Evening Star Newspaper, December 9, 1928, Page 101

ILLU __FEATU STRATED RES MAGAZINE SECTION he Sunday Star Part 7—10 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 9, 1928. FICTION AND ~ HUMOR Fifty Nations Join in Celebrating Airplane’s Birt . RUTH ELDER When she returned to thi transatl Copyright by BY DON GLASSMAN. HIS week the United States Gov- ernment will be host to one of the largest family of nations ever represented under a single roof. The first International Civil Aero- nautics Conference, in commemoration of the first heavier-than-air flight by ghe Wright brothers will have its first official plenary session Wednesday morning in the Hall of All Nations, United States Chamber of Commerce Building, Sixteenth and H streets | northwest. | Counting five British dominions, 59 powers will be represented by delega- | tions ranging from one to a dozen men. ©Of foreign delegates there will be ap- | proximately 200; the American dele; tion, headed by Orville Wright, will| consist of 12 men prominent in aero- nautical circles. Besides official dele- gates, hundreds of men, as well as a few women, will represent commercial | dnterests and societies. In the number of nations repre- sented, the conference ranks second only to the International Radiotele- graphic Conference held under the same roof in 1927. About 80 powers ‘assisted in drawing up the interna- gional radio convention. The executive committee has named Orville Wright, actually the first man { to fly a heavier-than-air-machine, as| ghe guest of honor. Posthumous hon- ors will be accorded his late brother, Wilbur, who contributed equally to the epic achievement at Kill Devil Hills {Coast Guard Station, North Carolina, fon December 17, 1903. The Department of State will be of- ficial toastmaster and host to foreign visitors, and will handle all interna- | glonal aspects of the conference. The s country from fer attempted antic flight. Underwood & ‘Underwood. *The United States Chamber,of Commerce,. where:sessions-will be held in Washington. Copyright by Harrls & Ewing. First International Civil Aeronautics Conference Will Meet in Washington This Week, With Orville Wright Guest of Honor. in Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration of Aviation—Pioneers of Flying, Sky Trail Blazers and World Famous Heroes of Air Will Attend Ceremonies., States Chamber of Commerce, and Leighton W. Rogers, executive officer. The official delegation appointed by President Coolidge to represent the United States consists of Orville ‘Wright, the guest of honor; William F. Whiting, Secretary _of Commerce, chairman; Senator Hiram Bingham, president of the National Aeronautic Association; Nelson T. Johnson, Assis- tant Secretary of State; F. Trubee Dav- i Assistant Secretary of War for s; Edward P. Warner, Assis- tant Secretary of Navy for Aeronautic: William P. MacCracken, Assistant Se retary of Commerce for Aeronautics; Col. Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Dr. Joseph S. Ames, chairman of the Na- tional Advisory Committee for Aero- nautics; Harry Guggenheim, president of the Guggenheim Fund, and Lester D. Gardner, president of the Aeronauti- cal Chamber of Commerce. * k kX THE worlds news spotlight will | center on Washington and a barren eand dune on the North Carolina coast near the tiny settlement of Kitty Hawk. The name and fame of two Yankee tinkerers and dreamers will resound to world acclaim. The untamed sand dune | where they flew_ kites, gliders and the first power machine, just one quarter of a century ago, will be immortalized | by ceremonies at which representatives | of 50 nations will bow heads. The United States Government will lay the corner stone of a monument ordained by act of Congress, and the National Aeronautic Association will dedicate a plaque on the actual site of the first flight. Such honor and jubilation were never accorded two brothers and a dream— Oryille Wright, who flipped a coin with hi$ brother and won the privilege of{ ‘idepartment has named Lejghton Rog- ers, foreign service attache of the De- #partment of Commerce, as executive officer. The conference i s under control of mn executive committee. Members are: William P. MacCracken, chairman, \Assistant Secretary of Commerce for iAeronautics; Francis White, Assistant {Becretary of State; F. Trubee Davison, JAssistant _Secretary of War for Aero- mautics; Edward P. Warner, Assistant Secretary of Navy for Aeronautics; W. Jrving Glover, Second Assistant Post- ‘master General in charge of the United Btates air mail; Dr. G. M. Lewis, di- making the first successful flight; Wil-| bur Wright, who was the first spokes- man for aviation, its extemporizer, its Huxley. And the dream—it was born out of a toy, a toy helicopter that flew of its own power and stirred the dreamers. The Wrights are the most famous