May 17, 1949 (8 pages)

? practi ctongiinandbarasrapseatapesated of things not seen. #4 ‘ “% 3 _ exertion. temptation, and trial. weghh er 4—The Nevada ‘City Nugget, Tuesday, May 17, 1949 305 Broad Street, Nevada City—Telephone 36 A legal newspaper, as defined by statute ROBERT H. and DONALD W. WRAY, Publishers KENNETH W. WRAY, Editor and Advertising Manager Member California Newspaper Publishers Association ‘Published every Tuesday and Friday at ‘Nevada City, California, and entered as matter of the second class in the postoffice at Nevada City sander Act of Congress, March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATES “One year outside county (in advance) .-.-.-----------1-esseeeeccenee $3.00 "One year in county (in advance) -..-.-----------------eeeeeeesrecenseennonenee 2.50 Four months (in advance) -.---.---------1------eecenssencecetestrensesteeeecesees “ One month (in advance) ‘CONGRATULATIONSS TO COLFAX! Sunday we were in Colfax to witness the baseball game between the Nevada City baseball team and the "Colfax Fireballs. The game was great defensive battle until the blow-up ending and although it was satisfying for our boys to win the game it was not the way we would like to see our games wap. The poor rightfielder looked like he had the cares of Atlas on him as he stood -dejectedly after the game. But the main purpose of this editorial is to congratulate the fireballs of Colfax for their community enterprise in literally carving a baseball diamond from a mountain. Any person who has ever been in Colfax knows the location of a spot flat enough to play baseball on is out of the question. So our fireball citizens of Colfax, and Colfax is a small town, went out and raised the money, donated much of the labor, equipment and materials, all in one year’s time. The actual physical work was done in sixty days. The park is a fitting memorial to the men who gave their lives in the war. It is a much better memorial than some of the horrible statuary so many communities call a memorial. THE COLLIER-BURNS ACT “The theory of the Colier-Burns act seems sound. It Gmplies the usual run-of-the-mill supervisor in a California county is not an engineer and does not know how to build roads. Merely being elected to a board of supervisors does not qualify a man asa road engineer. The Collier-Burns act therefore argues, let’s hire road ‘commissioners in these counties and give them more money to work with and see what can be done. But what has happened in many of California's counties ? The general practice has been either the hiring of a figurehead for a road engineer or a general resistance to the engineer or commissioner appointed by supervisors who do not want any change, even one required by state law. Mountain counties which sustained severe damages to county roads because of the past winter conditions have seen bickering between the boards and those en‘gineers and commissioners who attempted to operate under the Collier-Burns act. In Modoc and Humboldt ‘counties the road commissioners resigned. In Sierra, Placer and El Dorado counties the commissioners were retained by the boards after serious wrangling and heated arguments. California supervisors, long accustomed to directing road construction and repairs, had been in a favorable ‘position to win friends and influence voters by scattering the right amount amounts of oil and gravel in the right ‘holes in the roads. Naturally they were unwilling to see that advantage taken from them. One of the biggest lobby pressure groups against the ‘Collier-Burns act was: the oil interests, but one almost ‘as powerful was made-up~of~small county supervisors ~who wanted to cling to road building activities themselves. 3 The resultant fusion of forces has produced a halfbreed (for want of a stronger word) character—a road enginer who is the pawn who has three to five bosses to satisfy. The cross-purpose workings of the situation was not too bad during normal winters, but the past one has turned good roads into spring and axle-breaking trails and secondary roads into bogs. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence —Hebrews . . . Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith—the one great moving force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible. —Harvey Cushing You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge one for yourself. —Froude The essential factors in character are religion, morality, and knowledge. —J. L. Pickard The important thing in life is to have a great aim, cand to possess aptitude and the perseverance to attain It. —Goethe the fruit of personal —Joel Hawes A good character is, in all cases, “To be worth anything, character must be capable of ‘standing firm upon its feet in the world of daily work, i miles The Human Race IN THE BARGAIN BASEMENT, SALLY SQUEEZPENNY 7 . PUT AT THE CORNER OF STATE AND MAIN~ : —~ aes iF] The Editor The views and opinions appearing in this column, Letters to The Editor, are not necessarily those of The Nugget. The Nugget, To The Editor: Sir,we write you in behalf of the Banner Mt. Gold Park. It will be of keen interest to readers to learn that after our first field trip with the California State park men a number of _§ important developments have taken place. We first wish to give thanks. Thanks to the Creator of all things: that we have a beautiful green crested Banner. Mt., as a rich heritage to build’ our Gold Park around. Without this 4,000 feet in elevation rugged hill we would have nothing for such park material. Ang secondly, we give thanks to learn that the state park office felt (as we have all the time that this area has ‘‘considerable merit as a park site.’’ We are certain that Chief Deputy Earl P. Hanson was very favorably impressed with the things he saw and also our plans for developing the Gold“: Park into a National Shrine-—the beautiful memorial for the California Gold Rush pioneers. From now on we are on the march! And with the 100 per cent cooperation of all the people of Nevada county and the help of our sister counties we WILL DO THINGS WITH A FAITH THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! Everything is possible where there is Faith, a Will and a Purpose to Work and Do. This park will give our people a chance for the first time since these gold towns came into being an _ opportunity to really do something wonderful for themselves and their fellow citizens. In the measure we will give NOW will receive LATER! There is no other choice. Our mines are dead. Lumber is almost as dead. Our payrolls are fast dwindling. Nevada county—unless it unites and does something NOW will become one of the ‘poorest counties in the state. We still have a little time to get into action Fourth of July celebrations are fine. But we will need put forth a greater effort than that to bring in NEW INDUSTRIES, NEW HOME MAKERS, NEW FARMERS, ORCHARDISTS, NEW TAXPAYERS, NEW TOURISTS, and WHAT IS MOST NEEDED—NEW DOLLARS! Only thru such a Gold Park can we start in a new direction. We will have to learn to forget we have untold millions in gold buried. in our dead mines; before we can set into action a new age. Otherwise, we sleep in the dead past. Only life lies in the todays and the tomorrows! And gold is out! Our Government WILL DO NOTHING TO HELP US MINE MORE GOLD! We wonder when the miners are going to understand that the U.S.A. does not need or wish* any more gold. Now for a few words’more direcly upon the park. We just received a map from the Division of Parks and Beaches. This map was changed a bit—the park lines to meet our plans—and was returned to the state office. Readers ‘ing, will we have kept the _proposed Banner Mounand the acreage is aroung 560 or so. We have the entire Banner the headwaters of Little Deer Creek, other smaller stream which feeds into this creek, and one ridge, (this ridge which overlooks the Lava Cap mines, Greenhorn and Bear River basins, and looks out east and south for many, many beautiful scenic miles.) One of the first jobs for us to do wiil be to acquire. We know the Board of Supervisors will cooperate with the people of the county, and very soon we hope to have the good news that the Banner park has been accepted by the state. From there we should move a little faster. It is now two years since we began. this tremendous task. Our be happy to know tain park small, peak, anpresent plans are to have county,, state and federal government all play a part in the creation and administration of the Gold park. The gold observation tower on top and the gold museum will be finance by Washington, D. C. Our tactics have followed no chosen course; but day by day we formed our battle lines and start from there. Only in ‘this Way can we accomplish any lasting good for all. It will be good enough to begin with a state park and from there on into national status later LILLY BELLE BAIMA 13 May 1949 Editor Nevada City Nugget Nevada City, California Sir: Two years ago, traveling about in your area, I came upon the county fair and found it the most pleasant of the half-dozen similar fairs I have attended. Principal factor in its favor, I thought, was its setting among the trees, which gave shelter, asthetic pleasure, and a very charming kind of informality. Since the question of a new fair grounds’ has come _ up, I thought the opinion of an outsider who has recalled the old grounds with great pleasure might be pertinent. R NAME WITHHELD CHECK COOL TIRES If automobile tire pressure ig lowered to factory recommendations when tires are hot from fast drivthere is danger of underinflation after the tires have cooled, warns the California State Automobile association. Because air expands when hot and contracts when cold, .tire pressure should always be checked when tires are cold. Low pressure type ires may show a pressure increase of from 6 to 10 pounds after a fast drive on a hot day. GOOD INTENTIONS Sometimes the driver of a\slow moving vehicle will signa] to a) following” car that it is safe to pass. This is a_ well-intended courtesy, but don’t. accept the invitation blindly, urges the California State