Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 307, 2 December 1906 — Page 11

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OU can bardly Imagine a more ultraprosaic apot oa the face of the earth than Ninth avenue just above Twentyhlrd street In New York city. Foremoat and bore all else there la that hideous structure on which the elevated, train thunder y, casting a gloom on the mean street elow. Mingled with the roaring of the Iron monsters overhead are the shrill cries f the spawns of Smudgy, half-dressed hlldren who litter the thoroughfare nnlerneath and the unholy shoutings of the rivers and motormen who are forever ghtlng valiantly with their tongues. And at of the curlowsly assorted buildings naanate a medley oof tepid, unsettling mells. Among these buildings there is one more unromantlc looking than the lw-browed contraption on which 1 found little black sign, gold-lettered: A. LEO RTKVKNS. MANI KACTI RKR OF BALLOONS. The sign was sandwiched among several thers. Indicating that besides the bal poo factory there was everything In the lace front a plauo hospital, to a brass Sundry. I don't know Just exactly what expected, but In some manner aerial avlgatlon had vaguely associated In my lnd a certain degree of cleanliness and lylllc surroundings. The balloon factory Is on the very tophost noor. lou climb a dingy, rough vn set of stairs and breathe dust and fling kalsomine. Finally you walk dlcjly into a long, narrow, low loft, where. s you see In .the picture, there are heaps nd neaps or yellow and white cloths and tiskets and rope- rigging and numerous lechanical Instruments that your mind oesn't comprehend all at once. I came p on a bright 'afternoon. A man, dressed mply in a blue cotton undershirt and l-ousers, perspiration pouring from his pee, was Industriously working over bat seemed to be a thin oilskin, such i pallors' weather coats are made of, jread out on the floor. OfT to one eld sat woman, working at a sewing machine. asked for Mr. Stevens. As I did so I kd an intuitive sense that the workman as Stevens, and I was not surprised hen he introduced hlmsolf. Stevens is a broad shouldered, muscular. bderslzed man. . lie has a broad, bleb. irving forehead. Indicating the eorabtnaon of Imagination and practlcnbllltv, to other with an executive ability that be )eet)s In his business, for he is the forelost aeronaut in this country. He Is only years old, but be has gone to the ouds.in ships ever since he has been 13. e Is the man who constructed the first riglble balloon In this country, which he kiled In a test with Santos-Dumont, in at Manhattan Beach. If you can member your newspaper reading so far kek as that you will recall that a man famed Boise sailed the Santos Dumont achlne. and that Stevens created an in ns sensation by sailing over, under and I around the Frencb aeronaut, so arousg his Ire by bis surprising skill that the rasilian permitted himself several ebulllons of anger tbat cost him the toleraon of the New Yorkers and sent him ick to France with a very sorry story to ii the l'aruians about bis reception In tew York. Stevens, In physiognomy and general bdily geography, bears a striking rekmblance to Napoleon I. His dark eyes re dfep-set and satisfactorily separated r a keen, strong, well-curved nose. Ills outh is straight and thin-lipped. enched Crmlj. .His Jaw Is strong and solute and bis voice has a vibrant snap fid authoritative quickness. But he lacks e Napoleonic attribute of inconsideratess. lie is very patient and very courteI was jrery much pleased with his rsonallty. , He waa mending a balloon that had st coma In from out In the country mswhere for repairs. There is only one lloon factory In the Lnited States, and pless there Is something radically wrong itn trie contrivance the balloonist who kns It makes his repairs himself. The gglng In this balloon had been torn bd the envelop needed a new covering robber and varnish. In the course of lr conversation Stevens told me tbat In ,s vocabularly there was no such word Impossible. He satd that he bad never t found the circumstance that be could ft master, and. in watching him rantly working among that mate of small pea, splicing and disentangling, careIly, but quickly and deftly, 1 readily w why there was no such word as Itnfsstble In his vocabnlarly. The man's pacity for infinite attention to minute tall Is wonderful. I called on him sev?1 times later In gathering the roateI for .this article, and even as late as quarter of midnight I found him workv among nis riggings and I knew that had been at It ever since early morn- , Association with him Is stimulating. Naturally, most of the balloons shipped k of this factory are made for aeronauts county fairs and for advertising pur ses. These are the staples of Stevens" hiness. On his Income from this source depends to make his experiments in Hal navigation. He turns out soralog Uko 75 balloons a year for such tM. II sella these balloons for an averto price of $135 each. They are made of material similar to percale, which Is talshed with a mixture usually comted of linseed oil, varnish and rubber. ese balloons are usually fllied-wfth hot and nave none or the safety appliances the passenger balloon I did not un

