FASTEST TRAVEL ON RECORD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3526, 17 May 1912, Page 2

FASTEST TRAVEL ON RECORD.

125 MILES IN 75 MINUTES

By flying ,125 miles in one and a quarter ,hours at Pan, on February 29, Al. Vedrines created not only a record in aviation, but beat all speed records attained hitherto by any ..class ( of mechanical contrivance*. Never before has a speed of a hundred miles per hour been maintained for more than a few minutes, .although a speed of over 140 miles per hour has been accomplished by a motor-car for a short distance. A few of the official records for terrestrial motor vehicles are shown here: 1 mile in 25.405 cc, by Burn,am, at Florida, 1911, 1414 miles per hour. 10 miles in smin 14.2 see, by Brown, at Florida, 1909, 114 miles per hour. 15 miles in lOmin, by Lancia, at Florida, 1906, 90 miles per hour. TRAINS v. -BIRDS. Alotor cycle records are not equal to the above. Railway speeds, of course, do not approach them, the greatest being about eighty miles per hour for short distances. The fastest regular run in Great Britain is the forty-tour and a half miles between Darlington and York at an average speed of 61.7 miles per hour. For homing pigeons, teal and other birds enormous speeds have been claimed, but the difficulty of accurate allowance for a helping wind is very great, and it is not likely that any bird attains an independent speed of more than seventy or eighty miles per hour.

The conditions under which M. Vedrines flew on his Deperdussin monoplane, driven l)v a 140 h.p. engine, are not stated, and, of course, the record is not yet officially accepted. The same aviator, last June, assisted by a strong, following wind, attained a speed of 150 miles per hour. PREVIOUS RECORDS. The previous records in flying made in a closed circuit/ and therefore, independent of wind, are as follow': January 26, 1912.—A1. Bathiat (Sonnier monoplane), 120 kilometres in 49min sSsec (about 90 miles per hour). January 13, 1912.—A1. Vedrines (Deperdussin monoplane), 100 kilometres in 41min 39 4-ssec (about S 9 miles per hour). ELECTION CAAIPAIGN IN G BY MONOPLANE. • . Last month M. Pedrines contested a by-election at Limoux, seeking to gain a seat in t-h'e Chamber of Deputies as “member for aviation.”

He flew in his monoplane above the constituency, letting fall showers of tri-color messages. He produced a sort of electoral revolution. The ordinary features of a provincial election were submerbed in a wave ol enthusiastic patriotism. When the result of the polling was made known at Limoux, and the. aviator’s disappointed partisans discovered that their hero had only polled 6997 votes against his opponent’s 7692, scenes took place such as have not been witnessed at that quiet little town since the days of the Commune. When the defeat- of Vedrines was officially declared the anger of his supporters was fierce in the extreme. They made a rush for the sub-prefec-ture, stormed the courtyard, and were only prevented from breaking into the sub-prefect’s private apartments by the presence of mind of that official, who stood at the door.

Vedrines, standing on a- motor-cai, did his utmost to calm the exasperation of his supporters. “Gentlemen,” he shouted, “we will begin again in a fortnight. The election will he declared invalid. I beg you to follow me to the market square. Remember that Alme. la Sous-Prefete is much alarmed by your manifestations. Electors be gallant, do not frighten a woman. Follow me.”

By these tactics he succeeded in inducing the crowd to leave the subprefecture. Shouting the “Internationale,” the manifestants made a rush for the cafe where Al. Bonnail (the successful candidate) had his headquarters. Windows were smashed, and Al. Deaujavdin-Beaumetz, to whose influence Al. Bonnail’s success was attributed, was hooted, uncomplimentary remarks being shouted with regard to the loss of “La Jaconde,” which, it will be remembered, was stolen from the Louvre while M. Deaujardin-Beaumetz was Almister for Fine Arts.

Towards 3 in the morning cavalry, which had been hastily summoned from Carcassoe, arrived and restored order. Happily no blood was shed.