Earth ne Cr so 80 good td Id- him as 1 at t that moment H Ha that the time had como comp some somo tall and quick thinking and ancl ho did ld It Hi Ho lie was v 1 i fir 1 Z 1 v jl f t 1 1 i. i a ar t f r. r 4 1 11 M h F ir r yi t mortally afraid that he lie might sail right up to tho the moon While the prospect pros pros- prospect had its Us allurements aU ho d didn't nl know how long Ions it might take to get got there and he felt that ho he might ml starve en cri route So Sn he wondered how ho homi mi might ht get down Suddenly tho the stor story of Library burst burgt on his mind He re- re the rope rOIe that the rho children not have sense enough to pull Ho looked up and amI behold there dangled dangle a away way beyond his reach a small piece of oC rope lope He lIe determined mined d that the only way to get that rope lope was to clamber up UT th the side of or the car into the rigging r ras as far tar as he could get set an and pull It I down Up he went and finally he reached It To Tu his fearsome astonishment astonish astonish- astonishment ment a part pt ot or time the balloon that seemed to be |