Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-27

Of presentation from notes which he
jotted down this morning in the open
cockpit of a Navy observation plane en-
route from Hampton Roads Naval Air
Station to the Anacostia Naval Air Sta
ton. In his speech of acceptance
Admiral Byrd predicted that aviation
will reach a stage of development Of
which its pioneers never even dreamed
He thanked Justice Hughes warmly
for support given during the period of
preparation for the Astarctic expedition.
not accept as ian individual and per-
sonal matter"
I'm honoring me-" he said, ''you honor
the whole expedition. and so every
member of it. I accept this honor,
therefore, as their representative and
shall communicate with all the men in
my command and pass on this honor to
them
Aviation, he said, must go forward by
process Of evolution For a while, he
said. aviation was pushed too fast and
so suffered. but now the evolution seems
to be going forward in proper steps.
Because space is unlimited, however, he
said the evolution Of aviation has fewer
limits than ground-held things and so
eventually may progress to an I'M
The award of the Langley medal.
presented today, was made to Admiral
Byrd in December, 1929. soon after his
fight to the South Pole. President
Hoover was represented at today's cere-
mony by his secretary, Walter Newton.
Attending the presentation were Sena-
tors Swanson Of Virginia and Robinson
of Arkansas, former Representative r.
Walton Moore of Virginia. Admiral
Walter Gherardi, David s. ingalls,, AS
sistant Secretary of the Navy for Aero
nautics; Capt. John Towers, acting
chief Of the Bureau of Aeronautics. and
Dr. George w. Lewis, research director
Of the National Advisory Committee for
Aeuonautics. "a
Luncheon at Embassy.
Following the presentation Admiral
Byrd was taken to the French embassy
for luncheon given in his honor by
the French Ambassador. Paul Claudel
After the luncheon the Ambassador
was to confer on Byrd the Cross OF Com
mander OF. the Legion of Honor. which
was received at the embassy by Col
Charles A. Lindbergh last January.
Leaders in American AVIATION and
governmental circles were to be guests
at the luncheon and presentation.
L
Byrd here today add to the decorations
conferred upon him by all the nations
in recognition Of its achievements. He
now has so many coveted medals and
decorations that he cannot remember
their total Members Of his party say
that the number is somewhere between
rs and 100.
Tonight Admiral Byrd is to give an
illustrated lecture on his South Polar
expedition at the National Geographic
Society headquarters to members OF the
society and their friends. He will
show motion pictures which never be-
| fore have been seen in Washington
Following tonight's lecture he is to
leave for Boston and then will begin q
weeks vacation, which he probably
will spend at home in Virginia.
Paying OF Old Debt.
Since last October. Admiral Byrd
has been going virtually without inter
ruption on his lecture tour of America
to raise funds for paying off the in
debtedneSs of the South Polar expedi-
| ton. This tour he laughingly refers To
as "the expedition of the United
| States" The tour, however, is proving
successful, he said. and he now ha:
sufficient funds available to pay of the
Following his vacation he expects u
resume his lecture tour, which will be
concluded in May. The lecture tour
has presented very real hardships, the
admiral confessed. 1t has been hard
| physical grind and has given him little
time TO rest. to keep up his work or tx
| handle his correspondence.
! The members of his United States ex-
petition are Leo Mcdonald, business
manager; william A. Bernrieder, per-
sonal assistant, and Samuel Trow, tech
nician. The admiral has not held to-
gether any Of his expeditionary force
and will have to build his new force
from the ground up for his next trip
Of exploration.
The Antarctic headquarters ship
City of New York, which carried the
expedition into the Bay of Whales, i,
on the way to the National Capital anc
! is expected to reach here tomorrow OF
Sunday, Admiral Byrd said. The ia.
nous vessel, containing the equipment
used in the Antarctic, will be opened t.
the public during its stay here, which i.
to be for an indefinite period.