Evening Star Newspaper, September 4, 1925, Page 4

DISASTER PERILS NAVY AIR POLICY Lakehurst Station May Be Closed—PB-1 Flight Probably Canceled. By the Associated Prese. The disastrous loss of the dirigible Shenandoah apparently has thrown the Navy's whole future policy with respect to lighter-than-air craft de- Velopment into a state of uncertainty. Out of this m: ome a decision to close down the Navy's air station at Lakehurst, N Secretary Wilbur is now considering the best course to pursue and has a definite plan in mind, but will discuss the matter widely with naval experts before an- nouncing any decision The collapse of the Shenandoah, oc curring in the shadow of the failure to find trace so far of the missi PN-9 No. 1 plane in the attempt non-stop flight to Hawali, has broken the Navy's determination to carry forward aircraft development to the utmiost, but Secretary Wilbur has decreed that the rewards must be equal to the risk. He thus has ordered the plane PB-1, which was pianning to hop off from San Francisco for Hawail today in the wake of the missing plane, to abandon the effort. Unless very posi. tive reasons develop to warrant it, he said, the flight will not be made. Enough Trouble for Awhile. “We have had enough trouble for a while,” the Secretary said, “‘and we don’t want to hazard the lives of oth- er men until we have some definite reason for doing so.” Asits tl 1 reverse in recent weeks, the Navy ...so is contemplating now the failure of its planes to achieve their “major mission with the Mac- Millan expedition in the Arctic. From all ;of these, however, Secretary Wil- bur draws the reassuring conviction that in, the expanse of the Atlantic and ‘Pacific Oceans the United States has. a ‘bulwark of defense of which there need be little fear of penetration by present-day enemy aircraft operat- ing from an overseas base. The Navy, Department already had under consideration a future program with mespect to dirigibles, and the Los Angeles and_Shenandoah in particu- lar, before the disaster to the latter ship vesterdzy. How far. this will af- fect the program, not only in its bear- ing on.the problems of engineering solence involved, but the attitude of Congress as well, remains to be de- veloped. Mr. Wilbur sald, however, that he plans to confer widely on the matter and might have an early an- nouncement to make as to a decision. No Denial Made. The Secretary declined to whether or not the Lakehurst stati would be closed, but-no other o denied that this stép was in prospect. As to the Los Angeles, now left as the Navy’s only dirigible, Mr. Wilbur said the plan in mind for her would not be affected by the loss of the Shenandoah. Since the proposal to lease her for commercial operation no definite offer has been received, even 1f one would be considered now after loss of the Shenandoah, which leaves the possibility that she may be fur- ther employed by the Navy, although not a military craft, in such ways as are permissible in further determin- ing the Navy's future program as to dirigibles. Whatever decision is reached as to the Lakehurst station and the Los Angeles, there will be a period of en- forced inactivity for both of several months at least. The loss of helium in the wreck of the Shenandoah leaves on hand only about half of the vol- ume of gas necessary to inflite the Los Angeles. =+ Had Successful Career. The Shenandoah had one of the most successful careers of any lighter- thanair craft in any country. In its life of one day short of two years from f{ts trial flight on September 4, 1923, it eovered nearly 30,000 miles, a distance unequaled . by any other dirigible, officials said, although they did not have available comparative statistics on the subject. Expected to be serviceable for at least five years, it did not complete half that span, yet it made a number of flights into the interior and one across the continent and along the west coast. Unlike the Los Angeles, it had never made a voyage for any considerable distance over the ocean. Regarded as an excellent ship, it was in some respects an ‘old model, for it was designed from the basic plan of the German dirigible L-49, which fell in France later in the war after it had been built in 1916. The Shenandoah, however, was made much stronger than the L-49. The Los Angeles is a much later type and is regarded as the better craft. For one thing, it is said by C. P. Burgess, & civillan aeronautical engineer who assisted jn desiguing it, the Los An- geles is “shorter and fatter,” and the tendency now is to bufld dirigibles “short and fal A greater volume and strength is held to result from this design. Not Surprised at Result. Mr. Burgess said there was neces- sarily a point of maximum strain in any craft and it was not surprising, therefore, that the Shenandoah, when she did buckle, broke up. Its point of greatest strain, he said, was about two-thirds back from the bow. With the possible. exception of the Los Angeles, Mr. Burgess regarded the Shenandoah as the strongest rigid, airghip ever built. She had gone through' more severe weather than any other” dirigible, he pointed out, but yesterday encountered the storm too severe to withstand. Mr, Burgess was aboard the Shen- andoah when she tore loose from the mooring’ mast at Lakehurst in Janu- ary, 1924, and again he was aboard her in the flight to Albany and Ni- agara Falls last year, when she en- countered thunderstorms for the first time. His instruments at that time, he said, revealed no strain in the craft. - The chief designer of the Shenan- doah was Commander J. C. Hunsa- ker, now naval attache at London. The plan was approved by a com- ntittee appointed by the national ad- visory committee on aeronautics be- fore the craft was constructed at a cost of $2,000,000 at Philadelphia and Lakehurst. Y SR TWO SHIPS LOST. HOBART, Tasmania, September 4 (®).