THE WASHINGTON

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SUNDAY
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10

1909

COLLEGE PARK AN IDEAL PLACE FOR THE BIG AIRSHIP MEET

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ley The park and the college are about of lEO under the auspices of the one mile apart It does not look that far Aoro Club America ia not held but it certainly is meet held on that The original owner of College Park and international aviation in or near Washington it will not field expressed himself surrounding territory ao far as is ily as Gen Allen would be succeeafuLhearthoping it be becauso the District doors not the known was one Henry J Stler a Belgian The army he said poaeaac the natural advantage has a tease of banker who poaaeeaed a remarkably fine to meet tho requirements of a worlden collection of pictures and came to this six months on the field and will In all this leaH It would be thusing event of this sort country to avoid Napoleon Bonaparte and probability renewmeet held glad to have there and will Nor will it bo for want of energy and the probable confiscation or demolition of I am certain the cooperate in every Way to aggroaaivenees upon the part of the rep- his pictures down this have it there and to make It a success if here resentative men of this city and Balti- While George he came valley Into was it Is heldCounty and Prince more Nor yet will it be through lack of think greatly impressed with Its beauty and theI proper the month bold May would be of interest and cooperation of the two smoothness Its absolute levelness re only will it month to and the meet Not more pieaaant be cooler big branch of the United States govern- minded him of Belgium and being a man for the crowds who would undoubtedly ment most vitally intereated the army of means he bought the whole valley After the final defeat of Napoleon Mr come here than August hut Congress and the navy AM Ullage stand today the District Stier returned to Belgium The valley with Maryland has the call It has the passed into the hands of his descendants l generation sold from FLYING place the climate the people the geo- wholarge generation to off slices of It but held on to some graphical aa well aa topographical condi- and the greatgrandson of Mr Stier 1 tions demanded and the overwhelming George JJ Calvort is today the owner desire It hag all the arguments arid it of no Inconsiderable portion and is the can prove its ease from either a practical- neatknown resident of the park The site which the government has or a patriotic standpoint Mproover judging from the enthusiasm chosen Is situated close to the center of the valley It is nearly a mile in length and confidence of the loaders in the move- and about half a mile in width Its west- ment to bring the meet here the two ern boundary isthe Baltimore and Ohio cities can and will raise the money Place Railroad and college Park Station is at the cape squarely before an unbiased its southwest corner The field is near tribunal back it up with the cash and the center of a valley more than a mile the Judgment of those interested is that wide and about six miles long of coUrse the appeal from this section will be an Not being a prairie there are trees scattered here and there but except Irresistible one upon the slopes where tho valley rises College Park in the Limelight into hills it is not a wooded country and Five months ago College Park was from the viewpoint of the aviator com known to a percentage of the people of pared with the flight of five miles made the District as a small station on the by Orville Wright from Fort Myor to Baltimore and Ohio Railroad past which Alexandria a flight from one end of this tho express trains ran without hesitating sixmile valley to the other would be ri Chiefly it was borne in mind as the place diculously freo from danger Brig Gen James Allen chief signal offi- where persons got oft to go to the Mary cer of the United States army and chair land Agricultural College Ono day the announcement came of the man of the army board of aeronautics in lease there of a broad tract of land by speaking of the College Park field and its the government and the engagement of advantages for flying said We selected the field because of its Wilbur Wright to Instruct the officers of the army in the art of flying the machine levelness its freedom from obstruction and its accessibility Llout Lohm made it had purchased Coming close upon the heels of those an examination of all the surrounding wonderful flights at Fort Myer where country and his judgment was that this Orville Wright outflow tho swallows and site was by far the most available had the crows lashed to the mast scream our purposes Wilbur Wright went out ing for assistance tho scene shifted to there and examined it and approved it as College Park and that modest and retir a suitable country for flying ing community suddenly sprang into the Concerning the movement to have tho limelight The attention of tho country centered upon it and its name hung upon the lips of thousands who had not dreamed of its existence There promises to be a permanent prominence for College Park for not only la it the purpose of the governmentto renew its six months lease upm the land it has taken but College Park Lr cr now loomed to the front as the most for- midable aspirant for the honor of enter- taining the international aviation meet of 1010 which will be held on this side of

would then be In session and the winds sad general weather conditions would be better So far as the suggestion of holding Use meet hero under military control la con- cerned I doubt whether that would be entirely feasible or desirable In the first place it would be a civilian affair and We would not a government affair however cooperate with the managersof the meet In every possible way and It desired would station a detachment of men at tie fleW to aid in the control of the crowds The College Park site judging from
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are within a nights ride of 4000 Mfi peo- ple College Park to on the Baltimore and five years and give the average from the Ohio Railroad It fe eight mites from date of the formation of the Weather Washington and thirtytwo rapes from Bureau to the present time
TERRITORY BKTWBSN WASHINGTON AND

ABOVE THE HUDSON

what I have soon of it could easily be BALTDIORRmade adequate for such a meet ae Is pro- XtBtfccr of days of rate of Triad la nsfies K how posed The trees that fringe the Held and t 10 6 June Mar which win not interfere with our tests 6 11 Jwte Juts 11 5 Awwst could be cut down if it were thought necJtr f S S t tetDber 5 Ay essary and the cleared country could thus 5 K eer be greatly enlargedDOCS t tAro Meaa de g >e fay IM In my opinion however the trees will MS MIll make but little difference as by the time 73 tilt J ae J lT 773JR A JNMr the meet Is held such progreee will be ISB S ber AnRMt made that you will find the aviators fly- 68Sayicwtar ing straight from College Park to Wash TBRRITORY NEAR NEW YORK CITY ington and alighting In ono of the Number ef days of rain I Vetoeitjr of wind la ms M per boar Mar parks 11 May Jane 13 July 9 Juse Weather Conditions Favor It 11 July J Seplcmtr One of the big arguments in favor of 8 9 Aass c 11holding the meet at some point between HCIIIl3 or sealbise aperau re Mean dc l May greBaltimore and Washington which has 60 2H Jwre liar I not yet been advanced by those who are 3W r 61 JWM J 74 July S I ate leading the movement to have the event September 73 25 College Park is the weather condi- at 6 Snftwaber

