"We"

by Charles A. Lindbergh

The program opened with an address on behalf of the Press Club by Richard V. Oulahan. Because this address illuminated the feelings of the “Fourth Estate,” proverbially cynical toward notoriety, we give it here in full:

“In your journalistic flight of the past three weeks,” said Mr. Oulahan, you must have learned that much may be read between the lines of what is printed in newspapers. So even a novice in newspaperdom like yourself would have no trouble in reading between the lines of this journalistic expression an intimate note of sincere affection.

“We of the press rub elbows with all manner of mankind. We see much of good but we see much of self-seeking, of sordid motive, as we sit in the wings watching the world’s procession pass across the stage. If it is true that through our contacts we are sprinkled with a coating of the dry dust of cynicism, that dust was blown away in a breath, as it were, when our professional brethren who greeted you overseas broadcast the news of your peerless exploit. To Americans it brought a spontaneous feeling of pride that you were of their nationality.

“The whole world was carried off its feet by an accomplishment so daring, so masterful in execution, so superb in achievement, by the picture presented of that onrushing chariot of dauntless youth, flashing across uncharted heavens straight through the storm’s barrage.

“But if the press, with such an inspiration, performed its mission well, it found equal inspiration. It performed as fine a mission in chronicling the subsequent conduct of our young Ambassador of Good Will. His words and bearing dissipated vapors of misunderstanding. He personified, to a Europe amazed at the revelation, the real spirit of America.

“The press should be proud then, if in telling the story of this later phase in the career of the American boy, it brought to the peoples of the world a new realization that clean living, clean thinking, fair play and sportsmanship, modesty of speech and manner, faith in a mother’s prayers, have a front page news value intriguing imagination and inviting emulation, and are still potent as fundamentals of success.”

Postmaster General New then stepped forward and gave Lindbergh the first special air mail stamp. As he handed it to the flier he said:

“It is as a pilot in the service of the Air Mail that I greet you. There is no public service devoted to the peace time of the public whose past and present are attended by the romance that are attached to the history of the Post Office Department of the United States.

“From the single couriers of the early days, who followed the uncertain trails through wood and fen on horseback and on foot, the picturesque riders of the pony express of a later day, who risked their lives at the hands of savage foes in the wilderness, the drivers who serve amid the rigors of the frozen North with dog teams and sleds, to those intrepid pilots who pierce the night with the air mail and of whom you are a worthy representative, the whole story is set in an atmosphere of most engaging romance.

“It has no titles to bestow—no medal it can add to those that have been given in recognition of your splendid achievement. There is one thing, however, it can do that will everywhere be regarded as most appropriate. It has issued a stamp designed for special use with the air mail which bears your name and a representation of the other member of that very limited partnership in which you made your now famous journey across seas. It is the first time a stamp has been issued in honor of a man still living—a distinction which you have worthily won.