—A wireless message from the British _steamer Kanna reports that the Haram, of the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, Ltd., has foun- dered. Tiftsen of the crew were saved and 11 are missing, the message adds. GRAVESEND, England, September 4 UP).—The British steamer Pennant, | eqth the covers at 4 and 5 a.m. to|fast and fill the by Baron Penrhyn, was sunk after being in collision with the tanker Acasta. The captain of the Pennant and his wife were drownad. The crew ‘was saved. 4 S A Prudential Company Official Dies. ORLD'S SYMPATHY AT AIR DISASTER Germany, France and Eng- land Join in Mourning Loss of Ship and Lives. By the Associated Preas > BERLIN, September 4.—The de- struction of the American naval diri- gible Shenandoah brought expressions of extreme regret among the Germahs. The German public knows what a dirl- gible accident means, since this coun- try, the home of Zeppelin construc- “The accident,” he said, “removes a tion, has lost several in storms. News of the catastrophe was posted on the bulletin boards in front of th newspaper offices and the successive dispatches giving the details and show- ing the full extent of the loss were eagerly scanned by crowds. The morning papers agree in stat- ing that the German people will sym- pathize with America probably more than any other nation because of their |interest in thix form of aviation. Regrets-Loss of Flyers. Jugo Kckener, director of the Zep- pelin works and builder of the Los An- geles, the Shenadoah’s sister ship, es- pecially regretted the loss to the United State of such a number of experienced | fiyers. number of exceedingly valuable tech- nicians of American aerial sclence, {among them several able teachers and | promising student | Lieut. Comdr. Lansdowne, captain of the Shenadoah, who was killed in the fall of the control cabin, formerly a popular member of the American colony in Berlin, where he was as- sistant ‘naval attache from March, 1922; {0 October, 1923. He had a wide circle of friends here, both American and German, who are deeply stirred by the news of his death. Sympathy Cabled. LEIPZIG, Germany, September 4 (#).—The managment of the Leipzig fair ‘today wired Ambassador von Maltzan asking that he express their sympathy to the families of those lost in the Shenandoah disaster. British Condolence. LONDON, Septemb: British air minister, Sir Hoare, today forwarded to the United States Navy Department a message of condolence over the loss of the naval dirigible Shenandoah The air chief marshal, Sir Hugh Trenchard, dispatched a similar mes- sage to Rear Admiral Moffett, chief of the Bureau of Nava! Aeronautics, de- ploring “the misfortune which has deprived aviation of Comdr. Lans- downe and his comrades. France Sympathizes. PARIS, September 4 (#). — ministry of foreign affs today cabled condolences on the loss of the Shenandoah to the American State Department “in the name of the French government-and people. A message of sympathy also wa transmitted from the ministry of m: rine, gxpressing the French ¥ sorrow for the families of the victims. Loss to Whole World. COLOGNE. Germany, September 4 P).—The Cologne Gazette, comment- ing on the loss of the dirigible Shenan- doah, today .seys: “A heavy blow has struck the American people. “The de: struction of the Shenandoah is a loss to the whole civilized world. The German people regret the loss and understand the grief of the American pgople.” . ' HAD HALTED TRIP Navy Refused to Send'Ship Into Midwest Earlier in Summer. It was the fear of just such a storm as overcame the Shenandoah which led the Navy Department to refuse to send the dirigible into mid-conti- nent during July or August. For that reason the trip was deferred until this month, when it was thought danger of heavy wind and electrical storms had measurably passed. Along With the Shenandoah the Navy apperently has lost precious supply of helium. The Los Angeles has been tied up while the Shenandoah has been en- gaged in maneuvers with units of the fleet off the Atlantic coast and the western flight because _insufficient helium is available to Inflate both ships simultaneously. The loss of helium in today’s disaster is expected to mean that the Los Angeles will con- tinue idle for some time. Recently proposals have been put forward tentatively looking - to. the leasing of the Los Angeles by private business concerns in this country for commiercial operation, and President Coolidge has indicated sympathy with that idea. Whether the wreck of the Shenandoah will have any effect on the Los Angeles remains to be deter- mined. PET” SNAKE KILLS BOY. Stroked - Into Docility, Rattler Later Springs Into Lad’s Face. TULSA, Okla., September 4 (P).