Evening star., 1934-05-20

A. Lindbergh, then little knoDn
air pilot. took of from Roosevelt
Field, L. l.. In the Spirit of st.
Louis for Paris. His flight not
only Uas the signal for important
DEVELOPMENTS in Aviation; 1t also
ended q period OF i'll feeling in
France for the United States. VIII
bur Forrest, Dho at that time iDds
Paris correspondent, in the fol-
loUing article describes Ltndbergh's
dramatic landing at lie Bourget
and tells of the effect of the flight
on French opinion.
BY WILBUR FORREST.
~ N THE late afternoon of May
10, 1927, a report spread in
Paris that Nungesser and Co.
~ II, well known French avia-
tors, had successfully made
the east-to-weSt crossing of the At
lantic, and were acclaimed in New
York Harbor An evening news
ported to have an interview with
Nungesser.
Crowds gathered in the Place de
rOpera and up and down the boule-
wards. Avid for details, several hun
dred persons sought the bulletin board
of New York newspaper. This
newspaper had no confirmation of the
reported landing, and the crowd
showed anger Mutterings were
heard. There were audible comments
upon an alleged American jealousy
that France had been the first to con-
quer the Atlantic~from Paris to New
York by air. Was the American
newspaper holding out on this ac-
count? Angry shouts began to re-
fleet a severe anti-American senti-
ment. The international debt con-
troversy was invoked America was
not playing the game.
Office in Danger of Violence.
The newspaper Office was visibly
in danger of mob violence. This was
neatly averted, however, when a
French employe of the newspaper ad-
dressed the crowd and succeeded in
assuring most of its members that the
newspaper, unfortunately, had no
news of the flight but would be glad
to announce it Immediately upon re-
ceipt. possibly within a short time"
The crowd broke up slowly and
moved off down the Boulevard des
Italiens to the Offices of LIE Matin, a
leading morning newspaper. Here
again there was no news. Some one
at lie Matin had obviously antici-
pated confirmation of the reports,
now being spread about the streets in
extras issued by several evening news
papers, and had decorated the Sec
ond-story front of the building with
entWined French and American flags
The twice-d disappointed crowd be-
came unruly. Some one shouted,
Down with the 'Yancqui flag this
is Frances honor alone" and others
took it up. Some vile epithets we're
hurled, and the officials of lie Mat
in, driving prudence before valor, or
dered down the American flags.
cite these incidents because they
were symptomatic of French feeling
toward America at that time. Some
French citizens even thought that we
might try to collect our debt by force.
For weeks Americans on the boule-
wards and streets Of Paris had not
shared the popularity of German
tourists who were again beginning to
show themselves in the French cap
ital. The United States had declined
to accept the European formula of
guaranteeing German reparations.
Frenchmen generally resented this.
1t was on such setting of interna-
tional relationship that Captain
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, U. S. R.
(Reserve), flew out of the night from
New York on his monoplane. the
Spirit of st. Louis. 1t was from the
wings of this same stage setting that
Mr. Herrick with extraordinary dip
lomatic acumen used Captain Lind
bergh to change a surly France into a
nation pouring out enthusiastic affec-
ton for America through the blond
young flyer, the symbol. There has
been nothing like it in history.
Paris and France finally gave up
hope for the safety of Nungesser and
Coli. And with this conviction there
wac CNCA Id4h dAOOl4o al ID OA4dI
somehow the Americans had seen to
it that the intrepid French flyers had
failed.
What had actually occurred was
that Paris had suffered the worst
newspaper hoax IN current memory,
and the newspapers were less to be
blamed than popularity believed. A
cable was received late Monday af-
ternoon MAY l0 from New York by
a Franco American bank and was re-
layed to the American Embassy. 1t
stated that NungeSSer and Coli had
landed in New York. From the en-
bassy the news spread unofhcially, but
was taken up by Partisan news
agency as official. Soon large head
lines began to appear in tens of
thousands of extra editions in the
streets.
Herrick Sends Congratulations.
Little wonder that the boulevard
crowds refused to credit the blank bull
letin boards outside newspaper Offices.
Little wonder that War Minister Paul
Painleve sat himself down and die
tated cablegram of congratulations
to the aviators addressed to New
York Little wonder that Ambassador
Herrick sent Premier AriStide BRAND
a message congratulating France and
that Premier Brandt notified President
Doumergue. 1t was therefore natural
that some little time later an interpret
lation in the Chamber of Deputies de-
manded an investigation of the
greatest hoax ever perpetrated in
France" and that the ministers on the
government bench pleaded with the
Chamber to forget it
For some time France had been
hearing of a Bellanca plane owned by
Charles Levine and piloted by Clar-
ence D. Chamberlin which was wait
ing for weather in New York There
were also stories of the trimotor Ford
plane America waiting to start for
Europe with Comdr. Richard E.
Byrd and distinguished crew num-
bering Bernt Balchen, Bert Acosta
and Lieut.. George o. Neville,
U. S. N. Then had joined to this ar
ray of weather-w waiting flyers on the
American side one Capt. Lindbergh,
H.-r 4.