"HE TRAVELS FASTEST..."

The publication today of the autobiography of Anthony H. G. Fokker, noted designer of airplanes, with its unconcealed attacks on the flying achievements of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, brings before the public another unpleasant quarrel between personages.

Openly contesting the accounts of the transatlantic flight of the "America", as related by Byrd, Fokker proceeds to give his own impressions of what happened on that memorable flight, describing the events in a manner that relegates Byrd to a minor part in the final desperate manoeuvers of the plane immediately preceding its dive into the sea near the lighthouse at Ver-sur-Mer on the French coast. The real hero at that time, according to this new autobiography, was not Byrd, as might be inferred by anyone reading the Admiral's accounts, but in reality Bernt Balchen, the air navigator whose achievements are well known to all followers of aviation.

Of course it is obligatory that the accounts of the pioneering aviation triumphs of modern times be accurately reported. What must be decided is whether the account of an eyewitness or that of one whose knowledge is secondhand, will be the accepted one. It is true that Byrd's book "Skyward", in which he relates his various flights, leaves little room for doubt as to who was the center and soul of the moments that arose, and even impress the careful thinker to take portions of the book with a great deal of salt.

From the standpoint of the layman, it would be difficult to get a description of anything as perilous as a transatlantic flight that would satisfy all. With due regard for the entire crew of an airplane such as the "America", there is bound to be an overshadowing of one man against another when the dangerous hours have ended. The tension under which such flights are carried out, as well as the swiftness of action that is required, make it hard to weigh exactly the relative value of each man to the party, especially since all those concerned are men of exceptional ability in their field. Whether or not Fokker's criticism of Byrd will prove justified remains to be seen. As a general rule, however, deprecation of this kind does more harm than good, providing the press with welcome scandal, and jarring considerably that hazy quantity known as public confidence.