—Et- forts of F. L. Tuttle, 19, to make a pet of & rattlesnake, cost him his ife. He caught the snake in a cotton fleld and stroked it gently. The reptile became docile. . Several hours' later the . boy Screamed as he threw the snake from him. . The rattler.landed in a coil and sprang instantly, sinking its fang in the boy’s face. He died five hours later. Striki I By the Associated Press. HAZELTON, Pa., September 4.— The reign of the alarm clock in north- eastern Pennsylvania is ended—for a e. % the first time in two years hard coal miners may sleep their fill, due to the suspension in their industry. | waiting to begin. Normally they are among the earliest risers in the world, crawling from be- prepare for their day's underground m%ut now the swarms of men no Jonger saunter to the mines through the half light of the dawn, lunch pails in hand, at 6 apd 6 o'clock. Even the early morning trolley cars, which four days ago bore the workers | learned to love. | queen he French | Miners Don Gingham Aprons; Help in Housework to Pass Idle Hours b Fusl Tanks Fond The silvery appearance of the ship’ Losker aomparimentss o e ol X5 open, o 5 s hull, especially noticeable when she otal Lengtk of ‘Shenar fouly . 680 0. 796 meter at Midsection ... 2 fons Totwl Welght' il Sl AR e Bocser Car ik y B 1 Corridor Secion ) o G T M # 1% {elf i G ek o : j e g - . Keol Comnidon in ohich Porsonnel iives: G o lonfeh flew over Washington, was due to the alaminum powder paint applied to the cotton cover fabric to reflect the sun’s rays. The paint was to avoid overheating the gas bags. Goldbeaters’ skin, the tissue from the intestines of oxen, was used for lining the huge gas bags. Stockyards saved this membrane from some 2,000,000 cattle for the Shenandoah. Reproduced from National Geographic Magazine by special permission Copyright by National Geographic Society. MISSTEP ON THE MEANT DEATH, Life aboard the lost Shenandoah was one of ever-present danger, an existence separated from eternity by a thin layer of cotton gauze, with death waiting to claim the forfeit for a careless step, and yet it was an ex- istence of fascinating romance that the agile vikings of the clouds soon This, at least, was the way Junius B. Wood saw it when he was a pas- senger aboard the big ship, once of the skies, on its first trip across the continent. Barriers of rank had no room in the rugged life aloft; officers and men lived in common comraderie, facing common dangers. Yet the discipline was as strict and as perfect as aboard any ocean dread- “Day and night the life of the air- ship is in the keel,” said Mr. Wood, writing in the National Geographic Magazine of his trip. “It is a triangu- lar tunnel running the length of the ship. Its base is the thin cotton bot- tom panel of the outer covering of the big tube; its equilateral sides are the gas bags, when they gtrain full against the wire and twine network which holds them in place. Cat’s “Walk" Tests Nerve. . “In the center, 682 feet long, from ‘mose to tail fins, is the runway, 9 Jinches wide. It is called ‘the c: walk,’ from the skill required to tread it. The thin cotton covering, 12 inches below, gives a false sense of security: but the ground, usually 3.000 feet be- | low, is only two steps removed. A roughly stitched rent in the cotton | shows where one man made the first step, and with true sailor veracity the marks of the fingers are shown where he gripped the steel-hardened duralumin to save himself from taking the second step. No admonitions are needed to walk the straight and nar- row path. The crew, as nimble as structual steel workers, trot along, pass each other, and even stop to Vi tle. Four lateral runways pierce the! sides of the tube to ladders leading into motor gondolas. Though the run- way is precarious, negotiating an un- inclosed ladder 3,000 feet above the ground while speeding 70 miles an hour requires cooler nerves. “Men skip up and down and even stand on the gondolas to watch the passing scenery. “Every five meters in the tunnel, corresponding to the outer eircular ribs, is a triangular frame of latticed girders. In the center of the ship the triangular frames are 12 feet across and 9 feet between base and apex. The sides become shorter in the ends, and heads are bumped and cut by the cross-girders. One bump convinces the most skeptical of the rigldity of the Shenandoah. “In the upper angle of the triangle is the rubber gas pipe, wilted and loose or puffed to the size of an 18- inch water main, according to alti- tude. Flanking it are the metal fuel and water pipes. At the sides, dis- tributed so the load will be equalized through the length, are the 724-pound gasoline tanks, the smaller cans of lubricating ofl, and the sleeping bunks for officers and men. One habituated youth slept in a hammock, only the cotton between him and space, as comfortable as if his bed were swung between the towering aerials of the Arlington wireless statidu. Decks of Thin Plywood. “At intervals along the