Effort with flying machines was incessant but only partially successful.
No air-ship had thus far been devised which could undertake a definite
voyage of length with any certainty of reaching its destination. The
best feat yet was that of the air-ship Arrow, which, October 25, 1904,
at St. Louis, made a ten-mile trip. On the other hand, the development
of boats able to carry life for hours beneath the surface of the sea
added a new form of attack and defence against the well-nigh
impenetrable sides and enormously powerful guns of modern naval ships.
About 1890 the use of the Australian ballot system became general, and
thus the purchase of votes became more difficult. But this reform did