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derstand exactly what hot air waa, so I asked Mr. Stevens. If you are as ignorant as I was it may Interest you to know that It Is nothing more nor less than the beat emanating from any kind of fire built under the deflated balloon. This, as you know from your experiments with the Fourth of July paper balloons, has an ascensional power. When all the heat has been caught np In the bulky envelope It rises, and it continues to float '1n the air until the heat turns into smoke. The aeronaut with any experience Intuitively knows when this change is about to occur, and Just before the heat turns Into smoke and the balloon consequently collapses the aeronaut pulls a little tackle which is cleverly attached to a penknife, which cuts the trapeze on which Le sits from the dangerous balloon, and down he sails on his parachute. At balloon ascensions I had often witnessed the aeronaut doing what seemed to me to be the limit of human foolhardlness in performing trapeze acts while sailing through the air. He would swing from his uncanny perch on one foot and Vbin" the bar and turn cartwheels, until, sick with apprehension. 1 would turn away. I asked Mr. Stevens about this. He Haid'that these aerial performers are always secured so tbat they cannot fall. They are fastened to the trapeze by n belt which Is three feet long. Most 'aeronauts work for someone who controls an entire company of balloonlsts. On the last Fourth of July Stevens had 40 men and balloons out working all over the United Stntes. The balloonist gets $25 for each ascension aud all his expenses ore paid. The man who sends him out gets $125 for the service and Is obliged to furnish the balloon and nil the accessories. As a professional Stevens made his first ascent when he was 14 years old, and that time, he says, the man ho worked for received as much as $2,500 for one ascension, while out of that he would pay him $400 or $500. And he made as many as five ascensious in one week. But the money was easy come and easy, go, and the balloontnaUtr says that he would wind np the season Just as poor as he was when ho started, and he would go back to his home. In Cleveland, O., where his father owned nn amusement park which was then known as Beyerlies I'ark, and later was known as Forest City. There he would get a position, as shipping clerk in ronie mercantile establishment until the winter months were over. . The maimer In which he became a balloonist is amusing and exciting. As a ly he loved to tinker around machinery. He was eminently practical.' One day his teacher gave him an Appleton's Children's Library volume which narrated the adventures of two children who In some manner got Into a balloon and were borne away. When they were sailing in the empyrean blue they did not know what to do. Eventually, however, as always happens In all children's stories of well-regulated morals, they came to earth safe and sound In limb and body. But the moral was tbat they had not been self-possessed, for If they bad they would have remembered tbat someone had once expfalned to them that to lower the balloon all they had to do was to pull a small rope which all the time had dangled in their reach. Steveus thought that the children were very silly not to have discovered the rope for themselves, and the story, generally speaking, aroused his contempt, but It set his mind to running upon aerial navigation, though naturally that phrase was not In his vocabulary at this time. The fact tbat a balloon could be made to rise or sink at will was a revelation to him, and the idea of traversing the air as easily as he sailed the water with his boat fired his Imagi nation. He determined to become an air sailor, and In all seriousness he broached the subject to his father. Ironically the paterfamilias Informed him tbat he bad uo objection at all; that lf he ever managed to find his boat to sail away in he would be glad to see him on. There came to the park about this time a man named Warden from London, who was advertised to make an ascension with bis balloon. Young Stevens zealously cultivated the aeronaut's friendship and helped him work about bis balloon, thus learning a great many things concerning it. The following Sunday he announced to his father that he was going to make a trip In the balloon. His father, thinking it was but the Idle boastfnlness of a 13-year-old boy, told him to go right ahead. In fact, he urged blru to do so. Tiqued by bis father's sarcasm, the youngster picked np his father's Jack-knife. Watching until he saw that there was no one around the huge bag he stole np the bill on which it was anchored. He clambered Into the car and leaned over and cut ihe rope which held it down on earth.