Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1925, Page 61

e Air Development Already Achieved Promises Transportation Marvels THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, United States Has Had Important Place in Recent Advances, Both From Standpoint of Science and in the Establishing of Records. BY LIEUT. COL. C. DE F. CHANDLER, U. S. A, Retired. ISTORY records the dreams of people in ancient civilizations who hoped for the ability to y imitate the flight of birds. That era of _visions and legendary aviators has been replaced reality, accompanied by such progress in the new art that i flight or polar explor ants front-page space these n war days was five Ocean in flight and years ago the barrier w first by an airplane, a both directions by Finally we have been the circumnavigation of earth by three airplanes. i appropriate time to re- nt status of aeronauti- sent, particularly in the with _comment on the n of improvement in ar future for this comparatively ans of locomotion. It is onl e first_successful air- e flight was made by the Wright that vely efficlent forms of have contributed resent stage of civili- process is far from here remains much between peoples will, be reduced acilities for inter- this way, aerial nost worthy mission cial importance. hips have already speed, but not d the travel- afety and comparison transport asons for re 1y nunication. In port has side ¢ ding thei in the defic soon be eliminated. 1, the aerial highway spot on the rth with- right of way the ter- e provided. airplanes have pped in their account of the involved in en- n r unavoidable in ich a new industr Mechanical im- tinue to be produced contributing in some 4 safety and flight ef- , but the qu ty production type of aircraft has been handic e research, development period passes showing will be far more Statistics prove a con- in the safety of air- ; to the unremitting engineers. The use ad of hydrogen for air- d” the principal lighter-than-air craft. demonstration era of aerial transport has rived 15 the of the air mail vice for 1923. More than one and a million mil were flown, carry- 1 excess of 63,000,000 letters, this T 1t being only 83 per cent than perfect performance of the es. During a test of several t Augu letters were ex- 1ged between New York and San ancisco averaging 8 hours, where- the normal period for mail by train is, at best, four days. * X Xk X X the early days of aviation the few manufacturers could il afford to put the results of research and xperiments that had been costly to em. Such information was regarded ytrade secrets. Frequent accidents enfl loss of lives emphasized the neces- for more extensive scientific re- arch on the problem of flight, by a vernment agency that would dis- e autha ative information of to airplane and engine de- nited States, and all the lead- 1tions of the earth as well, have led i utions for aeronautical ) that purpose in this onal advisory commit- was created by act March 3, 1915. Progress at first, on account of lack nental facllities, but each | year has brought forth | uable aeronautical contribu- t of which are distributed form of printed technical re- New problems are constantly presented for solution, and ad- engineering data are lssued | to time on the older sub- One of the acts of the national ad-| - committee for aeronautics that | s the general public was the| n of an improved nomenclature THE BARLING BOMBING PLAN! SIX E! g OF THE ARMY AIR SERVICE. THIS GREAT FLYING MACHINE HAS ‘WHICH TOTAL 2,400 HORSEPOWER. Ofticial U. 8. Army Air Service Photo. local clubs or socletfes for interchange of ideas and promotion of aerial con- tests and exhibitions. In the United States the organization of : began in 1906. Soon thereafter a demand for an association of wider scope to conduct national aeronautical contests and represent this country in an international association known as the Federation Aeronautique In- ternational. The role was fulfilled suc- cessfully for many years by the Aero Club of America, but finally internal dissensions In the club went so far as to carry the differences into the courts. | The result was loss of public confl dence that finally ended the usefulness | of the Aero Club of America. The exploits of the air forces during the World War, involving the training of many thousands of balloon and air- plane pllots, greatly stimulated pop- | ular interest in aeronautics. Shortly | after the armistice certain kindly and | public-spirited citizens, anxlous to do | something for the flyers returning from France, organized the American | Flylng Club, with headquarters in| New York City. It served a useful | purpose at that time by extending| fraternal and cordlal greetings to air- | men. When that need passed, the | Amerfcan