The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-01-05
BY LINCOLN EYRE.

Correspondent OF the New York World'l
Headquarters of the American Es'
cadrlle on the Somme Front.-With
the French aviation Is an art; with the
British, n sport, and with Americans
at least, with those on the Somme-a
business. I came to appreciate TINS
during the four hours ! spent on the
aviation field which the Americans
share with three of the crackest OF all
crack French escadrilles. one cannon
witness the return to earth from
flights In the danger zone OF an
American. an Fnglishman ana n
Frenchmnn without realizing to what
an extent nationality counts nova
days in the curiOusly tempernmenta!
science Of battle flying.
The American escadrllle is com
posed of youths who, compares win
their French and British comrades
and their German antagonists are
the verlest apprentices Of the air. 1t
is holding its own against big odcS,
because its members are inspired
with every Americans ruling passion
efficiency. They fight with the ma
chinelke precision that has made
American business big. Their view
point embraces neither the Briton's
sporting proclivities nor the artistic
tinesse of the French.
No "FrilIs" to This Report.
Adiutant Givas Lufbery, the esca-
drille's star by right of mention in the
official communique for bringing down
his fifth enemy's plane, landed from
a volunteer excursion into Germany"
everything beyond the French lines
is Germany" to an aviator-soOn after
my arrival at the field. | watched him
dismOunt and make his report TO Cap
tain Thenault, the Americans French
commander, as follows:
81 met a couple of boches at 5000
feet over BOuchavesnes and dived on
one Of them, thousand feet or so
guess, doing observation work. The
other was an Aviatik, protecting him,
so he started for me as soon as start
ed for the Albatross, who was beating
it away fast. / caught up in time to
shoot a drum at him. II looked like
he was falling. but | didn't have time
to watch, because the Aviatik was
shooting at me from above. | spiraled
down out of his reach and then turned
up again. looking for him, but he'd dis
nnVnnw.I NTnyrI, / b.. A AIl.afYsggs
though. You haven't heard from the
observation people, have you|
Lufbery's tone was as matter-of-fact
as stock broker telling about the
days doings on the Street. He omit
ted to remark that his plane bore sew
eral fresh bullet holes, any one Of
which, a few inches TO right or left,
would have scored a bull's-eye for the
Aviatk's machine gunner. Doubtless
he figured the holes were not worth
mentioning, because they hadn't i'm
paired the fighting efficiency Of his
craft.
"A jolly Good Day"
Soon afterward n British airman,
obliged to seek his allies hospitality
through lack of petrol, swung down in
front of the French hangers. He was
quickly surrounded by a crowd of
French pilots and mechanicians, eager
to inspect an airplane so different
from their own makes. Discriminating,
he shook hands all around, lit a ciga-
rette and observed airily:
Jolly good day today, eh what? Per
fectly ripping to have a go at the old
boches again after all this rotten
weather. I've just been having a bit
of d show with four of him-all Avia-
tiks, toO-but it was too much like the
hare facing the hounds, you know, so
l came away in Il hurry. Don't mind
CHANGING it with two boches, you know,
but four to ones not cricket, by Jove,
is it"
His machine in order again, the
Engllshman started off for his own
lines. Before leaving, however, he en-
tertained his audience on the ground
with a series of lOop-the-loops, spiral
ing and other stunts that made the
Frenchmen gasp. A dozen times it
looked as if this sportive gambolng
We're going TO end fatally.
He'd better save that stuff for the
bOches," one Of the Americans re-
marked, and a French pilot replied,