runway are three decks, little 12-foot-square plat- forms of thin plywood. One is for the mooring equipment and the other two are euphoniously designed as officers’ quarters and crew’s quarters. ‘Though discipline does not deteriorate, ‘side’ is lacking on an airship. In- stead of a suite of three roomsand private bath and messboy, to wh'~h a rear admiral is entitled on a bat- tleship, his private bunk.is not dif- ferent from those of the crew. The same sized shaving mirrors, the only luxury aboard, are in both quarters. The rations are the same, the combi- nation cook and messhoy is the same, mess hours are whenever anybody has time to eat, and as the food, in- or 40 years of almost continuous early rising, extended sleep is a difficult habit to acquire. So, tired of watch- ing the lights on the celling and hear- ing the rattle of the milkmen's carts, the men arise and sit on their front porches, walting for another day of . Miners’ wives no longer get up with their husbands to cook a hasty break- gaping dinner pails. But they have obtained recruits in the kitchen, and many a husband hus- tles about the stove in a blue gingham: apron, helping the “missus” put up the Winter’s preserves. ¢ Most of the miners declare that they are riat worried over the pros- pects of a long suspension, saying BAST ORANGE, N. J., September|to the mines'and collieries, have been |that the average worker has-a large 4 (P).—Wilbur S. Johnson, vice presi- dent of the Prudential Insurance Co. of America, died at his home here discontinued. The anthracite field is indulging in an orgy of sleep. The younger men don’t mind it, but family, with sons and daughters em- ployed in the silk mills, shirt factories and other industrial plants in the re- P SHENANDOAH PASSENGER SAYS cluding the hot soup from the crew’'s quarters, frequently munch their wiches_there. “In daytime the keel is fairly light through the white cotton flooring, | which is not blackened inside, as is the | remainder of the outer tube. “At night it is dark and mysterious. The emergency dials glow like ghostly faces with cabalistic words and signs, dots and dashes for levers and but tons. The chill wind whistles against the thin covering, and the motors, vhich never stop, roar right beneath. Silent, muffed figures are huddled on | the bunks, some wormed into padded | sleeping bags, others bundied in fur| suits, fur mittens and wool boots. | Lights always are flashing and mov- | ing in the dim distance. “On the crew’s deck, lit by a dying electric bulb, will be & group of men who have come off duty—wheelsmen | with weary eves and arms, machinists | with ears stuffed with cotton, drinking hot coffee from tiny paper cups—and a chief figuring out his hourly report | of the fuel consumed and the gallons | of converted water ballast. | “While half the ship sleeps, the other half watches and works, day and night, four hours on and four hours off. Other nights were like the first night. The routine never changed any more than did the mad roar of the motors. “The silvery covering of the tube was stretched over a skeleton of tri- angular-shaped, latticed girders of duralimin, which is one-third the ‘weight of steel | Frame Made Heavier. | “The Shenandoah was built on the| plans of the Zeppelin L-49, which came down in the American area in France. Her structural strength was increased, which adds to the weight, but which stood in good stead through the Rock- ies. An additional frame was added in the center, increasing her length and making possible an increased lift by another gas cell, but not improving | her stream line or speed. “The five engines were each of 300 horsepower, the two forward, close under the tube, with direct-drive, 11 foot propellers, and the remaining three ' with propellers 181 feet in diameter. Two of these were reversi- ble and water recovery condensers were on three of the motors. They recovered from 110 to 122 pounds of water ballast from every 100 pounds of gasoline consumed. ““The Shenandoah's gas cells had a displacement of 2,148,070 cubic feet. Under certain barometric conditions, if filled with hydrogen, they would lift 150,365 pounds, and with helipm 85 per cent of that, or 128,884 pounds. As the gas starts to expand as soon as the ship rises, it seldlom was more than 85 per cent filled. Under such conditions the Nft of the helium-in- flated Shenandoah was 109,551 pounds. ““The dead weight of the ship, when dry and_ without water, gasoline, or ofl, was 82,000 pounds. This could not be changed and the ship had to be lightened from the ‘disposable,’ in dis- tinction from the ‘useful,’ load. The 15 per cent reduction in inflation meant a 40 per cent reduction in the entire load, as well as 40 per cent less than ‘what an 85 per cent full hydro- gen ship could lift.” g 505G SHENANDOAH WRECKED BY “MINIATURE STORM” Weather Expert Finds Nothing to Indicate Lightning Struck Big Dirigible. By the Associated Prese. COLUMBUS, Ohio, September 4.