ITMES OF INTEREST November 2, 1907 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

The nine balloons which started from St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 21, in the contest for the Bennett Cup, had all landed by the 23d. The German balloon, the Pommern, and the French, L'Isle de France, so evenly divided for first honors that it was necessary to await a decision from the War Department at Washington to tell which won. The balloons were started at St. Louis at five-minute intervals. The Pommern, German, landed at Asbury Park, N. J., traveling 873 miles in 39 hours, 59 minutes, 25 seconds; the L'Isle de France, French, landed at Hubertsville, N. J., 867 miles, in 43.59.00; the Dusseldorf, German, landed near Dover, Del., 790 miles in 39.44.30; the St. Louis, American, landed at Westminster, Md., 730 miles, in 38.35.00; the America, American, landed near Patuxent, Md., 720 miles, in 38.35.00; the Abercron, German, landed at Manassas, Va., 680 miles, in 37.35.00; the Anjou, French, landed near Armenius Mines, Louisa Country, Va., 675 miles, in 38.15.00; the United States, American, landed at Caledonia, Ont., 650 miles, in 25.10.00; the Lotus II., English, landed at Memphis, O., 375 miles, in 24.50. The German balloon, the Dusseldorf, stands third in the race, American entries finished fourth, fifth, and eighth, while a third German team finished sixth, another French team seventh, and the English balloon ninth. While losing the distance and the cup, the French team sailing L'Isle de France gained the world's record for duration of flight. The previous record was forty-one hours five minutes, held by Count de la Vaulx of France, who also holds the world's record for distance, 1,185 miles, but not in a race. All of the nine competing balloons, after ascending over St. Louis, eventually drifted eastward to the Atlantic coast region at speeds which were quite comparable, thus indicating the presence of a steady and general easterly motion of the atmospheric currents at moderate altitudes during this season of the year. It would seem that the anti-trade winds at such heights have almost the regularity of the tropical trade winds.

There is a probability that the Government will in the near future file a bill inequity against the Oregon and California Railway Company in connection with the land grant to that road of about two million acres of land, which under the provisions of the act of Congress was to have been sold to bona fide settlers in one hundred and sixty acre tracts at not more than $2.50 an acre. It is claimed that the company sold a considerable amount of this land in much larger tracts and at a higher price.

The Barnum and Bailey circus has been purchased by Ringling Brothers for $410,000, which gives them practically a monopoly of the circus business in America, as they now own the Forepaugh-Sells Show, Barnum and Bailey's, and their own Ringling Brother's Circus. The names of the three shows will remain as they are and each will tour the country as a separate organization.

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