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Show TRIALS FOR AERIAL NAVIGATION AT FORT MEYER DIRIGIBLE NO. 1 AT TOP, WHICH HAS JUST BEEN JSrCHASED FROM CAPTAIN BALDWIN BY THE GOVERNMENT. WRIGHT BROTHERS' AEROPLANE r ' BELOW. 'I Fort Meyer, June 17. Preparations are actively in progress here for the trials of the arious air cafts which are to be exhibited and tested during the month of June. The aeroplane Invented by A. M. Herring, for which the wrar department has contracted to pav $20,000, is proving a great success in its preliminary flights. The Wright brothers' aeroplane Is to be delivered nn or before June 28, before which time satisfactory tests have to bo mado. The contract' price of the latter is $25,000. The test of the Wright brothers' broth-ers' aeroplane, it is thought, can be easily compiled with, for they havo duplicated the tests many times abroad, so that the sale is practically a foregone conclusion. As soon as the two aeroplanes have been proven satisfactory satis-factory and accepted by, the government govern-ment the inventors will begin the task of teaching Lieutenant Lahm and Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Fulols of the signal corps how to operate these aerial crafts. These two officers, Uncle Sam's foremost experts ex-perts in military aeronautics, will in turn teach their brother officers. Meanwhile experiments continue here and at the other balloon station at Fort Omaha, Neb. The work at both points Is embracing flights In the new dirigible No. 1 purchased from Captain Baldwin a few months ago and ascensions In free balloons of the ordinary spherical type. One of the main objects is to familiarize the enlisted en-listed men of the balloon corps with tho inflation and handling of gas bags of all kinds. It Is most unfortunate that through the lack of confidence on the part of government officials in the ability of Wright brotners, this remarkable invention, in-vention, w'f'lh its exclusive rights, has gone to another government. Even if the United States purchases one of the airships It will not have the use of tho Wright brothers' patents or other airships air-ships from this source. Germany has secured these. Thus tho two Dayton "cranks" who In the generosity of their American manhood offered the exclusive rights, ownership and future development of their airship to the United States government a few year9 ago, weie forced to go abroad to foreign for-eign courts and the United States lost the opportunity of placing itself years in advance of any other nation In the world in aerial navigation. This is not by any means the first valuable invention' to be brought out by American genius only to be lost to the American government. The HotchW - un, Hiram Maxim now Sir If id his wonderful Maxim gun v en to England from this country aen Maxim offered the United States his rapid firing gun he was scoffed at and ignored. No one would take up his idea seriously, although al-though the Maine Yankee was known to be an inventor of remarkable ability. abil-ity. The Holland submarine is another an-other case In which American Invention Inven-tion has gone to a foreign power. The dirigible No. 1 now owned by the government is propelled by a twenty-horse-power motor and has a hag of 20,000 cubic feet. It is ninety-six ninety-six feet long and capable of carrying considerable weight in addition to the two operators. |