Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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FLYING MACINE BADLY WRECKED WRIGHT AND COMPANION HURL ED TO GROUND Lieut. Selfridge Dies Later-Inventor Sustains Severe Injuries But Will Recover. WVasfiingtoni. Sept. 17.--After hav ing (rawn the attention of the world to his aeroplane flights at Fort Mey er and havin. established new world records for heavier-than-air flying machines, Orville Wright today met with a tragical mishap while making a two-man flight. The aerplanist was accompanied was Lieut. Thus. E. Se1 fridge of the sioal eorp>s of the army. Lieut. Selfridge was fatally injurni and died at 8.10 o'clock tonight. Mr. Wright was seriously i,jured. but is expected to recover While the machine .:a en;ireling the drill grounds a propeiler blade snapped off hitting some other part of the intricate mechanism c:ised it to overturn in the air and fall to th grouid. enveloping the two occupants n the debris. Soldiers and speetators ran acr ss the field to where the aeroplane had fallen and assisted in lifting Mr. Wright and Lient. Selfridge from un der the tangled mass of machinery. rods, wires and shreds of musl'n. Mr. Wright was conscious and said "Oh. hurry and lift the motor." Lieut. Selfridge was unconscious and thad apparently struck the ground with great force. His head was cov ered with blood and he was choking when the soldiers extricated him from under the machine. Dr. Watters, a New York physi cian, was one of the first to reach the spot and rendered first aid to the injured men: When tfeir wounds had been bandaged Mr. Wrigit and Lieut Seifridge were taken to the Forth Meyer hospital at the other end of the field. It was feared that Mr. Wright was suffering from in ternal injuries. He had lapsed into a state of semi-consciousness by the time he reached the hospital, while Lieut. Selfridge did not regain con sciousness at all. He was suffering from a- fracture at the base of the 'skull and was in a eritical conditon. After a hurried surgical examination it was announced that Mr. Wright was not dangerously injured. He is suffering from a fracthre of his left thigh and several ribs on the right side are fractured. Both men received deep cuts about the head. Mr. Wright regained con sciousness at the hospital and dictat ed a cablegram to his brother at Le mans, France. and requested that the same message be sent to his sister and father at Dayton, Ohio, assuring them that he war all right. Large Crowd Sees Start. Fully 2,00 person had gathered in anticipation of a flight by 4.30 this afternoon.. The aeroplane was still in - its shed, but Mr. Wright arrived a few minutes later and ordered it taken -to the northern end of the field to be placed on the starting track in: readiness for a flight. Everybody wa=s ordered back from the machine and Mr. Wright turned to Leiut. Selfridge and said: 'You might a.s well get in. We'll start in a couple of minutes.. Mr. Wright announced several days ago that he would take Lieut. Sel fridge, who is secretaryv of the Aerial Experiment association and an aero planist himself. on his next flight. The young officer was delighted to have an opportunity to fly in the aeroplane. He was to leave Satur <lay for St. Joseph, Mo., where he' was to assist Lieut. Foulois in operat ing the Baldwin airship at the coin-. ing army manoeuvres. Lieut. Selfridge took off his coat and hat and took his place in the* extra seat next .to that occupied by Mr. Wright. Mr. Wright later start ed the motor by means of a storage battery, his assistant, Taylor .and Fur-ness, turning the propellers to get th'em going. At 5.14 the aeroplane was released and it was noticed that it did not rise as quickly from the ground as on previous two-man flights. Lieut. Selfridge weighed about 173 pounds, making the weight greater than the machine had ever carried - before. After gliding over the ground on its runners for 30 feet the machine rose. gradually and had gained a height of 40 feet when it passed ar er the st.arting apparatus for the first time. There was a six-mile wind and it was noticed that the ma chine did not run as smoothly as on its former flights, most of which were made in calm weather. Thre. aero pianist, however, apparently had con +rol of the craft, which row to a hei bt f 75 feet as it comuleted the seend rund of the field. This height \Was mliaine~d on Ille third round. Whilt" the lnariiine was turning at the southern end of the field, several thousand feet from the spectators, some one shouted: "What is .that? S6mething fell' Machine Turns Over. Immediatelv all eves were on the aeroplane and it was seen to turn ov er on its left side and. pausing a mo ment. make a complete turn and then