davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-05-23
The Weather

Partly cloudy tonight and Friday.
Not much change In Temperature.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

sANTANDER, Spain, June IS q.
N,SO.-Jean Assolant, Rene Lefevre
and Armendo Lotti, jr., French
transatlantic fliers, who have the
distinction Of bringing the first
stowaway across the ocean In an
airplane, prepared CHOP of late
today for LIE Bourget Field, Paris
their oginial goal.
The airmen motored here from
Comillas after visiting the civil
governor and municipal officials
they toured the city.
They returned to Comillas later to
await the installation Of spare me-
chanical parts which were ordered
from the Gamonat Airdrome. Asso-
lant said he did not know the hour
of departure, but hoped to get away
later in the day.
The anger that Assolant and his
companions felt when they discov'
cred the youthful stowaway-Arthur
Schreiber, of Portland, Me.,-had
! evaporated today. 1t was under
stood that Schneider would accom-
Spany the Yellow Bird to LIE Bourget
Field--as a welcome passenger.
While holding that the presence
of Schreiber in the fuselage of the
huge Bernard monoplane caused a
greater strain on the machines
fuel supply than had been counted
upon, the airmen were loath to
place full blame for the forced
landing on the stowaway.
"The elements were to blame for
the failure of our flight" Lottt,
who was the financial hacker of
the venture, stated today. With
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Paris Very Curious But Not
Enthusiastic OUer StOIUGLUGy

Messages received here from the
aviators indicate that they hold
Schneider at least partly respon-
sible for the emergency landing
but most Of the blame is placed
upon the severe storms which bat.
tered the craft fom the time 1t
passed the halfway mark across the
ocean.
During the last 600 miles of the
ocean flight, the airmen encountered
headwinds of 50-mile an-hour We.
locity, and this factor, coupled with
severe storms that forced them to
take much longer course than they
had anticipated. resulted in speedy
dimunition of the gasoline supply.
1t was pointed out that the adverse
winds undoubtedly placed a great
strain upon the motor of the plane,
and caused it to eat into the fuel re.
serve much quicker than il the giant
machine had been favored with a fol-
lowing wind all the way across.
But so far as Schreiber himself is
concerned, Paris is mainly curious.
There IL no hostility.
Had the yellow Birds flight ended
in disaster. the feeling might have
been considerably different, but
live and let live" seemed to be the
feeling of the general public in re.
gard to Schreiber's exploit.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
so More Gallons of Gas Would
Haze Put Them on French Soil

They requested the governor OF
Santander, in which province Co
millas is located, to aid them in
obtaining an additional supply of
gasoline to permit them to COM
plete their flight. The governor
Immediately invited them to come
to Santander, and offerc1 to have
them officially scorted.
The airmen refused, however,
stating that they preferred to re.
main near their plane, and the
jovial landlord of lie Nontanesa'
was overjoyed at being allowed to
cater to the most famous visitors
ever to patroniZe his inn.
Decked with freshly-picked flow
ers given them by pretty senoritas,
the fliers walked from the beach
to the inn in a miniature triumphal
procession, and Immediately sat
down at table to partak> of their
first real meal in many hours.
Scores of persons gathered outside
the tavern and called so loudly and
insistently for the fliers in a babhle
of French and Spanish that AssO-
liant finally stepped out on a bal
cony and delivered an impromptu
address to the throng. He thanked
them for the cordial reception &C.
cordo himself and his colleagues
a expressed the hope that the
emergency landing had not caused
anyone "any inconvenience
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
"VeJy Difficult" StOpaway
Radios TO Parents in POreLGnd

proud father. "I'll give him credit
He was always going somewhere
Cuba-South America--always 60
ing to do something, and now he's
done it,
The four brothers and sister Of
Arthur were also overjoyed today.
The mother and father of the
stowaway had been without sleep
and had taken little food for more
than "a hours, since they learned
that Arthur got aboard the plane
secretly at Old Orchard Beach just
before the takeoff of the air voyage
of the Yellow Bird.
Tears dimmed the eyes of the
mother as she waited by the radio
of Leslie r. Brown, amateur radio
operator, and the father paced rest.
lessly back and forth. A reception
OF relatives and friends of the par.
ents followed the receipt of the good
news.
Born in Rochester, n. Y, in 1907,
Arthur attended the public schools
of that city and later the public
schools of New York, to which city
the Schreibers moved. He was grad.
uated from Portland High School in
the class of 1924. Since then he has
been helping his father in Schrei'
ber's tailor shop.
Arthur's friends described him as
a youth with an unusual personality
He won the dancing championship
of Vermont, and was much sought
at local entertainments. He speaks
five languages.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

