Evening star., 1937-07-04

lne necessity OF landlng soon In her
100000 flying laboratory" saying no
land was in sight. Despite this report,
Mantz said at Burbank, Calf, he
felt confident she had reached some
coral atoll and even If she had not
the two-man rubber raft could float
indefinitely"
Frankly concerned, Putnam waited
for word at San Francisco although
he continued to hold out hope of her
ultimate rescue.
Startling. Putnam said. was Mantz'
belief that in the background" of the
radio calls could be heard what sound
ed like the roar OF an airplane engine.
Mantz informed Putnam he be-
lieved Miss Earhart had brought her
big plane down safely on a coral atoll
when the gasoline supply ran low and
had rigged up an emergency radio
broadcasting set
The airplane motor in such case
would be used to generate power,
Mantz explained.
IIASCA SeATCn ffu1tleSS.
The Itasca made a fruitless search
in the Rowland Island vicinity belch-
ing black smoke in the hope OF being
seen by the flyers. Then it was ordered
to return TO Rowland.
An alert eye was kept by all search
ers for an orange kite. which Miss
Earhart and Noonan took along to
fly as distress signal.
One of the host of theories advanced,
that the flyers may have landed on
Baker Island, southern neighbor Of
Rowland, was blasted by information
that four colonists there are equipped
with radio which could have quickly
relayed the information.
Coast Guardsmen, grasping at any
clue for checking, relayed to the
Itasca the Oakland, Calf, amateur
operators report that at 9:;55 am.
Eastern standard time) today he had
heard possible distress calls. AS in
all other cases, no position was learned
The Coast Guard, however, pointed
out it may have been the Itasca itself
testing on an 86meter wave length.
Coast Guard officers concentrated
their search in a hundred mile area
southwest Of Rowland, saying it was
beyond belief" that the woman flyer
oyershot the island.
Cloudy Weather Forecast.
Clouds and some wind formed the
weather report from Washington,
D. c., for the vicinity OF Howland.
In Washington, Charles Horner,
president OF the National Aeronauti-
cal Association. said it would be
"awfully painful to pronounce the
night "foolhardy" in the face of Such
tremendously courageous attempt"
He considered the last stages OF
the flight begun from Oakland, Calf,
May 2l, even more diflicult in some
ways than the recent nonstop polar
flight Of the Russian aviators."
Ruth Elder. who with George w.
Haldeman was rescued in rough At
lantic waters after their plane was
forced down in 1927. expressed conn.,
dence in Miss Earharts ultimate
rescue
Ship Lanes 300 Miles West.
Sailing ships ply about 800 miles
west Of Rowland, treeless sandspit
on a direct air line from Honolulu to
Australia. The island. 1900 miles
from Honolulu, is only a mile and 4
half long.
Mrs Noonan, wife Of the navigator
collapsed at Oakland and was placed
under care Of physician. Previ-
ously she expressed hope the Itasca
would find her husband and Miss
Earhart.
Experts agreed that Miss Earhart's
plane, with its huge. empty gasoline
tanks to add to potential buoyancy
would float for some time, but empha-
sized that the length OF its endurance
would depend upon its condition when
1t came down, the character of the
ocean surface and the seamanship of
the flyers involved. The extent of
their food and water supply was not
known here.