coic swooping to the earth in a cloud of dust. No effort on the part of the aviator could possibly have avert ed the accident. Planes and rudders were absolutely incapable of righting the machine when it had turned in that manner. Several oflicers who were standing around the starting apparatus order ed the mounted soldiers over to the wreck. but spectators, soldiers, officers and newspaper men were already run ning across the field. It was fully a minute before any one reached the tangled m'i.ss. The mounted soldiers formed a cordon around the wreckage. while others frenziedly endeavored to lift he heavy mass of machinery and wood that pinioned Wright and Selfridge to the ground. Lieut. Selfridge's face was covered with blood and he was groaning and choking from internal hemorrhage. Orville Wright lay by his side. his face as pale as the mass of white muslin overhead. He was conscious and asked that the machine be lifted off his leg. "Oh, but it will hurt when they touch that leg." said Mr. Wright. Piece after piece of the wooden frame was broken off as a half dozen men endeavored to free the injured men. As soon as they could be ex tricated they were taken to one side and physicians from the crowd went to their aid. Their clothes were loosened and their wounds bandaged. Attendants from the post hospital hastened across the field to the place where the ma chine lay and as soon as possible Mr. Wright and Lieut. Selfridge were laid on stretchers and carried to the hos pital. After a surgical examination it was announced a the hospital that Lient. Selfride was in *a critical condition, having suffered a fracture at the base of the skull. It was said then that Mr. Wri'ght was not seriously injur ed.. At. 7.40 o'clock Maj. Crosby, Maj. McCaw, Maj. Ireland and Capt. Bail ey, the army surgeons attending the injured- men. gave out the following statement: "Mr. Wright has fractures of the left thigh and several ribs on the richt side. He was much shocked. but has reacted well. Lieut. Selfridge re eeived a fracture of the base of the skull. His condition is extremely critical." Later one of the surgeons express ed the opinion that Lieut. Selfridge probably would die within a short time. Mr. Wright 's leg was set by Dr. L. L. Watters of New York and Surgeon Bailey- of the army. They also set two ribs. Both of the injured men sustained severe scalp wounds in addition to their other in.uries. The surgeons too:k Lient. Selfridg'e to the operat ing room and removed the part of the broken skull over the left ear, which was causing convulsion. At 10 minutes after 8 o'clock Lieut. Selfridge died. He had not regained enciousness. He wvas expecting his mother. who lives in San Francisco, to arrive in Washing ton tis month. He is a nephew of Admiral Seifridge and has a b)rother who is an officer in the navy. Death of Lieut. Selfridge. Dr. Howard H. Bailey made the first announcement of Lieut. Self ridge's death. Just after the lieuten ant had passed away the doctor came to those waiting in the front rooms and halls and said, "He is dead." "His death."' said the doctor, "was due to a compound fracture at the base of the skull. He never regain ed consciousness from the moment lie struck the ground. despite the heroic remedies which were administered. There was absolutely no response5 to the treatment ziven him. He p)assed away pea cefully. Maj. Sq1uier advis ed the family of tile lieutenant 's death and some word is expected hourly as to whether they will come here or have the body sent to the Pa eifie coast for interment. We have to abideC by theC a1nyi irgulations. whichL pr-ribe that the war depart ment shall be first advised. The ad jutant general has been notified and the body will not be removed from the hospital until word is received from that office." Mr. Wriht yesterday replaced the propellers which he has been using are six in 1 l1. n II""er." Ti"-y Vr -": for the first time in te1ia'' IiI 1a rou fliht. A "\n exalin:1i, of b - blrokenI blade show edII it i 1 :11 been"l snappled off at a point oie--f,ourth of the distance from the hub. A deep 3 indentation in the broken piece indi cated that it had struck some other " part of the aeroplane. Octave Clianut. the father of aero nauties in America. ('xaICiinedl the wreckage. He said that if the Wrights had used but one Irto eller insteadl of two the.resullt wo ull have been at least as serious. Only this morning Mr. Wright had been asked what the result would be if one of his propellers broke while the machine was in flight. "The other propeller would tend to turn the mach ine around.' hie sai d. lbut I would stop the motor and glide to earth.' Among the eye-witnesses was Mr. 3 Charles R. Flint of New York, inter national representative