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Show S Five Thousand Entered in Pip-con Derby T" V'..TiHS of airplanes Who ropcalVed I the notion of numan flights from the ' - elnr crow and Ihe carrier pigeon are. In spite of r i: their great skill able to do honor to the letter for the splendid reliability nhown as a carrier for these men of renins realize that apart from the airplane air-plane there Is as yet r.o swifter messenger of the air. At the big homlnir plueon Derby to be pin next month In St Iouls It Is expected that the blrdr will record a speed of a I least a mile a minute Great Interest Is Ik inc shown In this race by plgeorr fanciers all o er thl country and Europe Relplum. There, i 'mcr rsrlng amounts to a national SKrt. srttl have represent ntlveo nt Si LaOUtl to wltnee the all 1av race on September 2" F"h e thonsnnd birds have Iwen an tared foi Ibis rnoe. and are now busily engagcl In maklnc dallv trial flights, each day ln-creaslnc ln-creaslnc by a few miles their fUlnir recoi d or the actual race these fleet little messengers mes-sengers win he released in nairs from : nt vl'laees and towns within a 500 mile radius of St Louis This hlg number of towns cmer. a representation of twenty-four 8ttrs and from these towns and States the rarer will carry messaaes tucked under their tiny wings, and made secure by a bit of sallntr wax. from the Mavor or other local official to the Governor of Missouri. These messages wilt be received by Gov. Gainer, who will act with others In Judc-lng Judc-lng the race and awarding the prlres. He will be assisted In this by Frank V L idM I resident of the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers, and by officers of the p.geon division of the United 8ta:es Siirnnl Corps, who likewise are show-lng show-lng a keen Interest In the race. In fact, their cooperation to the Mg Derby Is being given In manv ways For InMan.-e hue work of draining. In the dally triT, Rights, tho army r.cru.tlng stations within a few hundred miles of St Eouls are assisting assist-ing greatly by releasing the pigeons for their homeward flltht at the precise hour. The war suddenly brought the pigeon to the front again as a messenger of the first rank and transformed pigeon flvlng from a sport Into an Important branch of the army service Pigeon enthusiasts tiellew tha: the hip race will do much to sustain the enthusiasm In the Fnlted States for pigeon flylnK that wae. roused by the par' pigeons played as "runner" in the A. E F. OJNccrs o' the Uplted Slates Army ir. loud .n praise of the part the little feathered mesjengers played In the world war Tb' Signal Corps pigeon section had more than 12.000 birds and numbered twenty officers and 542 enlisted men. In the St. Mlhlel drive 57 American birds were used Of Ihe 202 used In tank work 24 were killed In action. In the Argonno cffi nslve 442 birds were, used and 403 Important Im-portant meesairei delivered During the St. Louis Derhy officers of tho pigeon division of the Signal Corps will exhibit ex-hibit several of the hero birds that saw service In France and nave been cited for bravery and awarded Dlsl Incuished Service Ser-vice Cross. Amrng these will lw Preatdeht Wilson." who reached his loft on the french frorw with an Important messase after having hav-ing hie right leg shot off by a German aniper. "The Mocker." another veteran of tho wcrld war. will also attend tho St. Louis Derby. Tho Mocker" Is perhaps the most famous of all the hero birds. It was he that on the Reaumont front September. 1518. reached the rear with a mesejRe giving giv-ing the location of advancing German ba-terles. ba-terles. This Inforrmtlon enabled American artillerymen to silence the enemy guns In twenty mlnctee. This little hero returned to his loft covered with blood, with ne eye shot awav "Spike." ar other hero bird that will r-. among tno distinguished guests at the big racv. has the record ot having carried fiftv -two war messages. He cm out of ihe war unsc&thed. Many of the pedlgreej birds who will take part In the race are from this sort of stock-They stock-They were all bred and are now lodged In the great loft built expressly for this purpose pur-pose by the Cnited Drug Company at t. Louis. The pigeon Derby will reprvent a feature of tl annua convention of eight thousand druggist. |