[41] San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 4, 1944, by Dorothy Thompson.
CHAPTER IX
Another Trip to Mars
In an important letter to me from Lieutenant Balmore from San Francisco, he wrote—
When I left you some time ago, I made a trip to the West coast. In the veterans hospitals I contacted many disabled veterans who had just returned from the battle fields in Korea. I had known many of them in the old days. I told them in detail about my experiences in Mars. I told them of my plan to take a group of them back with me to Mars to verify my experiences. Of course they were skeptical at first. But after I had presented my cause more clearly they were convinced there might be something to my plan. Most of them had nothing to lose. Because of their own contact with war and their own ruined lives, they were keen to save their children from the same fate, once and for all. "But where will you get a plane to contact the Martian Airship?" they asked.
I begged them to give me ten days time; I felt confident I could procure a plane by some means or other. We have set the day and hour to meet the Martian airship in the stratosphere. Thus far I have been making plans in utmost secrecy, but I am afraid I shall now fail unless you agree to help me. Could you use your influence to help us get this plane? You have been my friend and believed in me. You offered any assistance possible. Here is your chance, not only to help me, but also join us on the trip.
I immediately took the next airliner to the West coast to consult the Lieutenant and his friends. On my arrival I learned that one of my best friends, an influential Congressman, happened to be there at the time. I contacted him and after a long conference, he decided for us to make a hurried trip to Washington. That night we left for the Capital. At the same time the Congressman arranged our appointment with the President for the next day.
At the secret conference the President, although not entirely convinced, agreed to help us. It was decided the congressman and I would make the trip to Mars. We returned to San Francisco quickly. The congressman made arrangements for a large government bomber to leave the Hamilton Army Airbase on the appointed day; he interceded for Lieutenant Balmore with the proper authorities. The Lieutenant regained his pilot's license. However, for some unexplained reason, the government ordered the removal of the secret high-frequency mechanism from the radio transmitter of our plane.
For ten days Lieutenant Balmore concentrated in an effort to produce impulses of magnetic thought waves, strong enough to reach Sun-Rank Banard's mind and impress upon him the urgency to meet us at the appointed time and place. The fear that he would fail nearly wrecked him. I was not relieved from my anxiety, until, on the appointed day when our plane went up into high altitude, and spotted the Martian airship.
The President after a closed conference with his cabinet members, leaders of congress, and representatives of the United and Associated Press, planned for them to follow us in another plane. They wished to take pictures of this epoch making inter-planetary human contact. They had a good opportunity to observe and photograph our plane being absorbed in the Martian airship, and its instant speedy disappearance into space.