Evening star., 1940-06-29
BuIbo
Continued From First Page)

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some quarters as designed to re-
move him from the limelight.
Rome gossip at the time said Balbo
was sent to Libya to keep his "politi-
cal shadow from darkening the
Piazza Venezia," where stands the
palace of Premier Mussolini.
His apparent decline as one OF
Fascism's chief heroes conceded
with the rise of a new favorite of
II Duce, Count Ciano
Balbo and Mussolini first became
friends when they fought together
in the World War, in which both
won decorations for valor.
At the armistice Balbo returned to
civilian life, but not for long. He
soon organized the Black Shirt
militia in his native region of Fer
rara and Emilia, where he was born
June S, 1896.
Led March on Rome.
Balbo was appointed a COM
mander of a Fascist military action
squad and, when Mussolini staged
his famous march on Rome in Oc-
tober 1922, Balbo was a leader.
When the success of the revolution
was established, he was made min
lister of national economy and gen.
eral of the Black Shirt militia.
In that capacity. he was credited
with 'inventing" the Fascists' castor
oil treatment for their adversaries.
In swift succession he was ap-
pointed to the posts of undersecre-
tary for air, general of the air fleet
and air minister.
He had learned to fly and in 1926,
when he was undersceretary for air,
obtained pilots license. From the
day he was appointed air minister
in September. 1929. he set about re-
organizing the Italian air force.
The first and most important of
his moves was to promote mass
flights. He organized a fight of IS
planes over the Mediterranean, led
36 bombers on acruise as far east
as Russia's Black Sea port of
Odessa and in 1881 headed a fight
OF IL seaplanes from Rome to Rio
De Janeirq, the greatest mass flight
there had been until then.
Then came his historic flight with
"a planes and 96 men from Rome
to Chicago. The flight started on
June 30, 1888, with the following
itinerary:
July ARRIVED at Amsterdam,
870 miles in hours 3 minutes.
July 2-Arrived near Londonderry
Ireland, $50 miles in hours 20
minutes.
July 5-Left Londonderry, reached
Reykjavik, Iceland, $50 miles in 6
hours IS minutes.
July 12-Left Reykjavik, landed at
Cartwright, Labrador, $500 miles in
II hours SO minutes.
July 13-Arrived Shediac, New
Brunswick, 300 miles in 6 hours II
minutes.
July l4-Arrived at Montreal, 500
miles in 3 hours "a minutes.
July 15-Arrived in Chicago, 870
miles in 7 hours 80 minutes.
Flew Over New York.
Four days later the giant armada
and its bearded, handsome leader
flew over New York as millions
turned out to watch. Broadway gave
Balboa tremendous reception. He
and his flyers began their homeward
flight July Is.
On August IL, they reached Rome,
where Balbo was idolized and Mus
solini promptly appointed him air
marshal. Italians took to raising
boards simply because Balbo had
one, fad that didn't wear of until
it appeared that the marshal was
losing favor with II Duce because
of his very popularity.
In November of 1888 Balbo was
appointed Governor of Libya, and in
January of the next year he sailed
to assume the post. In 1887, the
same year that he received the
Charles A. Lindberghs as his guests
at Tripoli, Balbo was made COM
mander in chief of the naval and
military command of North Africa.
Energy Soon Evident.
Balbo plunged into the work of
a colonial governor, surprising nu-
merous friends and acquaintances
who had felt certain that the Iibyan
post might impress itself on his mind
as exile.
Whatever he thought was never
disclosed, but his energy soon made
itself evident. His administration
built a model Arab village and moved
native residents from dirty novels
they had lived In to CHEEKY new
homes. He built schools and hos
pitals.
Scores of artesian wells and silos
were constructed. Two hotels were
built, one with an elegant casino de-
signed to attract tourists. New
tourist resorts were developed in
land at Jafren, Nalut and Gadames.
Roads were built to cover in few
hours distances which camel cara
vans formerly had required days to
traverse.
In an ancient Moorish palace in
Tripoli, the bearded, jovial Balbo sat
behind desk made from polished
slab OF cyprus marble. Rare Mosaics
encrusted the walls around him.
But his energy moved him to fire.