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the water next summer Success for this moyement combined with its fortunate formation and location and the great strides which no one doubts will be made within the next year in the science of aviation convince those inter- ested that here vrlll be eventually estab- lished a permanent national aerodrome
destined to be tho scene of events of

worldwide significanceIn view of these facts tho world is en- titled to know all there is to be known about College Park and College Park is anxious to hold nothing back Its record shall be an opon book It got Its name way back In 1S56 when the Maryland Agricultural College was founded by a group of patriots and farseeing Maryland men Tho college is way I up on a high hill The park Is In a level and beautiful vat

territory between Washington and Balti- more to be way ahead of either New York or St Louis for aviation purposesIt shows that In this territory for In stance the velocity of tho wind in anyone of the live months from May to September Is considerably less than in New York pr St Louts In the month of for instance the wind In St Louis blows with Just twice the force it does at College Park the rate here being six miles an hour and there being twelve miles an hour while In New York It is ten miles during this month Wilbur Wright at Fort Myer on the day the President of tho United States was among the spectators abso lutely declined to permit a flight to be made In a twalvemileanhour breeze In June and July the BaltimoreWash ington territory has fewer days of rain than either New York or St Louis In the month of May all three have the same number while In August and Sep tember Washington has the same num ber as New York and four more than St Louis Washington beats New York In the total number of hours of sunshine during the five months but has lass than St Louis These figures are significant It Is tie wind that counts and it is the shifty sudden breezes that cause most of the accidents In this section they do not occur and in no part of the country are the zephyrs more gentle and steady Another big asset of College Park in tho struggle for the prize la its accessibil- Wilbur Wright In hb neroplane passing over The Nprth River upon his return flight to GoTernOlll Thland rota Grants nineteen roller in 33 minutes nnd 33 seconds photograph taken from the deck of a ferryboat shows the aeronautf describing Tomb comp1etinF n run of ity As William F Gude president of the Chamber of Commerce and one of If short but perfectly con trolled dive to accommodate Mm machine to the ticnchcrou wind current ptfevnlllnir over Manhattan iota uthe leaders of the movement said We- fuL

tions At Fort Myer it will be rememberedthe Wright brothers failed to fly day after day when expected because there appeared to be more wind than they thought desirable or it looked like rain or the sun waS behind a cloud or some- thing to that effect With this in mind it would seem that the site which could show the Aero Club of America the best weather would score one big point at least The two other cities besides Washing ton and Baltimore now regarded as in the field for the honor of obtaining the meet are New York and St Louis Be low ere given statistics of the weather records covering all four places obtained from the United States Weather Bureau These statistics cover a period of thirty

TERRITORY XBAR ST LOUIS

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Number Ma

Jane July
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May

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237 3W 301 267

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65 89 74 73 63

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July Aspect September

Ahead of Other ContestantsA reading of these figures shows the

Baltimore There are various ways cf reaching it from both places From Washington there are three ways of reaching the fieldtrain trolley or au tomobile On the train It Is possible to reach College Park in fifteen minutes By trolley It takes threequarters of an hour By automobile it depends upon how well you observe the speed laws but one man wont out the other day from Washington in eighteen minutes To present one or two further facts cal- culated to exactly locate College Park It lies in the most fertile sectkm o Prince George County and if its dreams come true it expects to have a boom that will cause the Leadvilte boom to pale into insignMcance The trolley road which runs from Washington to Laurel will take visitors to within five minutes walk of the avia- tion field The railroad lets them oft right at its edge and it will be possible to see the ah machines flying train either trolley or train The people in Collage Park and In this city are even more confident and en- thusiastic concerning the chances of se- curing the big meet than are those in Baltimore Mr Gude who with James H Richardson D J Callahan and A Leftwich Sinclair sit members of the Chamber of Commerce is working in conjunction with the Baltimore com mittee said yesterdayI have never seen our people here more enthusiastic about anything It seems to have taken hold of them hard up their and they have apparently made minds that this section is the place for the meet and they are going to have it There is certainly every reason why It should come here and I am more confident today than I have been at any time that we will get It although I know no more about the situation than I did last week So far as the financial end of our bid is concerned I do not think that Why I will be one of our troubles tell you that If I could go out of here today and say to the people of Wash ington and vicinity that this meet Is assured to us at some place between Baltimore and Washington I could col- lect 60000 without any difficulty at all I know that men in Washington who usually contribute 100 or 209 to a public movement or affair of this sort have al ready signified their willingness to give 1000 if we can get the meet I believe the people of Baltimore will respond in the same way No sir the money ODd can be taken care of all right What we want to do is to convince the Aero Club that this is the Ideal place to hold the meeting and when we get them down here I am certain we can do it I say that of all places in the country this first meet should be held near Washington I find that enthusiasm for this as the place for the meet Is spreading In both Richmond and Norfolk and I have re- cently got a number of letters from business men In both places offering their aid and cooperation In making our fight and also assuring me of their financial support in the event of its being success-

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