- In a second he shot up Into the air with a rapidity that bereft him of bis wits. Shutting his eyes tight, he crouched In a corner of the car, clenching the open Jackknife in his hand. How long he remained there be himself does not know. Finally, however, his native spunk came back and he stood upright In the car. He looked around him and saw strange, terror-fllUng masses of clouds. When bo gazed below he could only faintly distinguish clumps of blackness and streaks of something shimmering. And as he gazed he received a new fright. He seemed to be going higher aud higher. The earth was rapidly fading from his sight. He says dear old Mother Earth never seemed so good to

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him as at that moment- He perceived that the time had come for some tall and quick thinking, and he did it. He was mortally afraid that he might sail right np to the moon. While the prospect had Its allurements, he didn't know how long It might take to get there, and he felt that he might starve en route. So he wondered how he might get down. Suddenly the story of Appleton's Library burst on his mind. lie remembered the rope that the children did not have sense enough to pull. " He looked up. and behold: there dangled, away beyond his reach, a small piece of rope. lie determined that the only way -to get that rope was to clamber up on the side of the car Into the rigsing as far as be could get and pull it down. Ip he went, and finally he reached It. To his fearsome astonishment, a part of the balloon that seemed to be tucked, away in the interior somewhere unravelled as he tugged at the rope. Swinging up there, his breath coming with some difficulty on account of the altitude, he looked about him. It made him shudder. He frantically determined to pull that rope, come what might. He felt that far worse than a fall might happen. But la bis eagerness he yanked it too hard. He had laid hold of the proper rope all right, but he opened the valve so wide that the balloon came down with terrific velocity. At first the boy did not notice the speed' of his descent. But when he struck a tree the force of the fall was so great that he bounded through the branches like a cannon all, taking the bongbs with him. After he struck the ground he rolled until he lay at the very edge of the canal. Here the people who came running from all directions found him, ruefully sitting up surveying his wrecked clothing and his bloody arms, -legs and hands. The town of Canton was only a few moments away and there he was taken, cleaned, bandaged and .fed and et upon his way Jback. to Cleveland. Uis father was among the throng to meet him at the railroad station. Bnt the father was so Incensed that he whaled the little fellow until the police Interfered. The story of hts adventure, naturally, was telegraphed around the world, and during the next weeks be received fabulous offers to go with different shows. When I began to write this article I

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facts purposed to describe simply - a balloon factory and to ..toil something about balloons and ballooning In this country, but I find myself constantly recurring to Mr. Stevens: for his history and the story of ballooning as a pastime are as closely Interwoven as the rigging of a balloon is woven into the basket it carries. While it was not his definite purpose to create a market for bal'.oous outside of the regular show trade his ceaselessly intelligent work, and unconscious exploitation of the subject by his own enthusiasm began to interest that class of Americans who take to automobillng for the danger there is In It, and when Stevens saw that the people were beginning to regard the balloon as a medium of- sport for amateurs he set bis restless brain to work upon Us improvement aud to make It less hazardous and more comfortable. For the first 10 years of his professional llfe-he-was a show' ballooulst pure and simple. Ha was the third person in America to make a parachute leap. He lived most of his waking life np In the air. -The business In spite of its hazards, however, began