The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-02
Captain Macklin" Making Climax to Wonderful Ca reer of Twentieth Gen.
 tury Adventurer
GREAT CONFIDENCE
 IN FUTURE WORK OF
 AMERICAN FLYERS
Says Day of "Ace" Is Past and That War Will Be Won by Enormous
 Bodies of Aircraft
By GEORGE H. sELDEs


 Paris, May 22.-(Special Correspon- dence)-This story opens the climax chapter Tn the history of one man wno sums up the American spirit of adyen- ture.
 Part of that story is known to every one in the United States Minnesota knows it. because it is his native state. New York. because after fighting as brtgadier general and captain, he en- listed there as private in aviation. Texas, because, once again a major, he commanded an aviation field near Fort Worth And all the other states because either In fact or in fiction, he himself, or the hero embodying his adventures. has commanded men and interest for a quarter of century.
 South America and Cuba, the Philip pines, China and the South seas knew him also, for there is no part of the world in which he has not fought or hunted or explored, and he is a friend or middle Afroican kings and native rulers in Siberia.
 Today he is in France, where the dominating love of action has taken him ana, Of course, he is in the American army, and naturally he is in the avia- tion section. But here in France for the first time in his colorful history, ne must so into battle, struggle and fight anonymously, for such is the rule of the great game the army and navy are play ing today
 Yet there may be some satisfaction for those thousands of readers of the tales of Richard Harding Davis in knowing that this famous soldier of fortune whom he called Captain Macklin," this clean, bright American lad. who stumbled into the midst of wars and rebellions in South America and came through straight and with glory, is once again in khaki harness and once again Tn the service of his own country.
 He is no longer the youth leading a Honduran revolution and making and unnaking governments, nor the jungle fighter of the Philippines. but he him. self feels that the privilege of the great est adventure has been given him by the war department in the commission as head of a flying unit which will help win the war against Germany. He has come into his own again.
 This morning he was in a hotel in Paris, packing his baggage for another trip to England-an important mission about which much will be written at an- other time. He spoke with difficulty, because his throat and lungs were raw He had been gassed at the front
 Sure as fate, he had been in the midst of the first days of the great Ger man offensive. His good or evil genius which has thrown him into a thousand desperate places and always guarded his life so that he might risk it again, for some cause or fancy, had not deprived him of a share of the supreme battle on the western front Shelled by heavy guns and bombed continually by air. rn1n Afzs of withdrawing certain advanced Amer ican aviation units and materials from the zones under attack. It was danger ous work, in which the Americans did not escape casualties. Finally a gas at tack completed the offensive in this region, and Major R-was one of the vic tims His chauffeur, an aviation ma chine gunner. was so badly stunned by bursting bombs that his hearing was gone for several days
 Just my luck-rotten luck-which has followed me from the cradle" said the one-time Captain Macklin,'' trying to keep his voice from getting out of con trol, shrill or whisper. He was walk ing about, and alertness characterized everything he said or did. Soldier ranch CT, planter, traveller, since he was IT., he is arrow straight in his new khaki, his face is sharp and his eyes are sharp, and it is not necessary to know his TO- mantle and daring past to realize that he is every foot a soldier. Well, We got most of our stuff out, anyway" he said. we've got to thank the royal flying corps for part of that. Let me tell you, there is no finer bunch of gentlemen and fighters in the world that in the R. F. C. And they're for us, too. Why, right there at K, where the Roche was coming through with divisions jumping over divisions. and bombs and shells and gas and liquid fire burning up heaven and nell and earth in front of them, these British aviation off, ficers who had all this battle in front of them, were good enough to send a dispatch rider through to a little village where some of our boys were. mere handful of men lost in the battle of millions, but they were warned, and they got out in time.''
 In the hour in which we talked avia- ton, Major R paused frequently to add