Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-14
GOTHAM WELCOME
THRILLS LlNDBERGH;
FLYER TELLS STORY

, nnILIS EINbDItASub
FLYER TELLS STORY
CONTINUED from First Page0
be impossible, for the valve rods were
badly rusted, and L couldn't run the
motor. The Army kindly gave me
one OF their best ships. a pursuit plane
, of the "P-1" class. 1t is fast, nght
ing machine, and ] was able to do the
distance from Washington to Mitchell
Field in two hours and four minutes
Concentrated on Flight.
was so anxious to get to New YORK
and not keep all the people waiting q
minute longer than necessary that !
concentrated on the flight. ana palo
little or no attention to the scene be.
low. although it was good to be hy1ng
over home territory once more.
| The change from the Army plane
to, the amphibian was a matter of a
few minutes, and We were off for the
bay. I was a passenger in this plane.
In fact 1t was one of the few times III
my life that / rode in plane as a
passenger, 1t gave me chance to
relax. and / had a fine view of the
strange armada which greeted me in
the Narrows,. / never saw anything
like it in my life i didn't know that
there were so many different kinds
of ships. Everything thar could boast
of a propeller seemed to be there,
probably 200 in all.
| There We're ferryboats, tugs, tank
ers, steamships and excursion boats,
all decorated and apparently jammed
TO the rails. AS l climbed from the
plane into the police boat which was
| to take me to the Macon the noise
/ broke loose, and from then until we
reached the ARTERY was treated to
more different kinds of noise than /
| thought existed 1t sounded like the
whole country had decided to let OFF
steam at the same time.
Reception Is Astounding.
| The reporters who interviewed me
| aboard the Macon seemed to be in
the same state of mind as was. With
the din going on and getting worse
every minute, / met them in the
after cabin, but the questions just
didn't seem to come. The reception
was so astounding to me that doubt
/ If would have been able to answer
them if they did.
They asked me what ! thought OF
the reception, and as | said i'm the
beginning. 1t was beyond the power
| of description
| l will never forget that scene at
| Battery Park as long as | live. How
so many people managed to cramp
| themselves into such a relatively small
space is a mystery to me. The police
certainly did excellent work in keep.
ing them in line. I am afraid that If
they had not / would not have sur
vived the day.
And must not forget the air show
that the aviators put on for me. My,
it makes you feel proud of our airmen
when you see how wonderful they are
The escort of FL planes which brought
me from Washington also did some
pretty flying.
Tribute to Byrd.
spotted Comdr. Byrd's three.
motored plane as it flew above the
Macon, and at the Battery the COM
mander was among the first to shake
my hand. / wish him all the luck in
the world on his approaching flight,
and / am confident he will make it
easily.
The more people who fly over the
Atlantic from now on the better for
aviation. 1t will also serve TO hasten
the Gay of the first transoceanic air
line.
Lots of people had told me- about
the typical Broadway salute of ticker
| tape and waste,paper basket contents,
but not until this afternoon did 1 have
my first experience of it. 1t beat a
snowstorm all to pieces. Where did all
the paper come from? I'll bet the de.
mand for new telephone books will be
enormous today.
Mayor Walker welcomed me official.
ly at City Hall, and / received the
medal of valor conferred by the city
of New York. ] am deeply grateful to
the city for this honor, and l shall
prize it among my most cherished
possessions.
Greatest of All.
1t is hard for me to write about yes
terday's reception. 1t was by all odds
the largest and the greatest of their
all. There were so many incidents,
many of them amusing. that book
could be written about it.
L never saw so many girls in all my
life. Many of them seemed TO know
me real we'll, although my own time S
been pretty we'll occupied with avja-
ton Well, their welcome made me
feel good just the same, and If had a
thousand good right hands | would
like to shake hands with them all.
Then there were the decorations.
Colorful would hardly describe them.
l was amused at the large number of
enlarged pictures of myself. Some
were fine, but others ! barely recog'
nized And the babies. they were out
in numbers. l noticed particularly one
baby carriage with a 2.year-old tot
sitting in it. Both the carriage end
baby were dressed in pictures of my
self.
Two Distinct Celebrations.
| Fifth avenue was another revelation
to me. 1t was like two diStincr cele.
blations in different cities. Broadway
and lower Manhattan was, of course,
magnificent. There aren't enough adj
jectives in my vocabulary to tell about
it. But Fifth avenue was distinctive,
and l think the flags explain this.
Those beautiful big flags floating In
the breeze were a moving sight. Then
finally. Central Park with Gov. Smith
and $780, 900 others. The governor pin
ned the New York State medal for
yalof on the lapel of my coat, and then
we reviewed that wonderful military
parade. / am so grateful to all those
men for that marvellous procession
that again words fail me. / want them
to know that l appreciate this as dc
all the rest of the reception from the
bottom of my heart.
/ haven't forgotten the ceremony