Directly across the Bay of Biscay
from the Comillas beach is the coast
line of France. With SO or go addi-
tional gallons of fuel the fliers at
least could have reached this coast
line, and brought their flight to an
end in the romantic Basque country
of their native France.
But the tempestuous elements,
coupled with the adventurous spirit
of an American youth, deprived
them of this glory.
The original plan Of the French
fliers was to lower the time Of 70
hours and 80 minutes taken by Col.
Charles Lindbergh for his flight to
Paris. Assolant, Lefevre and Lott
hoped to reach LIE Bourget within
80 hours Of their take-off. Their
chances Of achieving this goal
seemed favorable up to point
halfway across the ocean. Then,
severe storms, necessitating a
Iengthening of the course by veer'
ing sharply to the south over the
Azores, ate deeply into the planes
supply of fuel.
The airmen and their daring
stowaway were warmly. welcomed
by the residents of Comilla. and
after an examination of the yellow
Bird disclosed that no damage had
been done by the forced landing,
they were taken to the village inn
lie NontaneSa" for dinner.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
F7iers Call On Spanish Officials
And Returns to Wait for Repairs

out young Schreiber aboard, we
might not have consumed SO much
gasoline. But If the weather had
been more kind, we would have
landed in Paris on scheduled time
stowaway and all.
The huge monoplane, which took
off at 1908 o'clock Thursday morn,
ing from Old Orchard. Me, landed
on the PLACE d'Oyamers, adjoining
Comillas. at 8 clock last night q
p. m. Washington timel after fight
ing for hours against adverse winds
and severe storms raging all along
the European coast,
The landing itself was without in
cident. Within 500 miles of their
soil, the airmen found that their
hours of battling with unfavorable
weather from a point halfway across
the Atlantic had made such great
inroads upon their fuel supply that
they decided upon an immediate
landing.
The smooth, pebbled beach of
Comillas. stretching down to the
waters of the Bay of Biscay. afforded
an excellent landing place and Asso.
liant, who piloted the big ship dur
ing two-thirds of the journey,
brought the plane to earth on the
deserted strand.
The plane was not damaged in the
least, and all four occupants were in
splendid condition. An immediate
and thorough examination of the
ships gasoline tanks revealed the
sagacity of Assolant's decision to
land for they were found to be al
most dry
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Officials Disappointed When
Hiers Fail to Reach Paris

The fact that the Yellow Bird is
the first French airplane to span
the Atlantic successfully makes 1t
a certainty that the fliers will be
accorded a hero's welcome.
However, the failure to reach
their goal caused bitter disappoint.
ment to French officials and to the
thousands who had tkronged the
field in anticipation of being on
hand for the arrival.
News of the safe landing at
Comillas, near Santander, Spain,
was joyously hailed by the throng.
which had waited for hours at the
field with nothing more than a
few fragmentary dispatches telling
of the planes progress to reward
their patience.
At the moment of the planes land
ing, thousands of French men and
women were milling about the field
straining eyes and ears for sight or
sound of the great yellow plane. At
that time, anxiety had already come
to be noticeable in the faces Of the
public and aviation officials alike,
and fears were openly expressed
that the airmen might have met the
same fate as befell Captains Nun
gesser and Coli, lost in the first
great French attempt to span the
ocean by air.
Many OF the spectators had been
on the flying field since early morn
ing, and all had been there since
shortly after noon. For hours their
hopes had been alternately raised,
then dashed to earth, by the count
less rumors concerning the aviators'
progress and whereabouts.
At one time. the anxiety Of the
crowd threatened to lead to q gen.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
ARMENO LOTTI