— An “ordinary local thunderstorm, probably a miniature affair compared to the hurricane the Shenandoah rode out at Lakehurst some months ago,” was responsible for the disaster, W. H. Alexander, United States is distributed the officers dry sand- iduralium was uged—an alloy so light | Weather Bureau observer here, an- nounced last. night. Mr. Alexander, who went to the scene of the crash to investigate, de- clared that the’storm eould not have been_ forecast and that the dirigible could not have been warned of its presence. ; Predictions at best only could have informed .officers of the ship that storms were likely to occure in the area over which they were passing. he said. Mr. Alexander reported that he found no evidence of a storm other than the wreckage itself, that no trees | were broken and that corn standing in the flelds nearby was uninjured by the wind. This condition indicated, he said, that air currents were more violent at higher altitudes than at the sur- face of the earth. “Lightning might have struck the dirigible.” he declared, “‘although there was nothing to indicate that it had.” 13 Chelera Cases at Yokohama. TOKIO, September 4 (#).—Thirteen cholera cases have been reported at Yokohama. Authorities-are vaccinat- ing a thousand persons to prevent a spread of the disease. It is reported umm-phnmmouuucuu-vmn_h & -campalgn-against Lhemmaladyy WONDERS OF MODERN SCIENCE WERE INVOKED IN SHENANDOAH “The Shenandoah comprises many wonder stories of modern science. - Its length, 680 feet, was two-thirds that of the Leviathan, yet its weight ot only 37 tons was a tiny fraction of the Leviathan’s 50,000 tons. “As the airship floated mysteriously overhead,” says a bulletin today from | the National Geographic Soclety, “it looked like a magnified cigar wrapped in tin foil, with six tiny baskets sus- | pended from it. * Inside the covering were 20 great gas bags, with a total | gas capacity equal to the cubic con- | tents of a train of 700 freight cars. | These were interspersed with from 40 to 78 gasoline tanks and a comple ment of one-ton water tanks. ““This equipment was supported by a | metal framework which was a veri table maze of girders, struts, and | beams; there were 3,000 struts alone in the intricate design. “It is for this metal framework that and strong that a girder 16 foot long could be balanced on one’s little fin- ger, yet If the tips were placed on blocks it would bear the load of eight | men sitting upbn it. | “The engines could drive the craft for more than two days and nights at 60 miles an hour, or if the ship slowed downm 10 a mere average express-train speed of §0 miles an hour {t could travel for 80 hours. “In one of its"slx cars was a pho- | tographic laboratory, so.that motion | | picture reels and photographs could | Mrs. Elizabéth Knox Lansdowne. | looking at the skies, flag in hand, in Greenville, Ohio, for her boy's ship, was informed of his death. George C. Schnitzer, chief radio en- gineer, matched a coin with another engineer at Lakehurst for the privi- lege of making the trip, and won death. Lieut. J. B. Anderson, a survivor, clung to a loose girder and with the aid of a rope thrown to him climbed to_the hull. F. E. Master, aviation pilot, who had planned to descend by parachute to his home in Akron, came down most of the way to Ohio ground on a girder instead and jumped safely. Chairman Anthony of the House Army appropriations committee, says that the wreck was inevitable sooner or later. “Broadcasting” was the last entry in the ship’s log. The ship crumpled in an ait whirl- pool, caused by winds of opposite di- rection, like a tornado above the earth. The greatest wish of Comdr. Lansdowne, unfulfilled, ‘was to fly over the North Pole. The Shenandoah rode out a worse storm at Lakehurst some months back. No broken trees or felled corn was found near the scene of the crash. Motorists grabbed souvenirs from the wreckage and later they were sold by hawkers at a quarter each. Col. Mitchell says such disasters would not be frequent under a special air service department. Dirigibles and balloons are merely bubbles of gas in frail envelopes, Sec- retary Wilbur comments. Henry Ford was to have taken a ride on the Shenandoah when it reached Detroit. C. P. Burgess, an engineer, who helped design her, says the Shenan- doah was the strongest ship of. her kind built except the Los Angeles, which is shorter and fatter. Helium saved 14; had hydrogen been used, there would have been an explosion. There's not enough helium left to fly the Los Angeles now. “Don’t think that the days of the airship are numbered,” says Lieut. Comdr. Rosendahl, a survivor. Col. Hall, U. S. A,, who was aboard, says weather forecasts by wireless would have enabled the ship to avoid the fatal squall. Chief Machinist Charles H. Broome, who was killed, had survived the ZR-2 disaster. The Shenandoah, two years old and costing $2,000,000, had flown 30.000 miles, beating any other dirigible's record. Mrs. A. Gamary, who was in her kitchen when the cabin of the Shenan- doah crashed into her garden 50 feet away, was one of the busiest women in the disaster area. She administered to F. E. Masters, aviation chief rig- ger, who miraculously escaped injury by leaping from the ship. In her kitchen overlooking the scene of 13 of the fatalities she fed him e big coun- try breakfast, which he munched as he described his narrow escape. The back of