Evening star., 1937-09-22

The story OF the 1rorld's most
famous aDomdn Aviator, as re-
nowneG parsonage and as ,,pite, is
told here By the flyers husband,
iotdely knoipn author and editor, in
series OF sir articles, OF tohich
this Is the fourth.
TN JANUARY, 1885, Amelia Ear
hart flew solo from Honolulu to
California. The flight was made
1 in what she called 1.-The old family
bus" her smgle-engined Lockheed
Vega, twin to the one which had car
ried her across the Atlantic.
There was tempest in teapot
at Honolulu over the flight 1t should
be stopped. people said. Some local
critics held the equipment improper
and the pilot incompetent. Indeed,
a group of business men who had
helped in the financial preparations
suddenly back-tracked and in their
agitation practically demanded that
she abandon it all.
A. E. told them she couldn't do that.
That she wanted to finish things she
began. But she did take time to write
letter, to any one it might concern,
absolving all but herself of any re-
sponsibility whatever, and recording
the fact of having been urged to quit.
The letter, for tht commanding Off
Ger at Wheeler Field, expressed ap-
probation for the helpfulness shown
her, and was to be delivered only in
case she failed l still have the let
ter. And also another, written to me,
which contains, among other things,
a paragraph which was really her
credo, and applied quite as we'll to the
tragic world flight as to that Pacific
hop:
Please know, am quite aware
of the hazards of the trip. How
ever, 1 believe my equipment is
the best available for such an
undertaking. I want to do it be-
cause I want to do it. Women
must try to do things as men have
tried. When they fail their failure
must be but challenge to others.
Right From MEXICO City.
Having negotiated the Pacific
which flight came off perfectly-A.
Els next major adventure was a non-
stop flight from Mexico City to New
York, in May, 1885. She regarded it,
I know, as the most difficult flying
Job of her career. Mexico City's alti-
tude is about 5000 feet. 1t is diff
cult to take off a very heavy load in
the thin air of such height. Even
tually We contrived homemade air.
port of our own on the dry lakebed
of Texoco, near the capitol, soldiers
fattening out catch-as-c -catch-can
runway almost 3 miles long.
The government had asked A. E
TO visit Mexico. Its the first time I've
been asked anywhere; l just went to
Ireland" she would say.
Record flying lis an expensive pas
time. Very. To help out, Mexico gen.
erously arranged small special stamp
issue, letting us purchase part of the
800 "overprinted' stamps. To protect
prospectively interested philatelists, il
became my job to see that exactly 30C
and no more were produced. To make
sure, went to Mexico in advance
There, unwinding considerable rec
tape, spent hours standing at the
press in the print shop. When the
stamps had been executed, I person
ally destroyed the line cut; had ever
brought with me the tube of special
ink used in the printing. So I was in
a position to swear to the exact num-
Der printed, and took every precautior
against counterfeiting. We still have
some of those rare stamps.
The dollar-and- side of expe-
ditioning seems particularly to interest
American readers. Certainly the finan-