Automobile association. You are the best judge as to your car’s condition and your own reaction time, so let .your own judgment prevail. The Golden Gate park nursery in San Francisco contains six acres, Where 30,000 to 35,000 plants each year necessary to add to the park’s area, are grown. Got Diccen's I PAIL By this time, Lawson and Castle and . were unanimous in our opinion that the sled idea had not been such a good one, so we abandoned it and _ divided all of our belongings into three packs. These packs we later subdivided and made a couple of food caches along the trail, as the-packs grew heavier and our backs grew sorer. The last of the trip was made on skis and we finally landed in River Valley. Here we found clear ground and set up our tent. Next day we started up from camp toward our objective and got as far as Hamilton Lake. The drifts of soft loose snow were too much for us, and we returned to camp for our skis. That night it started to rain and then to snow in real earnest. It was the heaviest snowfall of the winter and it lasted about three weeks. We managed to reach our objective, and developed the claims after the war was over, but by that time the price of molybdenum had dropped down so that there was. little profit in it. ‘Our tent, which had originally stood on bare ground, was soon in the position of a rabbit burrow in the snow. We kept a fire going all the time, as we were in a region that we filled with timber, and eventually had to climb up nearly fifteen feet above us to get wood, since the snow packed down with intermittent rain. To cut trees, one had to tramp a circle down around the tree in order to get firm footing to stand on and it was later possible to mark our camp in the summer time by a circle of trees looped off fifteen feet above the butts. Finally the storm ceased and a cold spell began. . knew that it was necessary for me to get outside and get my accumulated mail, as I had plans which were badly interrupted by our enforced stay, and food was running short. So I started out alone one morning, meaning to send in help for the others. It was cold, and everything looked entirely unfamiliar, and in crossing a creek about a mile out, I broke through a crust and was wet to my knees. In unfamiliar country at an altitude of nine thousand feet, a blinding wind storm came up, and I could not see for twenty feet by the time I was about three miles from camp. My feet commenced to feel numb, so I decided to return. By the time I got back near camp it was nearly dark, and my companions were fortunately on the alert for me, as . was exhausted. They took. me back to the tent and rubbed my frozen feet with turpentine before letting me thaw out—thereby saving me a bad case of frostbite. So there we were, marooned, and our supplies getting lower. The morning that our supplies got down to one three inch of raw bacon, we decided we would all make a try together, drifts or no drifts. Fortunately, the weather had moderated and it was warmer. Part of the way, we crawled on our stomachs over soft drifts, holding our skis in our hands to rest our weight upon. We had no snow glasses, so we rubbed soot on our faces around our eyes, to keep from blinding as the sun was breaking out part of the time. That first day we made about four miles, and had to make an open camp on the snow. It was blowing pretty hard, so the best we could do was ‘to dig out blocks of snow with our skis—which had been little use to us all day, because the. straps had rotted—and pile them up on the windward side in a wall. We found a snag close to the surface, and some green oak, so we kept the first going all night and ate our slab of bacon. Next morning we were out bright and early, and at noon we came on a cache of hard tack which we had hung up ina tree. This tasted pretty good, and the snow became less, so we made good time that afternoon, and late that night we came on a ditchtender’s hut above the power house. From there on we had easy going, and the following evening we arrived at Three Rivers. Here we heard an appalling story of some three prospectors who had gone into the mountains a month’ before and had undoubtedly been lost in the blizzard. At Lemon Cove they were organizing a search party to rescue the bodies. At noon next day when we three corpses walked in, we broke up the search party. My mail was waiting for me, and in it was a telegram wanting me to join him in a trip to Petrograd. Now I knew why I had been so anxious to get out of those drifts. later. He instructed me to secure my passport and follow on receipt of a cable from Russia. As soon as . could get back to San Francisco, . followed instructions; byt hardly had Janin arrived in Petrograd when the Russian revolution broke out, and, he eventually had to return without being able to finish his work. So I lost out on a chance to see the beginning of world changing events, including the famous Red Revolution —all on account of a wild goose chase into the Sierras in winter time. I have regretted this all my life. In April, we