of the Wright brothers. Mr. Flint said tonight that the mishap would not cause the Fort Meyer flights to be abandoned. They will be resumed. he said. as soon as Mr. Wright has recovered and the machine can be repaired. Officers of the signal corps and other enthusiasts at Fort Meyer were inclined to express the belief that to day's accident was not' due to a faulty j principle, but to a defect in the pro peller, which was made of spruce. One of the members of the signal corps board who had been conducting i the Fort Meyer tests said: "The resumption of the aeroplane trials will depend on the length of time which it will take Mr. Wright to j recover from his injuries. This acci dent will, of couirse, seriously hamper the possibility of securing appropria- i tions from congress for the aeronau- S tical work of the signal corps. The t Wright brothers. however, have even t more advanced ideas in regard to aerial flights, and if they continue their work it is very probable that the effect of this one accident will be overcome. Machine Tampered With. The belief was expressed by a ser geant of the signal corps that the aeroplane had been tampered with I previous to its flight, but this is im probable because the machine has t been closely guarded while at the fort. ~ It was housed in a specially construt- c ed shed and a guard kept strange:s c away both day and night. The sug- ] gestion of foul play is discredited by ( all those acquaigied with the methods of safeguarding the machine. t An Expert's Description. t Charles White of White & Middle ton. Baltimore, Md.. a mechanical ex pert, gave this description of tihe ae ident to Messrs. Wright and Self ridge: "I witnessed the flying~ of the aero plane and it was performing beauti fully for six or seven minutes when suddenly one of the propellers broke near the end. This caused the ma chine to become so thoroughly out of balance through centrifugal force as to make it unmanageable, and it made a dart to the goruad while still un der operation of the right propeller, causing it to strike the ground with a great deal more force than it would have done by gravity. I do. not feel that this is any serious defect in the machine. but merely want of better ~ construction in the propeller: there fore, I do not feel that the machine a should be condemned beyond this point. I should imagine that when. the machine made the dart for tile ground it fell a.t tihe rate of 20 miles an hour. I saw the piece that flew from tihe propeller fall to tile earth. Before the flig'ht of tile machine I examined it thoroughly and saw F nothing to be criticised outside of the h1 wood construction of the propellers. o "Before the machine made the i flight I remarked that the wood pro pellers were not of the proper con e ,etion. Three seconds after the v accident happened the big machmne 9 appeared like a bird with a brokena wing. The forward side of the ma chine struck the ground first. Wright and Selfridge were in their usual po sitions on the seats when they land ed. They were not thrown out. All tile nmechanical devices remained in tact. thmoughl the braces and canvass work were wrecked. The accident was due entirely to theC defective pro- t peller. Tile aeroplane was under per- a feet control and the accident was cer tainly not due to any fault of opera- e tion.''t GLOOMY ASPECT AT FORT MEYER Post Saddened by Fatal Airship Ac cident-Wright on Cause of ' Wreck. Wahigtn,Sept. 1.-otMey er. thne teene of vesterdav's aeropilane I dsaser wmia resulte in the death rs. Alice Robertson, TEACHER OF oice, Piano and ilarmony. Studio Over Mower's Store. Opens Sept. 1st. VIOLIN MUSIC: liss Carrie Pool wvill give instruc tion on the Violin, beginning September the 14th. ddress: 1727 Harrington Street. Phone: No. 78. .ANDER COLLEGE (Formerly Williamston Female College). GREENWOOD, S. C. tev. John 0. Willson, President. )PENS Sept. 18, 19o8. Comfortable, steam: heated, electric lighted building, in city limits. Good food. Home-like life and oversight. Thorough teaching and trainng. Fine work imusic and art. Cost reasonable. Send for catalogue. (ue West Female College, With the best modern conven Gnces and equipment, and high tandards of teaching and living, his is an ideal place for prepara ion for the great re:-ponsibilities ! womanhood. TERMS MODERATE. For attractive catalog write REV. JA MES BOYCE. Due West, S. C. [iersityJoISouth Carolina Wide range~of choice in Scien ific, Literary, Graduate and Pro tssional Courses leading to degree f Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of cience, Licentiate of Instructions, ~achelor of Laws, Master of Arts, ivil Engineer and Electrical En neer. Well equipped Labora ories, Library of over 40,000 vol