Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-05-24
BY MANUEL VEGA.


to Seattle. We rapidly became acquaint-
ed with different regions, climates GUS
toms, people and scenery, from the WON
derful Redwood Forest to the hot Arizona
| Desert. In spite of the ephemeral nature
of our sensations we now have a fuller
and more general picture of the United
States. We know something about this
huge country!
And it is possible that, as the days
pass, our impressions may become clear,
precise and finally take definite shape.
Throughout the trip we hurried as If we
were being driven by whirlWind of
emotions. The Pullman car of the train
was the only place where we could rest
and reflect for few moments and many
times we wanted to coordinate at night
what we had seen during the day, to
take some notes, to recall, q. but all
in vain! Fatigue and sleep always soon
| overcame us. Nevertheless, certain pic
lures have been impressed on our men,
cries, never to be lost.
The long and beautiful trip gave us
an opportunity to appraise effectively
the complexity Of this huge mass of
people, kind and strong inadequately
known among their brothers to the south.
The United States is not only a federal
republic; 1t Is a continent in itself, COM
posed of different countries. It's unity
does not rest, as one might think, on its
material greatness, but rather on the
commonly shared, noble aspirations sup
ported by the inhabitants of even the
most distant regions. Americans are be-
lieving people, in the highest sense of
this expression. When they dedicate
themselves to the defense of any funda-
mental principle, they do it wholeheart-
eddy, completely, conscious that they
must achieve their goal. Such faith
cannot help but lead to victory.
In the midst of the tragic hours the
world now is experiencing the American
citizen Is convinced that a great danger
is rising to threaten the future of his
children and the way Of life which, until
the present, has made him happy. He
does not wish to forfeit it and coura-
geously makes ready to defend it. He
knows that the "somnolence" of the
people of other countries was the cause
of their downfall, and he does not wish
the giddy course of events to find him
unprepared There are no differences
Of opinion on this point-nor can there
be any. Time presses. National defense
is the order of the day in the work of
each citizen. 1t is the only way of
avoiding, quickly enough, what others
were not aware of or did not wish to
understand at the opportune moment.
Robert de Saint-Jean, in the book
of his memoirs in which he explains the
fall of the Third Republic, writes these
words: France, a nation which thinks
a great deal about the art Of living.
Germany, nation which thinks great
deal about the art of killing What
terrible dilemma! Will people be con-
demned, in our day, to fatal search for
the middle way between those two OPP
posite directions? Will it be necessary,
obligatory, to perfect the art Of killing
in order effectively to protect the art of
living?
Thus ran our thoughts the afternoon
we visited the magnificent aviation camp,
Randolph Field. We had had lunch in
the mess hall, together with the boys
who will receive their commissions as
war pilots within 80 weeks. The youth of
the United States was there, smiling and
resolute, actively preparing to face the
mystery of the immediate future. After
lunch we went out to the runways and
had an opportunity to see the most
extraordinary of all sights: Hundreds Of
small training planes, bearing the colors
of the United States, were taking off, one
after another, mathematically, at regular
intervals. The mechanical birds rose in
imposing succession and then were lost
In the brilliant, hot sky of midday.
Their order was perfect. Young pilots
were going up, accompanied by their
instructors, happy to be of to their con-
quest Of space, to complete the regular
flying hours and to perfect their daily
lessons. From morning to night different
squadrons repeated the same drill under
radiance of the stars.
We received the same impression of
disciplined strength, of conscious push,
of sacrifice of the individual to the
service of the common idea, in the
factories which have reorganized their
shops to concentrate on national defense
and in the barracks which grow more
and more numerous every day and into
which the new draftees are now coming.
The American Locomotive Works, in
Schenectady, is constructing new models
of tanks, decisive weapons in modern
warfare. Near Chicago, at the Great
Lakes naval base, we followed the
procedure and the examination to which
the men who are entering the service
there are submitted. At the Boeing
Aircraft Company, In Seattle, we ex-
amined the interior of a magnificent
clipper, one of the luxurious flying ships
still rendering peacetime service across
the Atlantic. At the Lockheed Aircraft
Corporation, in Los Angeles, we carefully
observed the mysterious "P38," a pursuit
plane faster than any other machine of
its kind. Another unforgettable memory
from that factory, now producing at full
tilt: from the proving ground we saw
how some of the numerous recently
finished bombers that are being built
there for Great Britain were lifted into
the air. 1t was not without certain
amount of anxiety that we awaited the
moment when the machines were to
leave the ground for the first time. {.
All those sights return now as write!
The economic possibilities of the
s-~1r Jx- al l.