to be overcrowded, and the compensation - grew smaller , and, moreover, the" novelty of the show balloonist was wearing away, and his services were not in such great demand. Ail these things were apparent to Stevens when he became a manufacturer In connection with his performances. During the first years he was in business as a manufacturer be told me that be made ns many as GOO balloons a year, and had large crews - of aeronauts working for him in .alt parts of the country. During all this time he was studying aerial navigation, following the experiments of the aeronauts abroad closely, and making endless tests In his own workshop. . He spent all his earnings on devices to make balloons safer and more adaptable for pleasuring. He sent to France for his engines; they cost him hundreds ofdollars apiece, but out of. the first consignments the ratio that he could use was about, one out of ten. Whenever he arrived at a solution that seemed thoroughly good he patented it. Consequently he holds today every patent on balloons and airships issued in America. - When 1 converse with the average rrson I do not find that.! am very roach 1

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About Them more ignorant of . things that lie outside of their immediate ken than they are, so I!-dj not suppose that I am so very stupid to have assumed thaf all there Is to a balloon Is simply 'j' gas bag and some ropes to hold - the basket underneath. My Idea as to ' the manner of landing was simply that the balloon dropped when It got ready to do so, and thus the daring persons who rode In such foolish .conveyances found terra firm a again. After analyzing a balloon with an expert I can readily understand tbat eompsratively It is Just as safe a manner of locomotion as the automobile, and a sensible understanding of Its construction and manipulation has engendered a very ardent desire to ride in It. Such a balloon as I saw in the course of construction in the workshop is put together according to a scientific plan that Is figured down to the minutest detail on paper. A balloon-maker like Stevens knows the location of each rope and each templet and each toggle, and this part of the valve and that part of the ripcord. Just as an architect knows where he has placed the different things that go to make up the bouse he is bul'dIng. And, like an architect, the balloonmaker has his plan always before him. ne works - exactly according to his scale to the most Infinitesimal detaiL He begins by cutting the material of which the bag. or envelope, as it Is technically called. Is made, usually of silk or several varieties of cotton or linen. The material Is cut Into many pieces shaped like bricks. Tbefse vary in size according to their location. Then the templets, as each piece is called, are sewn : -ether; each edge Is folded In six thicknesses. This is done so that If by any accident the templet should be ripped out or the seam give.' only the particular templet In question is affected, and the opening In the balloon is not aufliclent to cause serious trouble. And in this connection the balloon-maker explains that it Is Impossible for an accident to happen through the bnrstlng of a balloon In the Air. He shows that even If a templet should give and all the gas dissipate, whatever way yon look at It the balloon has sufficient area to form a natural parachute, which would lower the passengers safely to some landing. But this is ahead of the story. When

all the parts have been. .carefully sewn together, looking somewhat similar to bricks placed one upon another In a wall, the entire envelope Is bathed In the mixture of linseed oil. varnish and rubber, which I have already mentioned. Iu the meantime, while tbe envelope Is drying, taking on that yellow oilskin appearance, the basket, or car, is being finistied. This is simply au enlarged square cloibes basket. built of very strong rattan and other reeds. But In tbe husket Is woven a maze of strong ropes, which are specially manufactured for balloon ng. On the end of these ropes are exceedingly strong catches made of wood, which are called toggle. These slip Into loops that suHpend from the load ring, whbh is thst little ring you usually s-e Just above the head of balloonlsts In p ctures. This ring is the connecting link lxtween the car and the envelope. The r!ng is nmd of hickory or a similar tough wood. Meanwhile the netting which goes over the envelope hosbecn put together. This is one of :the nicest problems In th balloon maker's work. The ropes must b so netted that as the lines converge toward their meet ng point at the load ring the bottom lines must be Just as many times stronger as there are ilnea around