The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-02-13

MyrOn 7. Herrick pure or had
they ever for an instant thought of
themselves or their place in history.
So it was with Lindbergh, and all
the praise awarded him, judged by
the rigid standards of history and
precedent, he has merited. He was
the instrument of a great ideal, and
one need not be fantically religious
to see in his success the guiding
hand Of Providence.
For he was needed and he came,
came at moment which seemed
exactly preordained. He was needed
by France and needed by America,
and had his arrival been merely the
triumph of a great adventure the
influence of his act would have gone
no further than have other great
sporting and commercial achieve
mentS.
Just before the Battle Of the
Marne was standing on the river
embankment. A great harvest moon
was rising over the city near Notre
Dame. 1t seemed to rest on the
corner of a building. The French
flag was blowing steadily across its
face. In the fleeting moments
while this spectacle lasted, people
knelt on the quay in prayer.
inquired the meaning of these
prayers.
The answer was that there is a
prophecy centuries old that the
fate Of France will finally be settled
upon the fields where Attila's hordes
were halted and driven back, and
where many battles in defense of
France have been won. And point
ing up the Seine to the French flag
outlined across the moon, people
cried: See! the sign in Heaven!
1t means victory for France"
Now when this boy of ours
dropped unheralded from the sky
and circling the Eiffel Tower came
to rest as gently as a bird on the
field Of LeBourget, I was seized
with the same premonition as those
French people on the quay that
August night.
felt, without knowing why, that
his arrival was far more than. a
fine deed well accomplished, and
there glowed within me the preset
ence of splendor yet to come. Lo!
1t did come and has gone on spread
ing it's benef1cence upon two sister
nations which now conquered
ocean joins.
For I feel in every fibre of my
being that Lindbergh's landing here
marks one Of the supreme moments
in the history of America and
France.
The spirit of st. Louis was to the
French people another sign come
cut Of the sky-a sign which bore
the promise that all would be we'll
between them and us.
France took Charles Lindbergh to
her heart because of what he was
and because Of what she knew he
represented. His little ship became
the meeting place Of the greatest
conference that has ever gathered
between two nations, for under the
shadow Of its wings a hundred and
fifty million Frenchmen and Ameri-
cans have come together in gener-
GUS accord. No diplomatic bag ever
carried such Stupendous docu-
ment as this all-unaccredited mes
Senger bore.
Lindbergh was not commissioned
by his Government any more than
Lafayette was by his.
But who shall say but what they
were God-sent messengers of help
smiling the defiance of their faith
at an all-too skeptical world? What
the one accomplished has already
changed history through a century;
what the other has just done the
people of America and France will
take good care shall not be wasted
The way Lindbergh bore himself
after getting here was but con-
tinuation of his flight. He started
with no purpose but to arrive, he
remained with no desire but to
serve, he sought nothing, he was
offered all. No flaw marked any
act or word, and he stood forth
amidst the clalnor and the crowds
the very embodiment of a fearless,
kindly, cultivated American youth
unSpoiled, unspoilable.
A nation which breeds such boys
need never fear for its future. When
a contract for a million dollars was
sent him he cabled back: "You
must remember that this expedition
was not organized to make money,
but to advance aviation" There is
the measure of his spirit, the key
to his intentions.
His first step in that direction Is
the publishing Of this book. and nc
one can doubt that it's influence
will be of enormous value in push
ing on mans conquest of the air.