Wies. Expenses moderate. Many stu ents make their own expenses. Next session (ro4th) begins ~eptember 23d, 1908 For announcement write to the ~resident, Columbia, S. C. harleston, S, C. 24th Year Begins September 25th. Entrance examinations will be eld at the County Court House >n Friday, July 3, at 9 a. mn. All andidates for admission can corn pete in September for vacant Boyce cholarships which pay $1oo a year. )ne free tuition scholarship to each ounty of South Carolina. Board nd furnished room in dormitory 11x. Tuition $40. For catalogue, ddress HARRIsoN RANDOLPH, President. piano an(d Organ Economy.1 If you are interested in the purchase of a IANO or an ORGAN, we a ant to sell you one. Don't think you must go to some mail order ouse to buy a low priced piano or organ:. nor utside cf South Carolina to get the best piano r organ. We have a great variety of grades, nd all styles, at prices which cannot fail to terest you we are manufacturers' faictory presentatives for several of the largest and iost famous makers of pianos and organs. we take old instruments in exchange and iake most liberal terms of payment to those ho wish to buy on time. No house--guality of ianos and organs considered-can undersell us. 'wentyfour years of fair dealing in Columbia ad throughout South Carolina is our reference rite us at once for catalog price and terms. (alone's Music House, Columbia, S. C. PIANOS AND ORGANS. SUMMER EXCURSION RATES Via S outhern Railway. Round trip summer excursion ickets to seashore and mountain re ort points are now on sale via outhern Railway at greatly reduc d rates. Tickets good returning un il October 31st, 1908. Asheville, Tavnesville. Hendersonville, in the 'Land of the Sky''; Lake Toxaway md the "Beautiful Sapphire Coun r.' now in their glory. Apply to Southern Railway agents or rates, tickets, etc. J. C. Lusk, Division Passenger Agent. . L. Meek. Charleston, S. C. tst. Gen '1 Passenger Agt., Atlanta, Ga. The Commerc NEWBERRY, Condensed from repoi Examiner at the close o tember 1 1th, 1908: RESOURCI Loans and Discounts Overdrafts..- . ..... Furniture and Fixtures Cash . ....... LIABILITIE Capital ............. Undivided Profits.... Dividends Unpaid. Cashiers Checks. Bills Payable_...__..... .. Due to Banks-....... Individual Deposits JNO. 1. KINARD, O. B. MAY President. . Vice-Pres. 4 Per Cent. Interest P ings Department. REPORT OF CONI TIHE EXCUHAI of Newberry Condensed from report of iner September 1 RESOURCES: Loans and discounts......... ....... Overdrafts ..................... Furniture and fixtures............. Cash on hand and in Banks........... .LIABILITI ES: apital stock...................... rofits less all expenses paid (earned) ... npaid Dividens................... ashiers Checks.... ............ ... e-Discounts...................... ills Payable...................... . Banks.................. eposits' Individual............... Your business is what we want. We p; . D. DAVENPORT, Piesident. EDW. R. HIPP, Vice-President. GEO. B. CROMER, NEWBERRY A E Two Courses: W 1 Bachelor of Ar B Languages ani E with Electiv R 2 Bachelor of Sc R Mechanical an< Y Engineering ~ C HIGH STANE O GOOD SANITAT L UNUSUAL ECO1 L Positive Moral Influ< E OPENS SEPT. 2C G For Illustrated Catal E J. A. B. Scherer, NE CHICORA C( GREENVILLE O':ned and controlled by the Presbyteries of t A high grade college for women. A Christion Graduate courses in the Arts and Sciences, M ad Business. Large and able faculty, beautiful grounds, ieces. healthful climate. L ocation in Piedmnoi EXPENSES FOR THE E3 A. Tuition, Board, Room and Fees B. All included in proposition (A) and Tuitior Next session opens September 17th For cata1< S. C. BYI ial Bank, S. C. -t to State Bank F business Sep "S: .$372.975.30 4,938.33 3, l 6.93 40,393.01 $421,423.57 S:. ..$ 50,000.00 S 52,457.73 1,452.00 29.00 60,000.00 1,429.46 .256,055,38 $421,423.57 R, J. Y. McFALL, Cashier. aid in Our Sav )ITION OF IE BANK , S. C., State Bank Exam: 1th, 1908. ..............$214,65505 . ..........3,143.18 3,696.62 17,138.44 $238,633.29 .........-..-.--.$ 50,000.00 ................ 7,391.77 ..... ..... ....17.50 ....... . ... . .. 1,476,87 ..... ..... .... 6,789.22 .. -- -- -- -- - 95,009-00 -.-.- $ 3,075.91 ..,74,882.02- 77,957.93 $238,633.2, ~y 4 per cent on time deposits M. L SPEARMAN, Cashier. W. B. WALLACE, Assistant Cashier. Attorney. ZOLLEGE d Mathematics es :ence I Electrical ith A. B. English )ARDS [ON 1 ~4MY ances ~ ADDRESS THE wberry, S. C. )LLEGE, he Synod of South Carolina. home school. asic, Art, Expression, Gymnastics legant buildings, miodern conve it section. and in city of 25,ooo. 'TIRE YEAR. - - - - $183.oo la. Music, Art or Expression $203.00 to $213 oo >gue and information address WD, D. D., President.