AERIAL LOCOMOTION 433 



important differences in certain details. I will not burden you with 

 an account of the long series of exasperating delays encountered, de- 

 lays almost entirely brought about by the very unusual weather condi- 

 tions which could not be foreseen and provided against ; I will only 

 say that the several newspaper representatives who went down the 

 river early in July and remained stationed there for several months in 

 a malarial district on the Virginia shore, and who had to row some- 

 what over a mile and a half in order to get within close range of the 

 house-boat which was anchored in the middle of the river, were nat- 

 urally not very favorably influenced either by the fogs and high winds 

 or by their necessary exclusion from all real knowledge of the work 

 going on within the house-boat. 



I cannot emphasize too strongly that there was neither fault in design 

 nor inherent weakness in any part of this large aerodrome. The 

 whole machine had been subjected to the most severe tests and strains 

 in the Institution shops in the endeavor to find any possible points of 

 weakness and had shown itself able to withstand any strain it would 

 meet in the air. 



The experiments themselves convinced both Mr. Langley and myself 

 that it would have been better to have conducted them over land rather 

 than over water and we should thereby have avoided a great deal of 

 expense and the major part of the delays and accidents which were 

 encountered ; yet it must be remembered that in work of this kind 

 experiment is the only sure guide and that aftersight is always much 

 clearer than foresight. It is my personal opinion that had the experi- 

 ments been conducted over the land instead of over the water, not 

 only would the funds which proved inadequate have been more than 

 ample, but success would have been achieved as early as 1902 instead 

 of what the public has judged to be failure in 1903. 



Dr. Bell has told you that in the last experiment the aerodrome was 

 broken to pieces through the ignorance and carelessness of the tugboat 

 men in getting it out of the water. It was almost heart-breaking to 

 look at the wreck that they made of it ; but although Mr. Langley 

 found himself without funds for making further experiments with the 

 machine, vet at my earnest solicitation he allotted sufficient money to 

 enable the frame to be repaired so that it is practically as good as new 

 and stands to-day completely assembled with its engine and everything 

 to enable it to fly except a new set of supporting surfaces. 



It has been generally supposed that the work has been abandoned and 

 this idea has been strengthened by Mr. Langley's death, but I think I 

 can assure you that the work is not abandoned but merely temporarily 



