Evening star., 1932-06-27
Hausner Rescue Credited
To Luck Rather Than Skill

The rescue of the transatlantic flyer
Stanislaus Felix HauSner, who was at
tempting to reach Warsaw, Poland, will
always be considered one of the mir
acleS of aviation history But there is
a tendency on the part of the press to
discourage repetitions of adventures of
such nature.
Apparently old King Neptune has
been foiled again and another victim
has slipped from his clutches" is the
way the Columbus, Ohio, State Journal
describes the happening, and it thinks
the fact that Hausner came through
alive was seemingly due more largely to
luck than to ability. His flop proves
nothing except that flying across the
Atlsnttc Is no soft snap, even If a wom-
an did once do it," AYERS this paper.
On the other hand, the Cleveland News
is of the opinion that when the whole
story is told it will be revealed that
foresight and bulldog courage saved
HauSner'S life. The whole world re-
joiceS in this thrilling rescue at sea. the
second within MONTH" calling atten-
ton to the preparations for the flight,
and noting that it was "a miracle not
without its common-Sense angles" The
News states: Pilot Hausner didn't gam
bic all on a straight overnight flight.
Though his larder was not large, he
took suf1cient food to sustain him
week with careful outstanding. His
plane was equipped with gas tanks that
became pontoonS when their contents
were emptied and the plane struck the
water. Furthermore, Hausner was DOS
sessed Of never-say-die spirit that en-
abled him to cling to the partially SUBJ
merged wreck in the face of disheart-
ening obstacles"
fI,o
ner, the Boston Transcript remarks.
THE lost in such accidents greatly out
number the saved But now and then
there will be an added thrill in the
news OF the day as it relates such an
adventure as that which has now be-
fallen the young man who undertook to
ny from New York to Warsaw" Reck-
oning as outstanding" in the whole
story the unwavering faith of his
young wife in the airman's ability 10
save himself" the Rockford Register
HepuDnc records: When all others
abandoned hope, she clung tenaciouSly
10 the belief he had not perished. 1t
Is easy to imagine the great 10y and
relief news of his rescue must have
Drought to this courageous. stout
hearted wife" 'Hausner can be thank
iui that his plane did not sink, that
calm weather prevailed over several
days and that he finally drifted into
sight OF the British tanker" saws the
Scranton Times, as it notes: "By MANY,
Hausner's flight was considered fool
hardy: His plane was not believed
capable OF standing the severe test of
a TRANSATLANTIC flight, while his expert
ence as flyer and navigator was
limited. Yet his ambition to fly from
new YORK to Warsaw drove him on
just as other flyers who started out but
never came back were impelled to make
VentureSome trips in the hone OF
winning fame and reward"
Discussing this phase Of mans ma
ture, the Portland Oregon Journal COM
ments; 1T is impossible to fathom
the lntrepidity of man. Hold before
him the seemingly impossible, and the
struggle to achieve it Immediately be-
gins. For the dauntleSs spirits who have
attempted to reach the North Pole, the
Arctic is vast cemetery without an
epltaph. In numerous instances the
challenge of the Atlantic to airmen, es-
pecially to make the flight eastward, has
been fatal to the efforts and hopes OF
men. Progress has always come through
perllous groping," affirms this paper.
Civilization rests upon sacrifice. The
Hausners and the others who have gone
down to the sea in airships, especially
the many who went and never came
back, are the proof The failures are
distressing, but they are worth almost
as much to man<ind as the successes.