The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-16
Squaring
The Circle
With
McCREADY HUSTON

" w are SlIIlIlg III DOWNTOWN
4 restaurant eating your break
fast. You have just read about the
crashing of a commercial transport
airplane with the deaths of passen-
gers, pilots and stewardess. You
look up and see, at a nearby table,
group of three or four in semi
military dress. There are three
young men-somewhere between Is
and 35-and a young woman in a
sort of overseas cap and cape.
They are pilots and a stewardess,
downed here, and putting in the
time for the next leg of the hop.
u
THERE is nothing to be COM
L pared to the composure Of the
air pilot. He has no nerves. He lives
in world apart. Because you have
flown with one of this group you
push aside your plate, ask the wait
ress to bring your coffee over, and
join up. You leave your newspaper
behind because you do not wish to
bring up the subject of the disas-
ter. You say, Hello, Lee, 1 didn't
know you were on this run" Lee
cit is not his name) gives you faint
smile, hard hand-shake, and
moves his chair so you can crowd in.
THEY come downtown from the
4 Indianapolis airport, a quiet,
rather reticent, set of men. Usually
tall, slender, with detachment
from worldly affairs that is uncan-
ny. My friend Lee is typical. He is
pilot who has flown most of the
country's celebrities to their desti-
nations. He has never had an acct
dent or a bad landing. He has
college education and could go on
the ground as an official of his
company. But he prefers to stay
at the controls.
THERE is mystery about this
= profession of plotting. The
members are comparable to the
young men who, 20 years ago,
went abroad to drive ambulances.
And to the astonishing young
Americans who, with no previous
knowledge of flying, took lessons
and became members Of the Lafa-
yette Escadrille. You can read their
names on the monument in Paris.
Todays commercial pilots are of the
breed. They can not be confined in
an Office. They would not be content
with safe and sane job. You can
tell that by the look in their eyes.
NIHEN a railroad wreck takes
W place, the railroad officers,
the government, can ascertain what
happened and why. Dispatches,
switchmen, maintenance. : of way
men, trainmen, can be quizzed and
an answer can be found. But when
an accident takes place in the sky
nobody knows the reason.
The pilots and passengers are
dead. The only evidence 20 go by
is the wreck. If anybody could tell
t true story of why Knute Rockne,
Will Rogers, Wiley Post-and how
many others crashed he would have
the most valuable piece of writing
in pre-oo-Ss-day journalism.
Il
HAVE met many pilots. They
4 are all alike. They are silent,
temperate, catlike in their move
ments, students of weather charts,
ncticulous in dress and their hab-
its. They do not seem much in
terested in mundane affairs-the
bonus, the election, the AAA, the
Hauptmann case. They live in
world of their own. Let any banker,
any lawyer, any doctor, any news
paper man, come into contact with
t',ese cool young men who fly from
Newark to the West coast, and he
will Immediately feel proper hu-
mility.
II Il
VOU can not get anything out
4 of them. They come downtown,
eat their meals, catch some sleep,
study their weather charts, and fly
on. American youth at it's, best.