The Daily News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1927, THE FLYING FEVER.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1927, Page 8

The Daily News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1927, THE FLYING FEVER.

The border line between courage and rashness is capable of definition in theory, though in practice it is by no means subject to any given law. It is somewhat akin to the difference as expressed in the well-known dictum concerning a patriot and a traitor, wherein the only difference between the former and latter is that one succeeds and the other fails. Human nature is full of complexities and swayed by numerous influences, some worthy, others base; some noble, others the outcome of vanity. The only true test of honesty of purpose is to be found in the impelling motive upon which action is taken. The student of the history of human evolution cannot fail to be impressed with the fact that from the earliest known age of the race there has been one outstanding impulse observable —the determination to excel, to go one better than others—and the progress of nations in all activities has been due to this competitive struggle. Where that impulse waned and men became addicted to a iove of ease, luxury, and selfsatisfaction, decadence set in, and the weak were eliminated by the strong. The same conditions of mastery exist to-day as those which were in force in the stone age. Just as competition is the life blood of trade and commerce, so is the struggle to excel in other activities of. dynamic power whereby the marvels of inventive and demonstrative science and skill have given the world a multitude of facilities far beyond the dreams of our forefathers. It is characteristic that several of these natural and mechanical agencies have brought in their train jnereasingly dangerous hazards which make a special appeal to bold, adventurous spirits who appear to be quite content to carry their lives in their hands. Some are actuated by the craving for fame, honour, vanity, notoriety. Others are genuinely desirous of being of service to their country and their fellowmen, while a smaller number will face disaster and death on the chance of obtaining a monetary gain. To all these types the lure of aviation offers a vast field for exploitation, and there appears to be no lack of adventurous spirits eager to soar aloft on short or long flights, over land or sea, at the urge of some impelling motive, or purely in the interest of science and service to humanity. It would almost.seem as if a new race of men and women were being evolved capable of bearing the immense strain of almost incredible velocity and altitudes. To the many ills with which humanity has been inflicted there is being added the “flying fever” —the craze for conquest of the air where others fail; to win through when others perish. Such is the lure of fame or gain. On the other hand, four flying boats are starting on an Empire tour of twenty-five thousand miles, extending over a year, with the object, of establishing a chain of air stations connecting India and Australia, while Sir Allan Cobham contemplates a twenty thousand miles flight, encircling the African Continent in what is expected to be the world’s biggest and fastest flying boats, on a similar mission. In spite of the disastrous failures in connection with trans-Atlantic flights, ultimate success will be achieved and a regular service established, though further experiments may swell the list of victims. In this connection, the rescue of Miss Ruth Elder in mid-Atlantio last week has created no little interest, though it lias revealed a most undesirable feature in that this American girl was doing the stunt at the instance of backers who are said to be asking £30.000 for her .story. Admitting that aviation is an expensive process, it would seem likely to produce a most undesirable element into a particularly hazardous enterprise if the earning of large money profits is to tempt aviators or entrepreneurs to sacrifice valuable lives. Without doubt the experiences gained in such flights are. valuable as a means for stimulating inventive genius to provide against all possible conditions met with while crossing the oceans, but there is none the less an unpleasant savour about introducing the sordid, money-making element into a matter of this kind. Though there will be felt much thankfulness that the young lady and her pilot vzere rescued after a long battle in the air.and on the sea, yet that feeling must inevitably be affected by the Press statement that a price has been demanded for a sensational story.