the equator of the balloon, and the lines of the netting must be adJusted to an exact nicety over all. When the envelope is dry the valve la placed at Its very top. This valve la made of wood, and Is no contrived that it opns precisely as the navigator wilts. But besides the valve there Is sewn Into the side of the balloon for emergencies an oblong arrangement called the ripcord. The use of this will be apparent Immediately. The balloon Is now ready for an ascension. The etatuscope. which indicates the altitude, and the barometer, which indicates the atmospherical pressure. Is adjusted In the car. b The neck of the balloon is fastened In its place and the globe Is ready for Inflation. It Is weighted down and filled with hydrogen gas. This Is the best gas for ballooning, because it Is lightest. It is manufactured by placing In a large caldron sulphuric acid over Iron. The resultant fumes are conducted by means of pipes Into another caldron, where they are percolated through three Inches of water into another pipe, which conducts them through lime, and then they enter, the balloon. Jt costs about $10 to Inflate an ordinary balloon. The balloon Is now soaring In the air. It is supposed to be at the mercy of the air currents. This is not entirely true, says Mr. Stevens. You can take a palmleaf fan and steer It almost anywhere you desire.: It is extremely susceptible to any vibration whatsoever. There is one thing that is surprising to a novice. The higher you go the swifter Is your ascent. The-explanation for this Is that the air at the surface of the earth gives Houses Made The demand for hollow bricks and building blocks- for house - construction has induced glass manufacturers to put hollow glass bricks on the market, and they promise to be osed extensively for novel and artistic effects. The first glasa bricks proved a failure, commercially, on account of their cost, but the hollow glass brick can be made at much, less expense. They are lighter and stronger than clay bricks, and are anch excellent nonconductors that walls : built of them are proof against dampness, sound, heat and cold. The brick are . sealed . hermetically when hot and are placed la walls built with a colorless mortar made o. special glass. The binding . strength of the glass mortar Is almost as great a the bricks themselves. Tor ornamental friezes, atricg courses and facades they are of special value and add-greatly to the artistic effects. - For those who might object to living in the glass houses, through whose walls anyone could see. it should be said that the hollow glass bricks are made both translucent

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the most resistance, and the higher yon mount the less resistance there is. When your statuscope warns you that it is wise to descend a bit yon put your band p to a little white bag at one side of the car and pull the rope end you find therein. This Is the vslve rope. As soon as you pull It a certain amount of gas ecapea through tbe opening of the valve doors at tbe very top of the balloon, and yo Immediately notice that you begin to fall. The descent docs not cease, although It modifies, when you close the valves. Yoor next step to stop the descent is to take a little wooden spoon and ladle ont yoor and ballast nntli you notice tbat the blloou floats steadily. But suppose In the meantime something has happened "making it imperative that yon should get down to earth Just as quickly as possible. You pot your hand up to a little red bag on the other aide of the basket and give a hard yank at the rope-end you find therein. This rips a segment which la sewn in the side of the balloon and permits the gas to dissipate with much greater rapidity than tbe valve. Should the gas escape entirely the envelop will form a perfect parachute and deposit the passengers with, very Mttle Jarring upon the ground. There you have the story of a balloon pure and simple.' Such a bal'loou'cotits from $5no to $l,5on. There ar about 18 to 20 of these balloon owned by amateurs throughout th United States. If you are a member of the Aero Club of America you will insist that every amateur shall have oa board an expert pilot. This pilot Is licensed by the Aero Club of France. He Is put through aa unusually rigid examination, aud la aupposed to have some acquaintance with th trencherou wind currents which ar adm' tedly largely uncharitable as yet. Tb mau who knew them best is tbe man who lost hbj life In proving his theory concerning them. That was Nocquet, the aculptor, whoHdled such a aad death last spring on Long1, Island. There ar only flv or six professional pilots In this country. Their fee Is $50 and all expense paid, and If they attend to th detail of Inflation you i y $40 more. ' The difference between a balloon and an airship Is that on simply aoar In th air without any steering gear or machinery, while the other generates Ita own gas and is steered by a rudder and a propeller tbat Is driven by an engine. 