Flying Club was consoli- | dated with the Aero Club of America, but unfortunately that merger oc- curred about the time of the dissen- slons and damaging publicity. Howard E. Coffin and others who | had tried to save the Aero Club of | America some three years ago con 1 cluded that the loss of popular confi- | dence could not be overcome succ fully. They determinc1 to withdraw from the Aero Club « America, with its seemingly endles legal entangle- ments, and to orgar ze a new asso- ciation. Accordingly the Natfonal Aeronautic Association was formed at a convention of delegates from almost every State in thé Union, assembled at Detroft in October, 1922." The inter- national body promptly transferred its representation to the new association. As the membership continues to in- crease, local chapters are organized in_varfous cities of the United States. This national association not only sanctions and supervises all aero- nautical contests but accomplishes a most useful purpose in arousing and maintaining popular Interest in aero- nautics. More than any other person, Mr. Coffin should be credited with the uccessful establishment of the asso- ciation. P ERONAUTICS in the United States is fortunate in having its claims to public interest presented by several excellent periodicals issued weekly and monthly, all of which are published without Government sub- sidy, as is the case in some European countries. Another organization deserving of | special “mention is the Aeronautical | Chamber of Commerce. It is a mem. | ber of the Chamber of Commerce of | the United States and composed of | manufactures and dealers in aircraft | tics. For example, the e” was con-| dirigible " Sim- ensed into ¢ on” has become * “seaplane” has entirely super S expression *hydro-aero. t is remarkable how qu has bee United States reason 1 throughout the Americans hi 1d of the achievements of this Gov- nment institution, because of ible contributions to the data and rature of aeronautical engineering. he direct result shown in lives ved and extraordinary increases in formance efliciency of aircraft. is natural t persons who are 1 the progress and develon- aeronautics should organize is sted t of AIRSZIP | progre: and accessories, as well as engineers. The book published yearly by this ganization is looked upon as a ible contribution to aeronautical lit erature, by setting forth the annual| Progress in_the evolution of air- planes is best illustrated by a compari- son of the latest flight performances with those of even 15 years ago. For example, the Wright airplane of 1909 had a maximum speed of 42 miles an hour and an engine of 25 horsepower. The world record for maximum speed is now held by a French pilot who is credited with 278 miles an hour. Large airplanes now have engines totaling 2,400 horsepower. ifteen vears ago airplanes did not venture much over 200 feet in altitude; | original | without | of the element hydrogen. | heated air. the latest record attained by French pilot Callizo is 39,586 feet. When Orville Wright remained in flight for a few minutes over one hour it was hailed as a remarkable perform- ance, but now the record exceeds 37 hours. An Army airplane has carried a useful load of over 3 tons to an altitude of 1 mile. These are only the most important performance records. Out of T4 recog- nized world records for airplanes and seaplanes, American pilots hold 46; French, and Itallan, 8. There is one discordant note in the aircraft situation of this country. It is the complaint of airplane manufac- the | turers regarding thelr precarious ex- istence, due to tion orde; scarcity of construc Ppevious to our declars tion of war against Germany in 191 there were less than a half-dozen man ufacturers of alrplanes in the United States, each with a very small fac- tory. The demands for war purposes caused enormous expansion of these tories and the establish- ment of many additional firms. While all of these manufacturers have re. duced their plants somewhat since the war, the aggregate is far greater than the industry requires. Engineering research and develop- ment of improved types of airplanes has continued with most creditable results, but at a very great cost, and | the quantity production to warrant the aggregate of factory facilities being maintained. Following the popular custom, the aircraft man- ufacturers blame their difficulties’ on the Government and its methods, while economic conditions continue to embarrass and terminate the exist- ence of some of these firms. The commercial employment of alr- planes for carrylng passengers over regular airways has been developed extensively in Europe, through gen- erous subsidles granted by several governments. In the United States, the long-standing sentiment