Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1919 — AIRSHIP VISIT WAS A FAKE [ARTICLE]

AIRSHIP VISIT WAS A FAKE

Captain Oursler Fooled Our People —But One Ship Here. The visit of the two (?) airships to Rensselaer last Saturday was as big a fake as the last visit of the Great Lakes Naval band, and the publicity men who had given our people to understand that they would be entertained will have a hard time to get any’ more loca publicity through the newspapers here or receive any further co-oper-ation from our people. Captain Howard B. Oursler, publicity manager of the “flying circus,” had written here soliciting their visit and stating that if agreeable two planes would be here, arriving at about 9 or 10 a. m., and they would be “very much pleased to perform acrobatic maneuvers and air navigations over your city for the entertainment of your people.” Relying on this statement the Rensselaer papers and several papers of neighboring towns gave considerable publicity to their coming and as a result many people were induced to come to Rensselaer last Saturday to see the planes and observe the maneuvers that had been promised. But they, as well as the people of Rensselaer, were doomed to disappointment. Some time after 12 o’clock a plane did land in |he Amsler pasture at the north side of town, coming in from the northeast — Valparaiso, it is understood. It .took on 10 gallons of gasoline here and after one of the officers’ visit up town for awhile, left about 3 o’clock for Rantoul. That was sll. Captain Oursler had indicated that two planes would be here all day, leaving Sunday morning, as he had asked that three meals and lodging be provided for the men. It is understood that as an excuse for not doing as agreed here, the commandant at Rantoul, who ■was called up by one of our citizens who did not like this manner of fooling the people, said that he “was very sorry, but one of their machines which was to come here had an accident at Timbuctoo, or some other seaport, and their other machines were all out, and they could not send another one here; would try his best to send us these machines for Decoration day, to make amends for disappointing our people Saturday,’’ etc. The machine that was here, it was said, had blown out a valve or had some other trouble and could only fly in one direction, therefore, it could not go through any maneuvers, etc. Coming as it did right after the frosty visit of the Great Lakes naval band, this second frost was not received very kindly, and Rensselaer, of course, is blamed by our envious critics rather than those responsible for the fakes. Rensselaer acted in good faith on both occasions, and if there are any more “visits’’ made us by any of these gentry it will probably be wholly on their own responsibility.