PARIS, June Is a. S).-With a
great deal of curiosity, but no par
ticular enthusiasm, Paris today was
awaiting the arrival Of Arthur
Schneider, 23-year.old Portland. Me,
youth, the first transatlantic air
plane stowaway in the history OF
aviation.
Schneider Is due to arrive at I.e-
bourget air field this afternoon
with Jean Assolant. Rene Lefevre
and Armeno Lotti, pilot, navigator
and sponsor of the successful trans
oceanic flight OF the monoplane
Yellow Bird, which made forced
landing at Comillas- Spain, last
night.
The report that Schreiber's pres
ence in the plane was to some ex'
tent responsible for the failure of
the plane to reach it's goal, Paris,
caused considerable comment here.
but there is no apparent antipathy
against the youth for the part he
played in the flight.
Aviation experts point out that
although the added weight OF
Schreiber's body might have caused
speedier consumption OF the planes
gasoline supply than otherwise. he
could no: possibly have exerted
enough influence to force a land.
ing a full 500 miles from the air.
men goal.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Spanish War Veterans
Hold 3Oth Encampmen1

The thirtieth annual encampnent
of the Department Of the District
of Columbia, United Spanish War
Veterans, is being held today in
Pythian Temple.
Samuel G. Mawson, department
commander of the Grand Army of
the Republic; Harlan Wood, depart.
ment commander Of the American
Legion: Thomas w. Fawcett, senior
vice department commander of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, and
c. A. Babcock. department com
mander of the Disabled American
Veterans of the World War, are
scheduled to speak.
Department Commander James q.
Yaden IN presiding. New officers
will be elected tonight. The auxil'
iaries of the Spanish War Veterans
will hold their annual convention at
Pythian Temple tomorrow.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

PORTLAND. Me-. June Is Q.N.S.).
"Okay, very difficult, let my friends
know this" said Arthur Schneider,
22-year-old stowaway aboard the
transatlantic airplane Yellow Bird,
In a cablegram received by his
parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Morris r.
Schneider today.
Congratulations the whole world
knows it," cabled back the proud
father
The cablegram which Mr.. and
Mrs. Schneider received from Arthur
from Commillas, Spain, through a
local newspaper, read:
Arrived Comillas safe and o. X.
Very Difficult. Don't fear anything
for me. I shall wire again from
Paris. Let my friends know this.
Arthur"
The cable sent back by the father
read:
Best wishes and congratulations
from everybody. We are all very
happy at your real achievement
We are waiting to hae you back
in our arms again. Don't worry
Not only your friends but the whole
world knows 1t.
"(signe0 Mother, Father and
Friends"
Thank God my boy is safe,
cried Mrs. Schreiber when the news
of the safe arrival overseas of the
Yellow Bird came in by radio. HE
is my youngest and my idol and
knew God would protect him"
my boy is a hero" exclaimed the
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
StowGway Air Sick and Panicky
With Fright AU Wny to Spain

Wen never reach France alive
Naturally these pessimistic
answers added to my panic, was
awfully glad when the trip was
over, even though 1t meant landing
in strange country without a
penny in my pockets.
But l am not worrying, the
people here have been mighty good
to me-"
Schneider has become extremely
popular with the residents of
Oomillas, the little town on the Bay
of Biscay near where the Yellow
Bird landed.
The senoritas as we'll as older
residents of the town have made
a great fuss over him. He is con-
tinually surrounded by a crowd ask
ing for his autograph and shaking
his hand.
The youth has consumed large
quantities of beer which the in.
habitants insist on pressing on him.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

SANTANDER, Spain, June Is
G.N.S.l-The revelation that he was
panic.stricken during certain phases
of the flight was made today by
Arthur Schreiber,, 22-year-old Port
land (Me.) youth, who slowed away
aboard the transatlantic airplane
Yellow Bird before it hoped off
from Old Orchard, Me-, for Europe.
In an interview with International
News Service today, the first trans
atlantic airplane stowaway made no
attempt to hide the fact that fear
overcame him on more than one
occasion during the flight.
''I was badly scared several times
during the trip" he said, especially
when we hit bad weather.
IT kept constantly asking the
aviators whether we would reach
France safely" he continued. In
variably they replied:
eve feel sure we will be killed.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Treasury Department
Defends Virkula Affair
Despite Congress Row