against Government subsidies does not permit | of similar development, although qur wide expanse of territory is more favorable to alr transport than in ny European eountry except Russia. The resulting prosperity of aircraft manufacturers in Europe, particularly in France, adds materially to the dis- couragement of American manufac- turers of airplanes. The outstanding achievement of air transportation in the United States is the air malil now successtully operating at night. * ok ok ok ‘HE dirigible balloon type of air- craft, more conveniently desig- nated as airship, has had far more gradual development than the air- plane. Nearly 150+ years ago the first balloon ascended by applying the nat ural phenomenon that hot airislighter in weight than colder air. Soon-there after chemists discovered the value It was tried for balloon ascensions and found to be much more effective than the Since then hydrogen has continued in use for inflating balloons | and airships to the present time. No particular inspiration was re quired to think of adding motive pow- er to a balloon so that it might be steered In any desired direction. That was first accomplished in a very crude way by manually operated cars or| paddles. The next experiment uti-| lized a small steam engine (Giffard,| 1852), although recognized as very | dangerous with fire so near the hy- drogen gas bag, besides the prohibi- tive weight. Torty years ago Capts. Renard and Krebs of the French army eliminated the fire hazard by providing an elec- tric motor propulsion, using batteries, but the weight carried was too great| .| American-built rigid airships ROUTES OF THE WORLD, SHOWING CHICAGO AS THE FRACTICABLE CEN to warrant further experiments with the electric power system. It was the production of gasoline en- gines to supply the automobile de- mand, toward the beginning of the present century, that really made aerial navigation practicable. In France special gasoline engines were first attached to elongated gas bags by the famous Brazilian aeronaut, Santos-Dumont. The development at his personal expense progressed to the point of proving practicability, after which the French government under- took the construction of larger and more efficient airships of the non-rigid type. In the year 1900 Count Zeppelin, in Germany, produced the first of the rigid-frame airships. Fallure of the first types was discouraging, but there was no lack of confidence, with de- termination to succeed, and each new design showed satisfactory improve- ment over the preceding type. In all, the Zeppelin Co. constructed 125 of those leviathans of the air, finally producing highly efficient air- ships, one of which made a continuous voyage during the war over Africa and return, making 0 miles in four days, and carrying 20 tons of muni- tions. These rigid-type airships are from 600 to 700 feet in length and nearly 90 feet in height. England and America are the rivals of Germany in the rigid airship com petition, although Germany still main- tains the lead in size and flight per- formance. The French confined their attention to the smaller, non-rigid type of airship. The Itallans developed a semi-rigid airship and are still devoted to that type. As the name implies, it is a com- promise between the non-rigid gas bags, where the shape is maintained solely by the pressure of the gas, and the German invention of the com- plete metal frame. Italy is the only nation that has taken much interest in the semi-rigid airship, although the United States now has one sample under construction, the size being somewhat larger than is customary for non-rigid airships. The British utllized many of the non-rigid airships during the war, and in addition thereto, shortly before the armistice, they commenced construc- tion of a few rigid-type airships, one of which, known as the R-34, crossed ll;;sAllnnt!c Ocean both ways in July, 1919. The United States lagged far behind in airship development. bought a small non-rigid airship in 1808. It was constructed by Capt. Tom Baldwin and propelled by the first four-cylinder gasoline motor made by Glenn Curtiss. About that period there were similar airships used for commercial exhibition pur- poses in this country. It was not until the United States declared war against Germany that we began a creditable interest in airship develop- ment. During 1917-18 the United States Navy constructed a number of the small airships, primarily for the pur. pose of searching for enemy sub- marines and mines. At the same time an engineering study of the rigid-type airship was begpn, and resulted a few vears later in the excellent American built airship, Shenandoah. The first flight was made in August, 1923, but the most important voyage was that “one wild night.” as the