Imperial Valley press., 1928-10-16
Passengers Tell
OF Ocean Trip
Confined From Page 1)

|'Nl WIN IHltc OlHtfS OL inc crew
and made fast what remained of
the covering.
DR.. Eckcner dismissed the ripping
/ of the fin cover as unimportant,
end admitted only under pressure
, that his son played "A leading part
in making the repairs. Those who
examined the stabilizer, however,
realized what it must have meant
to work on that exposed perch, OK
tending horizontally into the air
near the rear OF the dirigiblc, 1000
feet CT more above the tossing
waves.
The repair work, took five hours,
from $ p. m. Friday to a. m. Sat
arGay.
"Wo had to slow down, as it was
Impossible to make the repairs 90
ing at full sppcd,' DR.. Eckcncr
said. ~ had set out TO make good
a promise to take this ship across
the Atlantic when it was ready. /
dld that and believe the trip has
been sufficient to demonstrate the
possibilities and perfection Of the
airship.
Smoking Forbidden
The general opinion OF 'he passcn-
gers regarding the trip appeared to
have been favorable. The chief
complaint was the hardship of not
being able to smoke, and the short
age of drinking water.
"Watcr was scarce during the
Journey said Thco. Matcio, Ger
man cartoonist, another passenger.
" We had plenty of wine, champagne
and liquors, however. There was
enough food for two days more
when we Ianded.'
Matejo gave an interesting ac-
count of the accident to the stabliz-
er.
I'VE were all at breakfast" he
said, land We were passing through
heavy windstorm, accompanied by
torrents of rain. 1t was in mid
ocean. Suddenly burst of wind
and rain tore the linen from the fin
and simultaneously gave the air
ship such a terrific jolt that her
nose tipped to the sea and many of
us thought we were capsizing. You
can imagine that they were in a
momentary fright.
"As a painter and cartoonist, /
was naturally anxious to make 4
sketch Of the damaged part of the
dirigible. So, after the storm abat
ed, | risked my life, climbed to
point of vantage and leaned out far
enough to obtain good view of the
torn fin, which l sl;etched from that
position
Robert Rciner, New Jersey manu-
facturer, said he would not make
the flight again.
Rciner complained of the lack of
heat in the quarters.
Because of the great quantity of
explosive hydrogen gas which keeps
the dirigiblc aloft, smoking was
strictly corbote," during the voy-
age. Many passengers, ON descend
ing from the dirigible after it was
was moored, asked for cigarettes as
their first request.
The passengers were all in good
humor when they landed. Matejo
said that all had enjoyed the trip.
They played cards, chess and other
games, and never tired of watching
the vast panorama Of sky, ocean and
landscape as they passed over var
ious countries, islands and the
ocean.
Delays VeXatious
Eckcncr wore his German marine
cap tilted to one side and smoked
a cigar while he talked. He had a
carnation in his buttonholc and
looked fresh, although he said he
was very tired and had not slept
more than eight hours during the
whole trip.
Commander Charles f. Rosendahl,
[. S. n, who is master of the Los
Angeles, joined with Eckcnrr in
minimizing the reports Of alarm
among the passengers when the fin
cover burst Rosendahl was guest
aboard the dirigiblc.
Roscndahl said he had met with
no interference in sending messages
TO the navy department regarding
the ships position during the vOy-
age. The Graf Zeppelin's S apparent
reluctance at times to answer queries
about her position had led to indig-
nation among naval officers here.
Roscndahl said the Graf Zeppelin
was at no time in danger. He cX-
planned that when the fin cover
burst, he sent a radiogram to the
navy asking for vessels to stand
10y, at the request of Eckcncr, purely
as a precautionary measure. They
were not certain of the damage
that might be caused. Ten minutes
later he cancelled the request he
added, when the true state of affairs
was disclosed.
The passengers were hcrded into
a room and there was long wait
for inspection. The passengers were
near revolt until Karl Won Levin
ski, German consul-general in New
York, arrived, mounted table and
made conciliatory speech. He cX-
planned that the delay was princi
pally due to Eekener order that
no one approach the airship, and
that it had been impossible to re-
move the baggage.
Won Lcwinski added that in the
darkness and confusion, Secretary
Warner had been halted and