Milford chronicle., 1954-05-14
LINDBERGH SPEAKS

The character of man still forms the es-
sentlal core of lasting civilization" With
that phrase Charles A. Lindbergh closed a
striking address, delivered at "The Institute
OF the AerOnautical Sciences HOnOrs Night
Dinner, after he had been given a Daniel
Guggenheim medal for his achievements in
aviation.
The theme Of his talk is found in another
phrase-'We have measured success by our
products rather than by ourselves" In other
words, he dealt with the materialism of the
times, and the unprecedented tensions, con-
fiicts, worries and uncertainties that have
become a worldwide plague
Near the beginning General Lindbergh
described the hopes that were held when
flying was young. 1t was believed that the
airplane would be a major instrument in
bringing the peoples of the world closer to-
gether-clOser not only in terms of time and
space but in terms of UNDERSTANDING Moth
ing could have been more tragically wrong.
AS he said, eve are confronted with the
stark fact that the historical significance of
aircraft has been primarily military and de-
structlve. With hindsight, we see that our
early enthusiasm over the discoveries of sci
ence and the conquest Of the air blinded us
to natural laws which govern the conduct of
men, All our scientific progress has not
changed the fact that God made life on earth
prolific, competitive, selectiVe From wood
wheeled cart to turbine airplane, men have
always used their inventions to advance
their beliefs, trade and sovereignty-alter-
mating their support, according to their pur-
pose, between forces which unite and forces
which divide"
All of us know the present-day fruits of
that truth. Its most evident manifestation
is the worlds war machines, with their in
credible demands upon human and material
resources. As General Lindbergh put it. "Tn
competitive world, life and freedom must
be backed by strength.
Ihen he came to his primary point, which
ne put in these words: 'But survival has a
time dimension which says that power con-
SlStS OF more than strength of arms. Short
term survival may depend on the KNOWLEDGE
OF nuclear physicists and the performance of
supersonlc aircraft, but long-term survival
depends alone on the character of man. While
we concentrate our attention on the tools of
economies and war, we must not neglect the
Daslc means OF surviving, the basic reason
for survival, man himself
In short, General Lindbergh believes. and
the world is full of thoughtful people who
agree with him today, that we have concen-
tiaIeo y SO hard on material progress, inven-
llOn and achievement, to the neglect of the
inward human qualities, that the very pro-
ducts we have created threaten to DESTROY
us. This, to his mind, is the overriding
problem of our age.
What is the solution? General Lind
Dergh offered One-and, inevitably it had
to be phrased in very general terms. He
said: Il believe the solution lies in each in
dividual, through the standards he holds.
that it lies not in political parties or radical
movements, but in human values and grad
ual trends; not a greater complication. but
IN a greater simplicity of life In other words,
| believe that the solution lies within our
selves, and that we can find it nowhere else.
we desired a mechanistic civilization; that
set the trend, and we achieved one To
achieve civilization based on human vaInes
requires the desire within ourselves"