writers des- ignated the thrilling encounter with a gale that tore the ship away from its moorings at Lakehurst, N. J., in January of this year. The stanchness of the construction, together with skill of the navigating personnel, brought the Shenandoah back to the hangar in spite of a seri- ously damaged bow. Whatever the cost’ for repairs, the expenditure fs well worth the price by proving be- yond question the structural safety of when inflated with hellum gas. * ok ok % THE mooring tower for airships was developed by the British as a necessity during the war, but it also will play a most important part in commercial applications of _airship transportation hereafter. Without mooring towers each rigid airship re- quires a large and expensive hangar for shelter and several hundred men to hold and maneuver it when it de- scends at {ts landing fleld. Strong winds made airship landings difficult and often caused damage to the en- gine cars suspended below the hull. Military airship stations are usually provided with plenty of soldiers for maneuvering ships out and in hangars, but for strictly commercial service the cost for ground personnel would be prohibitive. Hydrogen gas is highly inflammable and directly responsible for the de- struction of a number of alrships of various sizes with loss of many val- uable lives. Next below hydrogen in ascensional force there is hellum gas. It is not combustible; in fact, it is ab- solutely inert, and in laboratory ex- periments cannot be made to combine chemically with any other element. The few cubic feet of helium in chemical laboratories previous to 1917 cost between $1,500 and $2,000 per cubic foot. Modern warfare lays trib- ute to all the sciences, and in this par- ticular application American chemists and physicists accounted for their task most admirably by devising means of separating helium from natural gas at a cost of about 8 cents for a cubic foot. The hellum produc- tion development was, and still is, in the charge of the Bureau of Mines, using funds supplied equally from ly and Navy appropriations. Since the war helium research has continued, until now the cost is only $ ten.s par cubic Lot The Army JULY 26, 1925—PART 5. War Service of Local Musicians Revealed by Newspaper Records Rambler Gives Further Account of the Careers of Frank Cardella and Emmanuel Massari and Presents Roster of Washington HE RAMBLER told you of Frank Cardella last Sunday but had not space for all h notes. Frank was born at Le ington, Ky., and came to Wash- ington in the 70's from St. Louls, where he had lived long. I recall memories of him in these rambles, because he was a musician of merit, taught the art, and played the organ and plano | in public, though he chiefly earned his living as a clerk in the surgeon general office. He was related to the Pistorio family by marriag In® The Star Saturday, July 24, 1897, was this death notice: “Cardel- ja. 'Suddenly, on_ Friday, July 23, 1897, at 2:45 a.m., R. Frank Cardella, beloved husband of Margaret Cardel- la. Funeral at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 25, from his late residence, 503 H street northwest.” Below that notice was this: ‘Head- quarters John F. Reynolds Post, No 6, G. A. R—The death of Comrade R. Frank Cardella is announced. Com: rades will meet at Grand Army Hall on Sunday, the Z5th Instant, at 1 o'clock p.m., wearing the badge of the order, to attend his funeral. In- terment at Arlington Cemetery. By order Frank G. Calvert, Commander; F. L. McKenna, Adjutant.” In The Star, Monday, July 26, 1897, was_this: “The, funeral of the late R. F. Cardella, who died last Friday from an attack of neuralgia of the heart, took place yesterday from No, | - 503 H street northwest, the inter-| ment being at Arlington. The dead | man was an active and popular mem- ; ber of many fraternal and patriotic | organizations. The services at the house were conducted by Rev. Dr.| Elliott of Ascension Church, and at | their conclusion special services were | held by the Scottish Rite Masons and the Washington Lodge of Elks. At| grave in Arlington Masonic serv- ices were conducted, as well as those of the and Army of the Republic, Reynolds Bost, No. 6, of which the de- ceased was a member, having charee of the ceremony. The service was concluded by the flag service, conduct- ed by the U. S. Grant Circle of Loyal Women. The floral tributes were many and magnificent.” In another account of the funeral which the Rambler found, it is said that the services were in charge of New Jerusalem Lodze, No. 9, F. A.