his shirt was shredded where nwll".hldclu“hlhlmuhel-pod. It was daylight when the residents near Ava sighted the aj $ Shenandoah, but the lights in the! gondolas were still burning, spee: tators said. The only other flare ported was that from the exhauat pipe as the control cabin dropped into the Gamary garden. E Machinist Ralph Jones said that the last ]w‘ he reported was at 4:32 a.m. ‘were.supposed _to report| be developed on board and the pie- toridl story of 4 fight be ready when the ship landed, or even thrown over- board by parachutes at designated places. , Another car had a sound- proof radio compartment with 2 pow- erful sending apparatus and tele graphic instruments. “The most astonishing “mechanical contrivance on the Shenandoah was the water-recovery apparatus, which replaced the gasoline burned with an equivalent weight of water, and thus ed the valving of precious helium. he apparatus for recovering water on the Shenandoah consisted of sev. eral tiers of long, light pipes exposed to the cooling air, 8o that the super- heated steam condensed and filled water tanks. This manufactured water compensated for the weight of the gasoline consumed. Formerly, as fuel was burned, the ship grew lighter and tended to Tise. Thereupon the gas expanded and it was necessary to release enough helium to equalize the lift of the gas to the weight of the ship. “Even htough helium cost has been brought from a radium-like luxury price to $81 for 1,000 cubic feet, the amount the Shenandoah had to valve on long trips was an expensive oper- ating item. On its famous St. Louis visit, for example, 200,000 cubic feet of hellum had to be valved. The | water-recovery device meant a saving on one such trip of $16,200—enuogh to pay for the experimentation and installation of the mechanism.” THE TRAGEDY is my opinion that the eurred shortiy thereafte: “No fault of the ship's” seemed to be the unanimous opinion of the crew. Al agreed that no ship could have survived the storm. crash oc- Pa., near to a After passing Chambersburg, the radio log book, picked up the wreck, says: “Down close mountain. Altitude 3,500 feet.” Last night, a message was sent by radio to the Lakehurst naval air sta- tion urging the promiotion of Chief Yeoman Brennan to the position of chief storekeeper. Lieut. W. I. Richardfon, Navy photographer, recovered the suit case containing his camera in an apparent unharmed condition. Opening the case, however, revealed that the cameras and plates were broken into a thousand pleces. Richardson cut his fingers in jumping from the ship. McCook Field, Dayton, sent its hos- pital ship to the scene, offering to transport the injured to Navy or Army hospitals. = The two injured, however, had been removed to Mari- etta Hospital. Masters was surprised that his in- tended parachute drop at Akron to see his new baby had been heralded throughout the country. “I didn’t want my wife to know that,” he said. “It was to be a surprise. The nose of the Shenandoah wreck when the ship was torn loose from its mooring mast at Lakehurst January 16, t19:4. during a storm, remained in- tact. Lieut. J. B. Anderson of Hyattsville, Md., a survivor, was at Hull, England, when the ZR-2 fell into the River Humber. He was to have flown back to the United States in the craft as a member of the crew. The 'Ohio Department of the Ameri- can Legion has ordered flowers sent with each casket when they are ship- ped from Belle Valley. DAWES VOICES REGRET. Speaks Briefiy From Train at VALUABLELESSN 5SEEN N ERASH Officers Say Need for De- veloping Craft to Battle Weather Is Shown. By Consolidated Press CALDWELL, Ohio, September 4.— One glance at the giant Shenandoah, once the pride of the naval air serv ice, sprawled out, crumpled and broken, its torn parts scattered over this rough countryside, and the lay man is convinced of the futility of lighter-than-air craft. But not o the air navigators them selves, though they are terribly shock- ed by the third tragic ending to Amer- ican ventures into dirigible operation. Surviving officers of the ill-fated Shen- andoah, as well as other naval officials’ here, have not lost hope that some day a perfectly safe lighter-than- air ship will be built. While not talk- ing for publication, they see this dis- aster as affording one more lesson to be utilized in any further construc- tion. Helium gas. developed in this country, eliminated the danger of ex- plosions, the cause of previous disas- ters, but there remains the task of de- veloping a ship structurally perfect to withstand the elements. Wind Too Strong. Thursday’s disaster was simply a case of the wind getting the better of the ship. A few more minutes and it would have passed the local twister that enveloped it when above rough hills of southern Ohio. The gale and changing air currents proved too much, however, and the ship buckled. “But,” say the naval officers, “there every sort of transportation. Ocean liners, including the supposedly per- fect Titanic, have come to grief as a result of natural accidents. Railroad trains have had their troubles. In- stead of giving up attempts to over- come them, builders have set about to meet emergencies. “The lighter-than-alr