brothers ever to have walked the earth, They are the fathers of aviation, owing homage perhaps to three men—first, to Leonardo da Vinci, | the Florentine, for having had the first |dream of flight; second, to Mouillard | land Otto Lilienthal, of whom the Wrights said: “They were the great | missionaries of the flying cause, in- fected us with their own unquenchable rector National Advisory Council for Aeronautics; Senator Hiram Bingham, president National Aeronautic Asso- ciation; Col. Paul Henderson, vice pres- ident Aeronautical Chamber of Com- me-ree; Harry Guggenheim, president Curgenheim Fund for the Profhotion wf Aeronautics; A. T. Stewarty United itmhuflflsm. and transformed idle curi- osity into the active zeal of workers.” COL. CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, a delegate to Wash- ington. ‘Wide World photo. “He not only thought but acted, and in so doing probably made the greatest contribution to the solution of the fly- ing problem that has ever been made by any one man.” All these airmen—the Wrights, Lili- enthal, Mouillard, Chanutq, Leonardo da Vinei, Sir Hiram Maxim, Santos- Dumont, Glenn Curtiss and Samuel Plerpont. Langley—will be immortalized in the American Capital on the twenty- fifth anniversary of a bleak December day at the Kill Devil sand dunes. Men who participated in aviation’s development will be here in person to tell their phase of the story. They will discuss many “first flights,” the great aeronauts they knew, the early air meets and flying machines, as well as exchange intelligences on the present status and future of the:flying sciences. Films, moving picture and stills, now owned by foreign governments and ! societies, will be shown to revive mem- orles of days when Wings were young and aeronauts were dubbed “nuts.” All eyes will focus on Orville Wright, citizen of Dayton, Ohio, son of a clergy- man and the most modest man of his generation. Although a delegate from the Government he has honored, he will make no formal address, unless at the last moment he can be induced to deliver some mecssagé on behalf of America. When his brother, Wilbur, | was alive he did most of the public speaking, Orville was ever reticent about public appearances and speeches. Yet even in Wilbur there was a strain of inherent modesty that manifested it- self with a clever epigram when he was asked to address a banquet gath- ering in France in honor of the broth- ers’ achievement: “My business,” said Wilbu, “is fly- ing, mot talking. I do not wish to emulate the parrot, the bird that talks most and flies least.” * kox x THE conference will last from Wed- nesday mornin> through Saturday afternoon. At 6:30 o'clock Saturday evening the delegation will depart on the steamer Northland for Kitty Hawk, N. C,, via Old Point Comfort and Nor- folk. The trip to Kitty Hawk will be made by bus, and on December 17 dele- gates will witness ceremonies and listen to addresses at Kill Devil Hills. Plans of the executive committee call for meeting foreign delegates on their arrival in New York, transporting them by rail and plane to the International Aeronautics Exposition at Chicago, re- turning to Washington, and after the conference journeying to Kitty Hawk. | Dauntless Lilienthal, who met death when his glider crashed to earth, was Wilbur’s _inspiration. Three —months after he flew at Kitty Hawk Wilbur said: The landing =t New York and other ports will be facilitated through the customs by conference representatives. In New York an office of the reception HEATH, emost woinan flyer. ’ - LADY Great Britain’s for CA—— Copyright by Underwood & Underwood. committee has been opened in the Roosevelt Hotel. The International Aeronautics Ex- position was held in Chicago December 1-9 under auspices of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. Delegates and representatives to the Washington con- ference were invited. On the return from Chicago it is planned to transport the delegates by plane as far as Dayton, Ohio, where citizens in the Wright brothers’ home town will celebrate the first successful flight. The city and Chamber of Commerce will entertain visitors, meeting them at the airport or railroad station and providing ac- commodations. They will be given an opportunity to visit experimental lab- oratories of the United States Army Air Service, and in the evening will b2 invited to a dinner and celebration in honor of the town’s famous sons. A special train to Washington is expected to arrive in the Capital Tuesday after- noon. Delegates will register and de- posit credentials the same afternoon at headquarters in the Chamber of Com- merce Building. The avowed purpose-of this gather- ing is to provide an opportunity to interchange views upon problems affect- ing aircraft in international commerce and trade. The program, as now