| A. M., members of Columbia Com- mandery, Knights Templar, Reynolds Post, Grant Circle of Ladies of the G. A. R., and the Legion of -Loyal Women. Special services were held by the Elks, Washington Command- ery and Scottish Rite. Maj. Bayliss conducted the “ring service” of the latter order, and the printed account contains this: “This service is a most impressive one and is rarely performed. It had never before been held in this jurisdiction. It consists of taking the sacred ring of the thir ty-second degree, which had been con- ferred upon Mr. Cardella, from the dead man’s finger and placing it on the finger of his widow.” This old account says of the flag service at the grave that it was con- ducted by Past President Nellie C Royce of the U. S. Grant Circle, and continues: “This was the peculiar and sad rite of placing a silken flag in the hand of the dead veteran, Mr. Cardella having served in the 62d New York and also held the position of ensign in the Navy under Admiral Porter.” J looking through The Star file for obituary notices of Frank Car- della, the Rambler came upon a mu sical organization he had not heard of. It was the Mount Pleasant Field Band. The matter was found in a letter tell- ing of Summer visitors at Piney Point. | and it was written that the Mount Pleasant Field Band was playing at| the resort—was “discoursing melody.” I believe the writer sald. Names of | members of the band taken from that story of July, 18 follow: Sergt Burdsall, Lewis Vogelberger, J Churchill, Alvin Quinter, L. Campbell, Ned Dawson, Will Cone, C. Churchill, | George Zellers, Hugh Rivers, R. Rob- | * ox % % | his honorable disc] | H. Stephenson, paymaster, but I have Solo Choir. HALEY’'S BAND ATTI_[E OPENING OF CHESAPEAKE BEACH, ABOUT 1895. ber 9, 1865, at Fort Monroe on the |stone of the Capito) will consist of |glad to show it to you at th muster-out of ‘the company charge is signed, “H. C. sistant adjutant gene After the again in the N and 1 he have seen arge signed, John His dis- Sorbin, as-| s enlisted no information where his service was He enlisted in the Marine Corps as a musician in 1873, the Marine Band and living street southeast. and soon after that the Rambler finds him a mem r of 650 E He married Miss Harriet Biondi of Washington, Biondl. United a daughte: States from Sicily of Antonio Biondi came Antonio to the in 1840 enlisted in the Navy as a musician leader of of war was onset a ship between band at the the United tes and Mexico and received an in jury making it impossible play his instrument, the cornet of the Mexican he came to live in Southeast | ington. fore the close that he Be War Wash Three of his boys—Joseph, William and Charles P.—live in Washington. I have the name of but one daug th Hattie, and do not know er, there were other children than those named. Emmanuel Massari and Hattle had two children Edith, or Eva, who live ington. Emmanuel wa Marine Corps in 1881 ical disability. John in Vv retired b; on account of He taught music, his wife and played In private bands and or. chestras, people on the navy him with esteem. He died in 1893, vard Old musicians and the older speak and The Star, | September 9, 1893, published this no- | tice: “Departed this life on Saturday, ptember 9, 18! at 6:15 o'cloc after a long and painful illness, at his residence, 650 E Emmauel Massari, of Hattie Massari.” The Star September 12, ed a brief account of Ma neral, and I give you from that account: ‘“For street beloved this 20 utheast, husband 1893, print ari's fu- extract years Mr. Massari was a soloist in the Ma- rine Band ranked high and as a musiclan he | He served throughout inson, R. Dennison, Lawrence Maher, |the late war and was a member of G. Madert, Charles Madert, Aleck Frazier, Joe Grant and A. H. Hoffman. | You have read in these rambles | mention of Emmanuel Massari. have sought a picture of this cele. the Grand Arm Knight of Pythi the Italian He also and a_member of oclety, all of which or. I| ganizations attended his funeral this |afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in a body brated musician and have found one.|Interment was made at Congressional | was a but the difficulty of reproducing it|Cemetery. The deceased left a wife seemed great and I believed that a | satisfactory ‘“cut” for a newspaper | could not be made from it. Further on in this serles I may show you| Massari's picture. He was born at | Naples in 1843. When he came to| the United States I do not know, but he enlisted in the Navy in Januarv, 1861, and served as a musician in the ship Susquehanna until 1863. Sep- tember 4, that year, he “enrolled” in Capt. Osborn Wattson's company— Company I, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery and two children.” Kl | the following well known vocalists: pranos — Misses Bertha Lincoln, Blanche Mattingly, Mary H. Howe, Marie Macnichol, Amy Law, Wilson, Flora Holden, Cully, Ida O'Neal, sons, Misses Howes Mrs and Lowdermilk Cu % Zulalie Domer Rheem, H. Bodfish, Mrs. Eva