Probably no experiments are being watched more closely by people of all interests in this country and abroad at the present time than the attempts of men to overcome the laws of nature and to gain a mastery of the air. In succession, the gas balloon, the dirigible balloon and now the aeroplane have been experimented with at the cost of great sums of money and infinite skill, and the strides made in the past few years have been marvelous. The imaginations of fifty years ago are being approached by several of the most skillful inventors, and the results achieved so far have encouraged wide speculation as to what are the possibilities after all of aerial navigation and what will be its limits.

Mr. Clayton speaks in the Union tonight from a far-reaching experience in the study of conditions of the air and also from a large amount of practical experience in ballooning. He was in the German balloon "Pommern" which last year won the international long distance race from St. Louis, landing at Asbury Park, New Jersey, and it was said that this remarkable flight was due in large measure to Mr. Clayton's intimate knowledge of the upper air currents. His experience thus has been practical as well as theoretical and his observations on "Navigating the Air" will be of great interest to all those who appreciate the remarkable advances made in this epoch-making adventure.