out- lined, calls for three general sesslons, one on each morning of the confer- ence, three afternoon sessions, nine afternoon sessions in all, and one night session Thursday® The plenary session on Wednesday will consider the general topic of air transportation; Thursday the body will discuss airway development, including meteorology and communication, and on Friday they will treat trade in air- craft and engines. At these three morning sessions, pa- pers on respective subjects prepared by delegates and selected by the program committee will be read. Afternoon sessions will be devoted to discussions of these papers and others dealing with projected topics. Other, subjects for consideration at special afternoon sessiops are airports, private flying, competition, insurance, aeronautical research, aeronautical propaganda and aerial photography. The evening session, December 13, will be held at Washington Auditorium and is to be devoted to pioneering flights. At this meeting, there will be present famous flyers from all over the world, who have \;un some role in carly flights. Where the flyer himself cannot be presemt, it is planned to have one delegate from his mother country read a brief statement prepared by that flyer, describing some flight or event. In case the flyer is not living, the paper will have been prepared by some official representative .of that country. It is also planned to exhibit moving pictures dealing with “first flights” and other events depicting aeronautical development. Papers submitted before opening of the conference will be printed in the language in which they are written. Each will be accompanied by an ab- stract in French or English, the official languages for international intercourse. As a rule, abstracts alone will be read at general sessions, these abstracts to be selected by the program committee. Certain outstanding contributions will be read in full has been requested to have his paper translated into English or French, ‘Where he has not written in those lan- guages. This, however, is not a re- quirement. * K K K SOON after invitations from the State Department reached foreign governments and representatives of pri- vate aeronautical organizations, assur- ances were received of a large official attendance. Nearly all countries en- joying the benefits of aviation will be represented in Washington. The com- plete list of participating governments follows: Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bel- gium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Do- minicen Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Es- thonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and the British Domin- ions, Greece, Guatamala, Haiti, Hon- duras, Hungary, Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuanian, Luxemburg, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nor- way, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Salvador, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slo- venes, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzer- land, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. There will be available for members of the conference before its opening ses- sion, a book containing each paper submitted, in the language in which it was written. But such articles will be accompanied by abstracts in English and French. This will enable visitors Each representative | N. C., December 17, 1903. WRIGHT BRQTHERS at Belmont Park in 1910. Official Air Corps photo. v to follow the speeches and prepare for discussions that follow. At the close of the conference, another book will be prepared containing stenographic re- ports of each session. As soon as printed this second volume will be for- warded to those who took part in the conference. An extensive entertainment program has been' arranged by an entertainment committee. Delegates will be met on | their arrival in the Capital Tuesday | morning. ~ Weather permitting, they | will travel the first leg of the Chicago- Washington journey by plane. A fleet of multi-motored transport planes will be at their service, through ‘courtesy of American business concerns which have lent them for this purpose. The committee was forced to abandon a project of transporting delegates from Dayton to Washington by plane because of uncertain weather over the Appa- lachians at this time of the year. Tuesday morning at 11 o'clock, air services of the United States Army, Navy and Marines will give a demon- stration- of all types of military air- craft at Bolling Field and Anacostia Naval Air Station. There will also be an exhibition at the fields of various types of service plancs. Tuesday aft- ernoon_delegates will be received by scientists and conducted through lab- oratories and grounds of the Bureau of Standards, where many noteworthy aeronautical problems are