Cowl Weston, Misses Pauline Whitta- ker, Blanche Yewell, Martha Mundell, Mary Dashiell, Lillian O. Burroughs, lle Ingram and Florence McNally: tenors—D. L. Burnett, A. S. Fennell, James H. Forsyth, G. W. Lawrence, Jacob Scharf, S. C. Mason, Fred A Grant, James G. Taylor, B. W. Beebe, J. A. Roeder, ¢ S. Foster and George Scharf; A Wid- Elphonzo , jr.; B. A. Ryan, J. A. Hun- . H. Barbarin, Dr. T. J. Wood- Theodore Friebus, jr. H. T am, Dr. Andrew B. Mitchell, W. R. Deeble, Charles F. Hall, D. W. Middleton,and W. A. Domer. Here is a good place to set down a letter to the Rambler from his old | friend, John Birdsell—John E. Bird- sell, secretary of the Musictans’ Pro- t e Union. In addition to that title, the letterhead tells that union is Local No. 161 of American Federation of Musiclans, affiliated with the American Federation of | Labor, 1006 E street northwest. A. C. Hayden is president and Harry C. M urer. The letter follows: “I have read with very much In- terest your articles appearing in_the ast two issues of The Sunday Star nd intend if possible to acquire a full set of these articles since in my opin- ion they are a most valuable contribu- tion to the history of the musical life in this city. (Thank you, John.) “In this connection it may be pos- |sible that, during the course of your | researches for the preparation of these s, you may acquire a complete re of ‘the orchestra which plaved | ord’s Theater the night President Lincoln was shot. I have had inquiry for this from several sources. The first came from somewhere in Cali- fornia. I communicated with the Old- i Museum, and while they did not possess this information, they ex- | pressed a desire to acquire it. To date | the partial roster, which I have is as ollows: Leader, Willlam Withers violin, Chris Arth, sr.; bass, George Arth; clarinet, Henry Donch; cornet, | Salvatore Petrola. At that time, the average theater orchestra was about 10 pleces, HILE looking for the matter just |complete related, the Rambler came upon a list of Washington some of the names ma memory. Choir. " It said: will participate in the Convention Hall tonight singers y prick The story was of the Solo ‘The Solo Choir that rehearsal (September 13, 1893) and in the exercis and our at s at the —and remained with that command |Capitol on Monday (the 100th anni- until honorably THE ¥ discharged, Novem-|versary of the laying of the corner | “I noticed in one of your articles, | reference to Mr. Fred Prosperi, as the |first secretary of the Musicians’ Union. This was doubtless the organization formed on April 26, 1865. 1 have be- fore me a copy of the constitution, price list and roster of this association, printed 60 years ago. It is not m: property so 1 cannot send it to you, Ibut it you were interested I should be Sue H. | allie Nichol- | this | so my list is about half| any day between 11 a.m 7 and 8 pm. A sh saw another documer interest you. This was arine Band in the 3 ing name and address of each men ber. This is the propert contraltos — Mrs. S. W. | ime and at present the orchestra at Ke! | caton at present “Again assuring vou of m ciation of your articles and the of my organization to render you 1 remain, John E 1 went over to see J secretar: copled 11 Jet you see at our next bor rowed from the N res which are w New Hospital Beds. JOSPITAL beds, ab form of sleeping eq have been further simpli the efforts of the United partment of Commerce, say: cal Journal and Record. The: made in 33 different lengt | ferent widths and 44 heig ing a conference with hospital cials, the Govern: reco that the standard hos be 78 inches long and 38 inches w with widths of 33 and 39 § narrower or wider beds are necessary A bed 27 inches high is sald to be th most convenient for The G ernment and 46 ho manufac turers and associations have adopted this size as standard. The American Hospital Assoclation estimates that more than $350,000,000 is spent annually for new constru tion and equipment in the hospitals « the United States a Department of Commerce says that a saving of only 1 per cent reduc. ing the waste due to excessive va- riety in hospital equipment would mean the release of nearly $10,000,- 000 a year that could be expended for enlarging hospital facilities. Heat and Lightning. (ONE of the stereotyped statements of the textbooks is that lightning is made visible by the ir,” just as the filament of an descent lamp is made to glo an electric current passes throug As no physicist, ys 2 zine, has ever succeeded luminous by any or process, this explanation will | pass muster. The real explan according to Dr. W. J. Humphreys, must probably be sought in electrical phenomena within the atoms the atmospheric gases rather than in the molecular movements that constitute