craft is still ploneering. It is realized now as never before that stress must be put on bettering the structural part of the ships to make them invulnerable in violent air disturbances. That problem will have to be solved in the same way that other transportation problems have been solved.” Souvenir Hunters Busy. The loss of the valuable helium gas was another toll of the disaster. In spection of the widely separated parts of the ship, with the rear section scattered over a mile of hilly coun tryside and the front section nine miles south, shows that all compart- ments have been broken. If they had not been broken by the fall itself thefr fate would have been sealed when the famous native American souvenir hunter got on the job. Only a part of the Shenandoah wreckage remained when troops came in numbers to care for the situation. Most every household in this section of the State today is showing a piece of the ill-fated ship. Furnishings of | the very cabin in which Lieut. Comdr. | Lansdowne and his men met their death have been taken by the irre- pressible seeker of souvenirs. Troops End Vandalism. The covering of the ship in huge chunks, parts of the structural work: in fact, everything that could be car- ried away—was picked up by the crowd. Troops finally have put an end 1o the vandalism. Neavya! officers from Lakéhurst, N. J., have set about making a systematic study 'to determine the exact details of the disaster. -One thing conclu- sively demonstrated, as seen hcre, is | that hellum gas is the ideal filler for lighter-than-air ships. With hydrogen in use the tragedy would likely have spared mobody. But the problem re- mains in_emphasized form of devel- oping & structurally perfect ship. MOTHER HAD AWAITED LANSDOWNE COMING Son Steered Big Dirigible Over Her Ohio Home on His Trip Last Summer. By the Associated Press GREENVILLE, Ohio, September 4. —Mrs. Elizabeth Lansdowne, mother of Comdr. Zachary Lansdowne, had anticipated greeting her famous son, commanding the ill-fated Shenandoah, from the yard of her home on Third street, this city, as she did last Sum. mer, when the giant ship was steered out of its course to pass over Green- ville. Mrs. Lansdowne is recorded as being near collapse, a day of expected joy having been turned into one of deepest sorrow. Neighbors and towns- folk called to assuage the grief which has befallen the aged woman, and everything is being done to lighten her burden. Capt. Lansdowne visited her with his family last November. TWO FOUNEBEAD IN AUTO Police Believe Man Shot Woman, Then Committed Suicide. DENVER, Colo., September 4 (#).— J. L, Wallace of Knoxville, Tenn., and Mrs. Ethel E. Sherman of Denver were found dead in an automobile today, victims, police say, of suicide and mur- der. Wallace killed Mrs. Sherman by firing a bullet into her head and then took his own life, police said. Wallace, a dairy chemist, was said to be a member of a wealthy Knoxville family. : On June 20 Willlam Sherman, the woman’s husband, filed suit for di- vorce, naming Wallace co-respondent. Butte, Mont. BUTTE, Mont., September 4 (#).— Vice President Charles G. Dawes ex- pressed deep regret at the loss of life In the Shenandoah disaster as his train, which is taking him to the Pacific Northwest, stopped here last night. He spoke briefly to a erowd at the station. Towa Temperature Records 104. DES MOINES, September 4 (#).— The highest temperatures for Septem- ber in Jowa since 1913 were recorded yesterday by the United States ‘Weather Bureau, which said that the corn crop in northwestern Iowa, al- ready damaged by drought, had suf- fered further. The highest tempera- ture was 104, at Sheldon. Flying Twisted Nose of Shenandoah Of Balloon, Six Men Landed It Safely By the Amociated Press. CALDWELL, Ohio, September 4.— ‘With oply the twisted and torn nose of the ill-fated Shenandoah as a ship, and inthe grip 6f the howling *“West- ern twister,” seven members of the crew of the dirigible maneuvered their fragment as a free n for more -lh:‘n ':‘1; hour and landed it without ously Injuring any aboard. mvo{l':l.\a ‘h.dmt?a flut{cre;lnkl; a leat wind, the men m] nt about getting it on an even kul':nd slowly let out. and threw off gaso- line, fi it to earth. in midair and ~ pulled to places of comparative safety after the ship broke up. * One, not so fortunate, F. J. McCar- thy, chief r, was swept from his perflous perch in the forward end of the nose to the ground when the ‘motorless craft struck 'a treé. He is in a Marietta Hospital in a serious condition. e ‘With three men.forward and three aft in the nose it was maneuvered to a safe altitude after brushing trees and at least one farm house. Lieut. Comdr. C. E. Rosendahl and Lieut. J. B. Anderson directed the. release of the helium gas and gasoline in such a way that tite nose landed withou! " “any aboard. air | the | are perils that nature furnishes for | HRSHR BUEKLED THOFEETINA Senior Officer, Surviving, Files Formal Report With Navy Department. By the Associated Press A telegraphic report on the Shenan doah disaster was received by the Navy Department last night from Lieut. Comdr. C. E. Rosendahl, as the senior surviving officer. The message said “Mild storm suddenly followed by violent line squall subjected ship to enormous uncontrollable angle strains and rapid vertical ascent, resulting in ship’s structure breaking in two at 000 feet, at vicinity of frames 130 and 90. Control car very quickly wrenched free in air, undoubtedly it ing occupants. Forward s wrenched from ship’s struc ture in al “Forward section ship free ballooned approximately one hour with seven oc cupants, McCarthy being knocked out of ship by tree in landing. Midship section crashed with three occupants only Gunner Cole being injured in landing—injuries not serious. After- section crashed, landed 17 occupants safely “Forward section of ship landed at Sharon about 10 miles east of other sections, which landed at Ava. Prob- ably eight casualties from radio and control car. Probably three casual ties from keel and three from forward wing cs “Sect s of ship were deflated by hand completely and anchored as well as possible. Deputy sheriffs and American Legion guarding property until arrival of troops from Columbus Accurate identification of dead com ed. deut. Hendy, with survivors, left this afternoon and should arrive Lake hurst Friday morning. Bauch, Mayer, two chief petty officers, and myself are remaining here as long as neces sary. Lieut. Wiley arrived this after- noon from Detroit and will remain while needed. ““Personal effects all hands salvaged from ship. No fires during or after disaster. In my opinion, value of salvageable material is almost negligi- ble. “LIE JT. COMDR. ROSENDAHL, Senior Surviving Officer.” WELCOME PLANNED FOR SHIP IN WEST Hundreds Looked Forward to Visit of Air Giant on } Long Flight. { | By the Associatea CHICAG of Midwest ci looked forward to the visit of the Shenandoah on its trip |through Indiaria, Tlinois, Missouri, | Towa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohlo and the Twin Cities. The {turnink point in the circuit had “Dlanned an elaborate welc e for the | giant and her crew. The published itinerary of the dirigi ble called for a refueling stop at Scott Field, Belleville, IIL, time to | morrow. Thence she was to circle fover St."Louls, nose westward to Kan sas City and then swing northward ever St, Joseph, Mo., and Des Moines, Towa, to Minneapol$ and St. Paul Nine planes from the 109th Minne sota Aero Squadron, under Maj. Ray Miller, were to meet £t 60 miles south’ of the s E | Grounds Saturday and escort her over Ilhe fair on the opening day. Thou sands from all parts of the Northwest planned to visit the grounds to see the giant. On the homeward journey the ship was to sail over Milwaukee and Ra cine, Wis., around the south end of Lake Michigan, over Chicago to De. troit, and then to Toledo to pick the original trail, on which yvesterday's disaster occurred. At Milwaukee the ship was to have circled over the State fair, and plans had been made for an airplane escort over the city. When the Shenandoah sailed over Milwaukes on her Western trip in 1924 thousands remained up all night watching for her, and a similar interest had been manifested by the citizenry in the ap- proaching visit At Detroit the ship was to have been tied up at the mooring mast of the Ford airport for inspection by aviation engineers and citizens, but no elaborate public reception had been planned some LIGHTER-THAN-AIR CRAFT FUTURE NOT IMPAIRED Shenandoah Disaster, Lamentable as It Is, Without Ill Effect, Plane Manufacturer Says. By the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, Ohio, September 4.—Lamentable as is the accident, it can have no reai effect on the tre- mendous future for the lighter-than. air craft, Glen L. Martin, airplane manufacturer and authority on aero- natuics, declared today, commenting on the Shenandoah wreck. Mr. Martin offered the Government all facilities of his plant, planes and men in its employ. The Shenandoah was too light be efficient, he said. The future lighter-than'air craft lies in ships tremendous size The strength and lifting power of a dirigible increases in proportion to the cube of her dimensions, while the welght increases only as the square of the dimension, he explained The bigger the ship, thy stronger. If the wreck is found to have been due to an engineering fault, that can be corrected easily. But it will be rather terrifying if found to have been due to natural phenomena, Mr. Martin rdded to of of TR WRECK WAS INEVITABLE, HOUSE MEMBER ASSERTS Anthony, of Army Appropriations Group, Tells of Fight on Lighter- Than<Air Craft. By tbe Associated Press. LEAVENWORTH, Kans., Septem- ber 4—Commenting on the Shenan- doah disaster, Representative D. R. Anthony, jf., chairman of the House A:‘mu appropriations subcommittee, said: ‘While deeply regretting the loss of life, the wreck of the big ship was inevitable sooner or later. In my opinion, these very large lighter- than-air craft have no military value sufficlent to warrant the expenditure of-millions t their construction, and they cannot stand the strain of great storms. i “For several years I have carried a_provision inthe Army appropria- tion bills which absolutely prohibited construction oUt of the Army air funds of large lighter-than-air ships of this type.”