being in- vestigated. Wednesday, official opening day of the conference, members will be received at the White House by President Cool- idge. In the evening the executive committee will tender them a recep- tion in the Hall of All Nations, Cham- | ber of Commerce Building. Members of Congress, the diplomatic corps and Government officials having interest in | aeronautics will also attend. On Friday a_ luncheon will be given I by the National Aeronautic Association to delegates. In the evening an official banquet will be held, after which the party will board the S. S. Northland for an overnight trip to Norfolk. The program for the International Civil Aeronautics Conference will close wita this pilgrimage and dedication of a monument to the Wright brothers at Kill Devil ' Hills. On this trip delegates will be official guests of the American Government and all incidental expenses \V\'m be paid out.of the National Treas- ) ury. En route to Kitty Hawk they will visit the laboratory of the National Ad- visory Committee for Aeronautics at Hampton, Va. * ok ok * N December 17, the twenty-fifth anniversary day of the first fiight, members will be guests of the Kill Devil Is Memorial Association, which holds in trust about 300 acres in the “Wright"” country pending the Government's ac- ceptance of this land for use as-a me- morial airport and a site for an auspi- cious monument. Following the dinner the party will proceed by auto to Kill Devil Hills. At 1:15 in the afternoon the world’s tribute to the Wrights will cul- minate with ceremonies surrounding laying of a corner stone for a national | memorial authorized by act of Con- gress. Following these exercises Sena- tor Hiram Bingham, president of the National Aeronautic Association, will unveil a tablet. The party will return by auto via the village of Kitty Hawk, where the Wrights lived when they fist went to North Carolina. The 8. S. District of Columbia will land the party at Wash- ington at 7 o'clock on the morning of December 18. Disbandment will follow. In addition, to official delegates, the 1 | First flight by man with motor-driven, heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk,. AMELIA EARHART, _ Who was successful in her transatlantic flight. ‘Wide World Photo.. hday Here nautical and civic organizations. A point of interest in this trip will be | airplane control in t resence of the guest of honor, |patent was compieted about‘this time. the Orville Wright. Mr. Wright and his late brother, Wilbur, revisited the Kill Devil country several times following their first successful flight in 1903. They tested powered planes on the sand dunes | in 1908 and 1911. But this forthcoming trip will be the first in 17 years that | Mr. Wright's friends in and near Kitty Hawk will have a chance to see the aeronaut. Many people who knew the brothers in their less famous days are still alive there-and recall vividly many| personal anecdotes relative to early ex- periments in mechanical flight. Although no formal treaty will accrue | from this conference, experts are of the opinion that views expressed here will indicate the general trend and develop- ment of aeronautics, which can be sub- scribed to or rejected, as various coun- tries desire. Hence, from this point of view that the conference will serve practical ends of great importance, as well as lay before the co-founders of aviation, Orville Wright, and his late brother, the world’s gratitude for hav- ing equipped man with wings. Genesis of the idea for an inter- national civil conference on aeronautics dates back one year, during the annual Civil Aeronautics Conference, when President Coolidge sent greetings to dglctgabes and offered the suggestion that: “Next December will witness the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first flight by man in a power driven heav- jer-than-air machine. It was made by Mr. Orville Wright, one of our fellow- citizens, who is still living and actively interested tn its further application to commercial purposes. I have had mind that this important anniversary might be properly celebrated by hold- ing here in Washington an internation- al civil gviation conference and exhibi- tion in conjunction with your annual meeting. ~ Should this be found prac- ticable its success would in a large meas- ure depend upon your co-operation, which I am confident can be upon.” Facilitating business of the confer- ence, a message center has been estab- lished at headquarters. ence reports, invitations, information circulars and mail will be distributed to delegates. Special telephone service will be available. The® United States Post Office Department will establish a sub-station to accommodate visitors. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sat- urday delegates will be served lunch- eon gratis at the Carlton Hotel, 923 Sixteenth street. The members’ con- ference identification cards will admit them. IN selecting 12 Americans to com- prise this country’s delegation, Pres- ident Coolidge sought to serve invita- tions on men who would represent every phase of aeronauticS. He designated Orville Wright the guest of honor. Here are summaries of their achievements: The famous inventor was born in Dayton, Ohio, August 19, 1871. He began his career as a bicycle mechanic but early became interested in the young science called aviation and has continued his research until the present time. Orville Wright actually is the first man to fly a power-driven heavier- than-air machine. It was in a game of ‘flip the coin’ between him and his brother that fate appointed Orville the first successful aviator. As early as 1899 the brothers ex- perimented with model airplanes, using wing warping for the first time for lateral balance. In 1900 they tried out a man-carryinlfi glider of their own design on the Kill Devil sand dunes. During the following year they de signed and bullt a unique wind tun * ok ok ok and made measurements of lift and drift at angles from zero to 45 prae— Here, confer- | relied | T Kill Devil pilgrimage will be taken by |using several hundred aerofoils; they a number of officials representing aero- |also measured the cen! ter of pressure {on several of these. The system of he original Wright In 1903 the Wrights made & success- ful trial with their motor-driven plane and continued experiments with power machines in a field near Diyton, Ohlo, for several years more. From 1905 to 1907 they developed the four-cylinder vertical engine used on Wright model “B,” which interested the War Department. In 1908 they tested the machine on contract with the United States Government at Fort Myer; Va., and there made the first flight of one hour’s duration. A serics of brilliant flights in their white shin terminated with an accident which killed Lm‘. Selfridge and injured Or- ville. Meantime European powers became intensely interested in the Wrig! flights and extended persuasive invita- tions to display their machine on th> ntinent. Wilbur preceded his rother, and was joined in 1909 by Orville. They astounded the French, English, Belgians, Italians and Span- jards with their Yankee ingenuity and prowess. Royalty and the common people courted their acquaintance. Orville returned to America and com- pleted tests for our Government in July, then returned to Europe and flew with his brother for several months in Germany. From 1910 to 1915 Orville designed and tested airplanes and gave much attention to the automatic stabilizer. President Wilson appointed a member of the National Advisory Com- mittee for Aeronautics. At present Mr. Wright and his fam- ily live in a beautiful colonial mansioa in Dayton. His residence in Dayton was responsible for the Army’s decision to locate its principal aeronautical ex- perimental station there. Many Ameri- can_aviators are acquainted with the work of these experimental laborato- ries. The regulation Army parachute which has at this writing saved the lives of 106 persons was perfected on the fleld named after Wilbur Wright. The chairman of the American dele- gation, Willlam F. Whiting, Secretary of Commerce, was born in Holyoke, Mass., in 1864, and was graduated from Amberst in 1886. He was president of the Whiting Paper Company, Holyoke, and held executive positions in finan- cial and industrial concerns when ap- pointed Secretary of Commerce on Au- | gust 21, 1928, to sucgeed Herbert Hoo- ver. His department is charged, under the Air Commerce Act of 1926, with the promotion of air commerce. It is his specific duty to foster aviation by en- couraging establishment of airports, civil airways and other navigation fa- cllities and make recommendations to the Weather Bureau for meteorological services. His office studies the develop- ment and possibilities of aviation and disseminates information regarding the existing state of the art. He advises with the Bureau of Standards in carry- ing forward research in aeronautics. * k% x ENATOR BINGHAM, another dele- gate, is president of the National Aeronautic Association and was born in Honolulu in 1875. He was educated at Andover and Yale, and holds degrees from the University of California and Harvard. He taught at Harvard, Princeton and Yale and is noted as a Spanish scholar and a South American explslarr:n He has written books on his tions. b Senator Bingham became actively ine terested in aeronautics in 1917 when he attended the Curtiss School and ob- degrees, l§ ontinued on Ninth Page) tained his pilot’s license. He organized the United States Schools of Mitary Aeronautics. In 1917 he was commis- sioned lieutenant-colonel in the Air Corps, where he served as Chief of Per- sonnel in the American Expeditionary