Evening star., 1937-05-10

But as he talked Of the destruction
OF the Hindenburg tears choked his
voice and he said: Our beautiful
ship! 1t represented the Germany
We will always love"
We all feel that way. Here was
German technique, German organiza-
ton and German personality at its
best Here was field of technology
and transport in which Germany held
unique position Other nations have
built lighter-than-air craft, but only
the country which pioneered in this
field could keep those craft aloft and
make them part Of the transport
facilities OF the world. The Akron,
the Shenandoah, the Macon, the Brit
ish R-l0l were built by engineers as
clever and ingenious as the Germans
and the American ships commanded
the worlds supply Of non-inflammable
helium. yet those ships crashed, nor
did they ever become available for
passenger traffic. while German dir
igibles, since the first flight to Amer
lea of the Graf Zeppelin in the Fall
OF 1928. have flown nearly 100000
passengers without q single fatality.
A recent passenger, w. B. Courtney,
writing in the current issue of COL
llers, was so impressed that he wrote:
| 1T rs the firm conviction OF this skep-
tlcal reporter that only a stroke of
war or an unfathomable act of God
will ever mar this German dirigible
passenger safety record"
Why the Germans and only the
Germans could make this form of
aviation their own has been a matter
OF much speculation. But it would
appear that it was due not so much
to engineering as to national charac-
teristics ingrained in full generation
OF trained men-prudence, extreme
attention to detail, generation Of
careful training through .meticulous
apprenticeship whereby the chief
steward could boast that he had been
with airships for quarter century
and even the bed room steward claims
a service Of - years. The whole his
tory Of German lighter-than-ai craft
is a history OF step-by-step processes,
rejection Of radical improvements"
in favor Of experience and careful
testing OF each department plus
decades OF men trained to combine
personal daring with obedience and
cooperation.
Technique Developed.
The world rightly regarded these
qualities not as Nazi characteristics
but as German. Old Count Zeppe-
lin built airships under the Kaiser
They were perfected for passenger
flight under the republic. And under
the dictatorship the technical and
personal qualities that had been
started were merely continued.
And in other ways these beautiful
ships endeared Germany to the
world. They emerged into public
recognition by frightfulness. When
first their fearful symmetry loosned
over a foreign country, the sight
struck terror into the hearts OF all
beholders. 1t was q sign to duck
into cellars, to clutch ones children
around one and wait with suspended
breath until q bombardment should
pass. Ironically. the man who died
Friday in q New jersey hospital,
Comdr. Lehman, was the source of
that terror. yet the time came when
he counted Englishmen and Ameri-
cans and Frenchmen as his friends
for the silver ships became q symbol
OF world intercourse and not world
destruction.
And, again ironically, this par
tlcular accident would never have
occurred if the spirit of peace and of
world intercourse had ever really
come to rule the earth. For the
German ships flew with the highly
infiammable hydrogen gas when,
but for the fear Of war, they might
have had access to non-inhammable
helium. The United States has prac-
tically world monopoly Of helium.
1t Is the property Of no private in
dividual. but Of the United States