Unmoved by the torrent OF criti'
cism over hair trigger" enforce
ment agents. the Treasury stood its
ground today and prepared TO de-
'fend F.. j. white. the customs
patrolman. VINO shot and killed
Henry Virkula
Under no circumstances. II was
announced. Will prohibition agents
be disar as demanded in Con-
gress. The Treasury takes the posi-.
ton that il that were done the
prohibition and customs laws might
as well be repealed.
Charge WI itewash
Representative Pittenger R.). Of
Minnesota, a dry, who represents
Virkula's s district. charged anew to-
day that the Treasury investigation
of the shooting was "a whitewash. !"
Naturally" he said. govern
ment officers involved in this kill
ing protect themselves, and so long
as thew are to investigate them
selves they can be depended upon
to shape the facts in their favor"
No justification
Pittenger said he had received
report from Sh @iff Hugh Reidy at
Internal :onal Falls. which indicates
the killing was without justifica.
ton"
The row kicked up in Congress
over the Virkula affair almost
reached the fist-fighting stage late
Yesterday when Representative La
Guardia R.) of New York declared
that by such acts OF terrorism the
government is encouraging hatred
for itself
Uncle Sam has always been some
thing to love" he said. but now he
is becoming something to be hated,
something oppressive"
Representative Murphy Ro OF
Ohio, a pronounced dry, took excep-
tion to LaGuardia's remark, and de-
manded it be expunged from the rec
ord. He was overruled. but contin-
ued to interrupt the New Yorker
until Representative Schafer (Ro of
Wisconsin appealed for the sergeant
alarms to keep order.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
FRIGHTENED ST0WAWAY BY PREDICTING DROP IN SEA
WAS ILL ALL WAY OVER
ON FIRST AIR "TRIP

there as below. Rain was falling in
torrents, and the sea was entirely
obscured from our vision.
Glad to See Land
Many times we lost hope and
despaired of ever reaching the coast.
1t was q hours after our departure
from Old Orchard that we sighted
the coast of Spain, and our joy at
that moment can well be imagined.
I'VE cruised down the coast for a
considerable time searching for a
suitable landing place, and finally
selected Comillas. as the level. peb.
bly, beach seemed to afford a salts
factory spot TO descend without
damaging the plane or endangering
our lives"
Assolant attempted to snatch a
few hours sleep at the Comillas inn
during the night, but the adulating
residents of the village refused to
allow him. All through the night
scores of persons gathered beneath
his window and called for him to
show himself
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

basket of flowers was brought up
the long steps to him and he bowed
10 a hurricane of hands.
And with shining eyes below him
sat his mother and father. Whether
he won or lost. it was a perfect
moment for them.
Some while later. when Colonel
Moss announced the names OK tn"
winners. the. shine in Mrs. Sullivan 8
proud eyes became a glow of hap
piness that could be told only in the
rich medium of brimming tears.
The very same thing happened
to the mother OF Mary McGonigal.
Both could only say. over and over
again: I'm 40 happy"
Merle NJ. Clarke also came in for a
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
4 FLAG V|CTORS
WILL TOUR
WORLD
Continued from First Pass)

