Conant Found Hitching Ride Easy After Flying Atlantic

There was no fanfare, no official greeting, nothing except a barren field and a television film truck waiting for James B. Conant, U.S. High Commissioner to Germany, when he arrived back in the United States two weeks ago. As a result, Harvard's retiring president became a hitch-hiker.

His plane, which flew into New York's Idlewild Airport at 5:19 a.m., several hours earlier than expected, deposited him in desolation with no visible means of transportation.

Seizing his first opportunity, Conant hitched a ride into New York in the back of a CBS-TV film truck, stationed at the airport to record his arrival.

Three years ago Conant received another unusual means of transportation as a surprise gift. He awoke one morning to find a steamroller on his lawn. It might have come in handy at the airport.