The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1919-05-01
0TFERE ARE SMIIES' lIY
LINDEN BOY TELLS OF
RIDING IN AEROPLANE
Max Dickson Of Aviation Service Des-
cribes How 1t Feels To Ride Thru
Clouds

How it feels to travel in a big Am
erican warplane was described In a
talk before the Glendale School on
Thursday by a Lynden boy who saw
service in the American aviation div
isjon in France. Max Dickson. Dick
son is at his home once more. hav-
ing been given his honorable dis
charge from the service.
Most of my work was back Of the
lines repairing and setting up aero
planes, altho 1 took severel flights" !"
he said. Being up In an air ship is
not much different from being in q
rowboat without oars. Altho you
travel about one hundred and thirty
miles an hour you scarcely feel that
you are moving at all. II your ma
chine gets disabled there are many
ways one may alight safely. If only
your engine is out of commission you
can get down by 'side-stepping' or
'pancaking,' by guiding the machine
in spirals in its downward course. II
a plane is damaged the machine US
ually makes a nose-dive turning rap
idly like q maple leaf falling thru
the air. Often the pilot is killed and
the assistant is able to got control Of
the craft. We had plenty of Ameri-
can aviators over there but very few
Yankee air ships.
II really haven't very pretty
story to tell because 90 Mu ia rf my
Joy riding was done in puny little
French box cars. crowded with SO
many men l could scarcely move. In
those cars the only time you might
have the privilege of looking out of
tho window was when no stronger
man was near to push you away.
Signs on the sides of the cars indi-
Gated that they might carry eight
horses or forty men and they sell
dom carried less.
u0 uICdIlCSt + OuASu Vi July th0 =
ever spent was in England last year.
I was struck by the flu and while the
rest of the fellows were served ice
cream and strawberries by the gra-
cious women of England, was Ian
gushing in q British hospital, and
q British hospital is no joke. Our
usual menu consisted of rabbit,
cheese and tea. The rabbits were
quite real, and not cats as some peO-
pie have imagined.
II never did much actual fight
ing, except perhaps down in San An
tonic. Texas, with pick and shovel or
in lodging de'ail duty occasionally.
To tell the truth I fought more with
the English than with the Germans.
We were always quarreling and
managed to get into several fights
myself.
For some reason we always got
along admirably with the French.
They always treated us we'll, altho
they did hold US up occasionally on
the prices of the things we were
obliged to buy from them. They look
ed upon all of us from America as
millionaires. However at the end
of each month their prices were not
nearly as high as when we first re-
ceived our pay envelopes.
"The most remarkable thing about
France, l believe, is their school sys-
tenn. In the section where was sta
toned, at Cheaumont. near Toul. all
of the pupils had to take military
training. I would often see little
tots five years old out in the field do
Ing squads right and squads left,
drilling at the manual of arms, and
maneuvering. There were great stone
walls around the English school
yards and I never had the pleasure
OF entering. The climate Of France
and England is no more remarkable
ttan ours. 1t rains there nearly all
the time.
II saw several cathedrals and the
two castles of the Bluebeard. But
best of all l came back to America
on the American transport. Man
churia." The first day out we feast
ed on wienies and sauer kraut. We
were always we'll fed in France. Th
French bread was quite appetizing
Some of 1t was put up in long rolls
and some OF the loaves were made
like huge doughnuts. Often in the
restaurants when we would try tc
give our order by gesture and q
mumbling attempt at French we
would be much surprised to hear the
waitress calmly remark, II you
would talk in English, monsieur, we
could serve you much better"