Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-11

The terrible obstacles of fog and
rain, the tragic failure of the COM
pass and the cool courage with which
Comdr. Byrd and his comrades met
the dramatic climax of their flight
across the Atlantic place his achieve
ment as high in the annals of Amerl-
can adventure as the data secured will
stand in the realm of science. This,
at least, seems to be the opinion of
the press of the country.
Nowhere in the Nation will there
be more rejoicing that Comdr. Dick
Byrd and his companions are safe
than in Virginia, his native State; no.
where more regret that his monoplane,
the America, was smashed in the
forced landing off the coast Of France"
said the Lynchburg Daily Advance.
when the news of the safety of Byrd
and his crew was flashed to this coun-
try. That the flight added far more
to the science of flying than If 1t had
come to an uneventful end on the land
ing field at LIE Bourget" is the state
ment of the Richmond News-Leader,
which also says: THE risks, Of course,
were of a sort that make one shudder,
but as the aviators escaped unhurt,
there is far more reason to congratu-
late them, and to be proud Of their ex-
plot, than if all had gone well with
them" Referring to the records kept
by Comdr. Byrd, the Birmingham
News says, "If Lindbergh is the Left
Ericsson of the air, Comdr. Byrd is its
Charles Darwin or its Matthew Fon-
taine Maury, making new maps for
explorers"
AS to the personal qualities of Rich
ard Byrd and his companions the At
A. L. han 80
that endured through that wandering,
to the spirits that conquered at last,
to Neville and Balchen and Acosta,
and to their noble captain himself, the
world bows in homage paid only to
it's bravest and BEST" and the Seattle
Daily Times in its tribute to the Gin
trepid four" says of them, "Tney
have added UNNECESSARILY to the glory
of Uncle Sans service" The Pitts
burgh Sun exclaims, What hearts of
oak are in the breasts of these rugged
men whom the blackness of storm and
wind and fog at night could not ter
rify" While the Harrisburg Tele-
graph, noting that "it does not often
happen that to one man falls the good
fortune to be twice hailed as an in
ternational hero" records the fact
that Comdr Byrd "has won the dis
fame he has carried his three COM
panions in the America" The New
York World calls attention to the 1T
citations for bravery in action" which
Dick Byrd has already received, and
declares that America is proud of
Richard Evelyn Byrd-the Sir Philip
Sidney of the air."
As to the trip itself. the St Paul
Pioneer Press finds it interesting that
the ''crew OF the America. who set
out on their flight strictly for
SCIENCE" should have had 1.-The most
romantic trip of them ALL" AS the
Utica Observer Dispatch says: "A
volume filled with the most startling
incidents. each one crammed with the
possibilities of disaster, lies hidden in
the log of the America In the few
hours intervening between the take-off
at New York and the plunge into the |
sea near Ver-sur-Mer, these four men
passed through an age of adventure
which even the fertile imagination |
of Jules Verne was unable to invent"
Under such atmospheric conditions as
Byrd encountered. mariners would
check speed, but this was impossible |
for the aviators who had to drive on !
100 miles an hour for 10 hours or
drop, the Toledo Blade explains, as it |
finds it mot surprising that Comdr :
Byrd failed to take his airplane to
Paris" but rather amazing that he /
was able to land anywhere alive"
Although it acknowledges that this |
may be poor comfort for Byrd" the |
Worcester Evening Gazette says 'he |
has whatever satisfaction there is in |
knowing that he set out to make it a |
scientific test and that the claimants |
conspired to make it a most rigid |
one" and the Nashville Banner re- |
marks, When it is recalled that |,
Comdr. Byrd's fight was made for
purely scientific purposes and for the |
opportunity of checking the POSSIBLE |
tiles of flying under adverse con-
ditions. it then becomes reasonable |
enough to call 1t complete success" /!
Opinions differ as to the effect OF
this experience on plans for further :
transoceanic fight. To the Fort
a