Evening star., 1937-07-18
Clipper Passengers Dress for Dinner at Hotel
on Wake Island, Where China.Bound
Flying Boats Stop for Supplies.

the printed cable news Of the Midway
daily newspaper. Then We retired to
sound sleep amid the chatter of
gooney birds outside our windows.
At straight up 6 O'Clock in the
morning the motors began roaring,
and in less than a minute we were
in the air. The clipper SKINNED off
the water just a few seconds before
approaching the shallow green of the
coral reef. We slowly circled over the
blue lagoon of Midway, back over the
island, overlooking the hotel and then
few directly off toward Wake, 1882
miles to the southwest.
Thin clouds swept under us and
We played hide -andseek with the blue
patches of coral below. Soon We we're
high up in the heavens. The clouds
leaving Midway were many, but high
above them in the clear heavens the
visibility was unlimited. At the thrill
ing height of 25,OOO feet we could see
high above a new sky of clouds.
1t seemed as If huge armloads Of
eiderdown or mountains of feathers
had been placed on the water and We
were riding on this soft cushion, with
all the heavens in their proper place.
The clouds ahead, on which the rays
Of the morning sun had not shown
were disguised as fake shore lines and
continents AS We approached them,
bringing with us the sun, they re-
tracted in their bravado and Joined
the sea and the sky as part of the
| elements.
The business of eating aboard the
clipper took our most undivided atten-
ton. Sharply at $50 each day We
| had a second breakfast, the first al
ways being at the airbase hotel before
the dawn take-off. Then by 10 o'clock
We were ready for an apple or two.
BY noon the able steward always
served full-course lunch OF soup.
salad, thermos-heated vegetables and
meat He offered coffee. tea, choco-
late and lemonade-but no hard liquor
or cigarettes. All vices except sheer
laziness are dispensed with on flying
boats.
by MID-AFTERNOON on this, the
third day out from Alameda. the
clipper came down on the lagoon Of
Wake Islands, three tiny dots crowded
! together into a semi-circle no wider
than mile in any direction. These
midget mounds of sand and magnolia
had fewer birds but glorious bathing
beach.
Every one went swimming at Wake
Every one, that is. except the devllish
| flight engineer who ran off with the
only sailboat within 1000 miles, We
enforced bathers sat on launch and
watched him. a perfect silhouette In
waning afternoon, waited by a
| tropical breeze across the lagoon to a
far shore from which We had no re-
course because of the extreme shallow
! ness of the water.
At sunset we left our glass-bottom
boat, the launch, the beautiful fish
| and rugged coral heads, to dress for
| dinner at the Pan American Hotel.
1t was the image Of the Midway Inn
and required formal registration in
Flight No. 80 for posterity.
1t was rather aWe-inspiring to know
that only few dozen people had
passed that way before We came.
More incredulous even, because every
thing was operating so smoothly.
telephones were ringing, radios were
dancing, power motors were hum.
ming, electric lights were everywhere,
Fifth avenue drapes framed the
windows, new wicker furniture filled
the rooms. and fancy gong sum-
mOned us to six-course dinner.
The crack of dawn is the moment
when the stars dim and the clouds
along the horizon become images on
the sky because rays of light appear
behind them. At that moment the
heavens to the west are still under
the cover of night. The upper sky
is neutral with fading stars and the
eastern horizon shows a trace of
dawn. 1t was at such an instant that
the Philippine clipper took of from
Wake and climbed through the clouds
toward Guam.
GUAM that afternoon was a real
paradise. For the past two days
we had seen $500 miles of ocean and
no more than 10 square miles of as
tonishing sand islands. Before us lay
continent" fully Is miles long and
4 or across. Guam had palm trees
even, real soil and $4,000 people It
seemed to be Europe, the continent
OF Asia or at least all of Japan
The clipper anchored in sheltered
bay and passengers rushed ashore to
see the sights. The daily newspaper.
which was delivered by barefoot lad,
announced that if we chose to see a
movie we might drive IL miles to the
capital city of Agana and take our
choice of The Sky Parade" Human
Cargo" Under Two Flags" or Girls
Dormitory," motion pictures that were
then running in the theaters back in
Washington $500 miles away.
The Chamorro natives seemed
happy and contented on this island
naval reservation which Uncle San
took so easily from Spain in 1898 This
atmosphere was definitely tropical and
. silver moon tinted the palms al