'Pegasus' was th first successful airship to navigate with power applied In thi country. Mr. Stevens showed me "PegasHS." You can see Its shape In the picture which was taken during Its first flight on September 15, 1902. Th silk of which th envelope of this balloon was made la a Japanes silk that was woven especially for this purpose. It coat the owner $3,500. The ouly steel that be could uJfor th car was brought from England. Th engine, a Bouton was mad In France. Altogether, the machine cost Mr. Steven $19,000 when it was finished. . The envelope coutslns 29.000 cubic feet of hydrogen gas. Tbla lifts a total of 3i8 pounds, which Is calculated to be equal to one person and 250 pouuds of ballast, minus the weight of the car. The car is built of steel. Just above, a little to tbe rear of the operator, ther is a tank of gasoline. Tbe oil flows Into the carboreter, which Is the inlxer of the air and gas and electricity which Injects the motive power Into tbe engine. Th engine ts built forward, and all th instruments necessary for manipulation ar well within reach of the operator. In frVit Is the propeller, and Iu the rear tbe .rudder. Just underneath the operator, on a long bar running the length of the car, hangs a torpedo-sbnped water tank. Tbla tank can be shifted by a sliding movement anywhere tbe operator desires. Thi Is - the medium that balances the car. When the ship is to aboot up In tbe air the balance Is thrown to tbe rear of the car. Wheu It Is to descend the position Is reversed, or If It is to ride level th tank Is simply shifted to tbe center. The navigation of an airship simply I tbe same as the navigation of a boat In the water. Just Imagine a ship Iu a stream using Its propellers. The only difference Is a re'"'"''' of the manner In which the power is utilized. A ship. Is pushed through the water by Its propellers. An airship is drawn through th air by Its propeller. AU airships now afloat In this country were bailt after this mode! In this factory. An airship costs about $2,000 to $5,000, and It costs $150 to Inflate It every time an ascent Is made. Stevens' latest airship Is built with a four-cylinder engine In each end and has a propeller at each end. It is 06 feet long and 18 feet wide. At the present time be Is engaged In planning a balloon made of Japanese l!k to be 17 feet by 17 feet, and to weigh but 33 pounds complete, with all Its netting and tackle, and collapsible car. You will appreciate the interesting sld of tbla when you know that tbe lightest balloon at the present time packed for shipment weighs abont 175 or 200 pounds. He purposes to make this new balloon so compactly tbat tt can be packed In a coup I of suit cases and carried Into a sleeper. Of the future of ballooning and aerial navigation for utilitarian purposes be has very little to say. He does not believe that the purely utilitarian purpose will be served for many years. But he thinks that the bulk of balloons will soon he decreased by the discovery of a new gas which will carry more In a smaller space. At present one cubic foot of hydrogen gas carries one ounce of weight. One cubic foot of coal gas carries Jnst half as much. With the discovery of a lighter gas a great many difficult aerial-navigating problems will be solved, one of which. Mr. Stevens thinks, will be that It will be possible to use a fine ateel for tbe purpose of the envelope instead of textile material. ARNOLD KHUCKMAN. of Glass Bricks. and of ground glass. Furthermore, tn old adage that those who live In glass houses should refrain from throwing stones has no application to the modern glass-brick bouse, for the bricks are mad so strong tbat a stone thrown against a wall of tbeta would rebound without cracking any of the masonry any tuor than with an ordinary brick wall. Forlaae Lost' la Taatee Ash. A problem that has puzzled Inventors far a good many years Is bow to get back th lost fortunes that we knock from th bowls of our pipes. Tobacco ash is highly valuable as manor and especially upon ground upon which tobacco la to be grown. It hat been estimated that one ton of tobacco has In Its growth taken mineral constituents from the soil at the rate of 100 pounds per acre, of land. Now If tobacco has been smoked aad the ash could be returned to the soil, much of this loss would be made good. But no man has been found ingenious enough to point ont a way to the accomplishment of the task.