hHA d6Nl
Corps of the g. A. r.. and the
proud. resolute young faces of the
eight young contest finaliBts.
Behind and surrounding all this
was the CLEAN OF arms borne by
representatives of the three great
arms of Americas defense-her
Marines. her Soldiers, and her
Sailors.
Into this brilliant and breath.tak-
ing scene, one by one stepped the
eight finalists and took their stations
before the microphones OF radio sta
tions VOL and NAA.
Neither their impressive Visible
audience nor that more fearful audi.
ence, the invisible audience at the
, unseen end OF the ether wave. daur1t'
ed the four boys and the four girls,
Girls Speak First
The girls were the first to speak.
First to be heard was the magnetic
voice OF Elaine E. Conway, of De-
troit, who, az the contest plans de-
manded, spoke aloud her essay on
the symbolism Of the American flag,
As she stepped away from the
microphone Alma Groves took her
turn. Her warm. girlish Southern
voice captured all who heard her.
Then came tina beautiful unhurried,
assured diction Of Mary McGonigal
Last was the rich voice OF dark
eyed Lupe Rivera, of Los Angeles.
The boys were the next. with the
measured tones Of Ralph Agate. OF
Louisiana. being heard first. Merle
NJ. Clarke with lnshaking conf.
dence and the srtistry Of deter
mined and positive youth, followed
Then came something that shat
tered the dream and nearly broke
the heart of q very small and very
sincere boy.
Thomas Paul Derdock. "a. Of
Pittsburgh. took his place before
the microphOne.
Dressed, az the other boys, in
blue coat and white flannel trou.
serg Dedock approached the micro
phone with determination written
all over his winning face.
Orphan Asylum Inmate
Derdock Ia an orphan. Until he
recently became one OF the regional
winners in the Flag Contest he had
never been away from st. Joseph g
Orphan Asylum.
And last night, for the first time
in his life. he had on long pants.
Everything that Thomas Paul
Derdock had. went into that speech
and it was too much. Halfway
through. ne suffered that awful
frightful experience of loss of mem.
ory. He faltered. He stuck. For
Is seconds, perhaps, he clenched
his fists and fought off the all-irn-
pelllng desire to run and hide.
He was victorious and finished
his speech to sympathetic and rous'
ing applause OF the crowd.
As climax Of relief to this
pathetlcally valiant try came the
thrilling effort OF Robert L. Suili'
van.
, From the moment he started
until the time he finished. 1t was
obvious that the trip aroLld the
world was his. The boys cpeecb
was electric.
Until the final senten.* he was
in every wav typical. svcn en-
blematic of the Ameri an youth
on whose strong and easv shoul.
ders rests the future Of tn" United
States,
The moment he concluded a huge
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Slight Repairs and $50 Gallons
Of Gas Needed TO Resume FIight

When a general overhauling of
the plane was begun later in the
evening, it was found that a few
substitute parts would be needed
for the 600-horsepower Hispano
Suiza motor of the. yellow Bird, and
the Spanish authorities Immediately
took steps to get them here at the
earliest possible moment.
Approximately $50 gallons of sasO-
line have already been received here
from the Spanish military air field
at BurEos.
While awaiting arrival of the
spare parts, the aviatOrs jour-
neyed to Santander. a distance Of
80 miles. this morning. TO inspect
the palace of the governor. The
trip was made by automobile.
Shs landing Ot khe French fliers
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

eral disturbance, and ominous NUT
terings of the names OF Nungesser
and Coli were heard from the dense.
ly packed throng. Open criticism
was made of the action of the French
government in disassociating itself
from the flight, On the grounds it
waR a foolhardy adventure.
Meanwhile lie Bourget flying field
officials assured the throng that
everything possible was being and
had been done to aid the airmen.
The Washington times., 1929-06-15
Icontinued from First Page)

was nothing we could do. We did
not want to turn back under any
consideration unless absolutely neces'
sarHs For we did not know for
certain we could get away success
fully again.
$50 Schneider came along with US,
and was with US when we landed
at Comillas.
1--WE will take him to Paris with
us. To leave him in Spain, with
out a penny in his pockets and
without any knowledge of the Ian
guage, would be almost as bad as
dumping him in the middle of the
Atlantic.
Rene Lefevre, assistant pilot of
the Yellow Bird, revealed to Inter-
national News Service that the
worst weather of the entire trip
was encountered at II p. m. Thurs
day, the day of the hop-off.
I'VE ran into terrifically bad
weather." Lefevre said. I'VE pushed
the plane up to 1000 meters, but
found conditions just as bad up
The Washington times., 1929-06-15

at this out-of-the way spot recalls
the transatlantic flight of Comdr.
Richard E. Byrd, who with four
companions came down at Ver-Sur.
Mer, France, while on a flight from
New York to Paris. In that case,
also. storms and mist forced hours
of aimless cruising with a steadily
diminishing gasoline supply. event
ually necessitG ting a landing on the
beach.
Computations made today indi-
cate that the airmen covered ap-
proximately $3.50 miles in the %
hours and 50 minutes elapsing be.
tween the time of the take-off and
landing.
Their average speed was 1Os
miles an hour. whereas thev had
hoped to get 132 miles an hour on
an average out Of their plane.