entered the war, and I immediately applied for a commission in the Engineer corps. In the meantime, although over the age limit for aviation, . attempted to get my training in a private source, because Uncle Sam would accept a trained pilot at any age. But before long private planes were cut off, and we could get none for any civilian purpose. Having the misfortune to be a consulting engineer for the Bureau of Mines, my application for enlistment was passed up for the first and second training camps, and . heard that I was being saved for research in strategic minerals. Immediately . worked a private wire at Washington which I happened to have, and got my commission in time to enter the third training camp at the beginning of 1918.dated two weeks before from Charles Janin, in Boston,. With the telegram was a letter written as Janin was\ leaving San Francisco, for Vladivostok, some ten days » a

? practi ctongiinandbarasrapseatapesated of things not seen. #4 ‘ “% 3 _ exertion. temptation, and trial. weghh er 4—The Nevada ‘City Nugget, Tuesday, May 17, 1949 305 Broad Street, Nevada City—Telephone 36 A legal newspaper, as defined by statute ROBERT H. and DONALD W. WRAY, Publishers KENNETH W. WRAY, Editor and Advertising Manager Member California Newspaper Publishers Association ‘Published every Tuesday and Friday at ‘Nevada City, California, and entered as matter of the second class in the postoffice at Nevada City sander Act of Congress, March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATES “One year outside county (in advance) ..-.-..-----------1-esseeeeccenee $3.00 "One year in county (in advance) -...-.-----------------eeeeeeesrecenseennonenee 2.50 Four months (in advance) -..---.---------1------eecenssencecetestrensesteeeecesees “ One month (in advance) ‘CONGRATULATIONSS TO COLFAX! Sunday we were in Colfax to witness the baseball game between the Nevada City baseball team and the "Colfax Fireballs. The game was great defensive battle until the blow-up ending and although it was satisfying for our boys to win the game it was not the way we would like to see our games wap. The poor rightfielder looked like he had the cares of Atlas on him as he stood -dejectedly after the game. But the main purpose of this editorial is to congratulate the fireballs of Colfax for their community enterprise in literally carving a baseball diamond from a mountain. Any person who has ever been in Colfax knows the location of a spot flat enough to play baseball on is out of the question. So our fireball citizens of Colfax, and Colfax is a small town, went out and raised the money, donated much of the labor, equipment and materials, all in one year’s time. The actual physical work was done in sixty days. The park is a fitting memorial to the men who gave their lives in the war. It is a much better memorial than some of the horrible statuary so many communities call a memorial. THE COLLIER-BURNS ACT “The theory of the Colier-Burns act seems sound. It Gmplies the usual run-of-the-mill supervisor in a California county is not an engineer and does not know how to build roads. Merely being elected to a board of supervisors does not qualify a man asa road engineer. The Collier-Burns act therefore argues, let’s hire road ‘commissioners in these counties and give them more money to work with and see what can be done. But what has happened in many of California's counties ? The general practice has been either the hiring of a figurehead for a road engineer or a general resistance to the engineer or commissioner appointed by supervisors who do not want any change, even one required by state law. Mountain counties which sustained severe damages to county roads because of the past winter conditions have seen bickering between the boards and those en‘gineers and commissioners who attempted to operate under the Collier-Burns act. In Modoc and Humboldt ‘counties the road commissioners resigned. In Sierra, Placer and El Dorado counties the commissioners were retained by the boards after serious wrangling and heated arguments. California supervisors, long accustomed to directing road construction and repairs, had been in a favorable ‘position to win friends and influence voters by scattering the right amount amounts of oil and gravel in the right ‘holes in the roads. Naturally they were unwilling to see that advantage taken from them. One of the biggest lobby pressure groups against the ‘Collier-Burns act was: the oil interests, but one almost ‘as powerful was made-up~of~small county supervisors ~who wanted to cling to road building activities themselves. 3 The resultant fusion of forces has produced a halfbreed (for want of a stronger word) character—a road enginer who is the pawn who has three to five bosses to satisfy. The cross-purpose workings of the situation was not too bad during normal winters, but the past one has turned good roads into spring and axle-breaking trails and secondary roads into bogs. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence —Hebrews . . . Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith—the one great moving force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible. —Harvey Cushing You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge one for yourself. —Froude The essential factors in character are religion, morality, and knowledge. —J. L. Pickard The important thing in life is to have a great aim, cand to possess aptitude and the perseverance to attain It. —Goethe the fruit of personal —Joel Hawes A good character is, in all cases, “To be worth anything, character must be capable of ‘standing firm upon its feet in the world of daily work, i miles The Human Race IN THE BARGAIN BASEMENT, SALLY SQUEEZPENNY 7 . PUT AT THE CORNER OF STATE AND MAIN~ : —~ aes iF] The Editor The views and opinions appearing in this column, Letters to The Editor, are not necessarily those of The Nugget. The Nugget, To The Editor: Sir,we write you in behalf of the Banner Mt. Gold Park. It will be of keen interest to readers to learn that after our first field trip with the California State park men a number of _§ important developments have taken place. We first wish to give thanks. Thanks to the Creator of all things: that we have a beautiful green crested Banner. Mt., as a rich heritage to build’ our Gold Park around. Without this 4,000 feet in elevation rugged hill we would have nothing for such park material. Ang secondly, we give thanks to learn that the state park office felt (as we have all the time that this area has ‘‘considerable merit as a park site.’’ We are certain that Chief Deputy Earl P. Hanson was very favorably impressed with the things he saw and also our plans for developing the Gold“: Park into a National Shrine-—the beautiful memorial for the California Gold Rush pioneers. From now on we are on the march! And with the 100 per cent cooperation of all the people of Nevada county and the help of our sister counties we WILL DO THINGS WITH A FAITH THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! Everything is possible where there is Faith, a Will and a Purpose to Work and Do. This park will give our people a chance for the first time since these gold towns came into being an _ opportunity to really do something wonderful for themselves and their fellow citizens. In the measure we will give NOW will receive LATER! There is no other choice. Our mines are dead. Lumber is almost as dead. Our payrolls are fast dwindling. Nevada county—unless it unites and does something NOW will become one of the ‘poorest counties in the state. We still have a little time to get into action Fourth of July celebrations are fine. But we will need put forth a greater effort than that to bring in NEW INDUSTRIES, NEW HOME MAKERS, NEW FARMERS, ORCHARDISTS, NEW TAXPAYERS, NEW TOURISTS, and WHAT IS MOST NEEDED—NEW DOLLARS! Only thru such a Gold Park can we start in a new direction. We will have to learn to forget we have untold millions in gold buried. in our dead mines; before we can set into action a new age. Otherwise, we sleep in the dead past. Only life lies in the todays and the tomorrows! And gold is out! Our Government WILL DO NOTHING TO HELP US MINE MORE GOLD! We wonder when the miners are going to understand that the U.S.A. does not need or wish* any more gold. Now for a few words’more direcly upon the park. We just received a map from the Division of Parks and Beaches. This map was changed a bit—the park lines to meet our plans—and was returned to the state office. Readers ‘ing, will we have

kept the _proposed Banner Mounand the acreage is aroung 560 or so. We have the entire Banner the headwaters of Little Deer Creek, other smaller stream which feeds into this creek, and one ridge, (this ridge which overlooks the Lava Cap mines, Greenhorn and Bear River basins, and looks out east and south for many, many beautiful scenic miles.) One of the first jobs for us to do wiil be to acquire. We know the Board of Supervisors will cooperate with the people of the county, and very soon we hope to have the good news that the Banner park has been accepted by the state. From there we should move a little faster. It is now two years since we began. this tremendous task. Our be happy to know tain park small, peak, anpresent plans are to have county,, state and federal government all play a part in the creation and administration of the Gold park. The gold observation tower on top and the gold museum will be finance by Washington, D. C. Our tactics have followed no chosen course; but day by day we formed our battle lines and start from there. Only in ‘this Way can we accomplish any lasting good for all. It will be good enough to begin with a state park and from there on into national status later LILLY BELLE BAIMA 13 May 1949 Editor Nevada City Nugget Nevada City, California Sir: Two years ago, traveling about in your area, I came upon the county fair and found it the most pleasant of the half-dozen similar fairs I have attended. Principal factor in its favor, I thought, was its setting among the trees, which gave shelter, asthetic pleasure, and a very charming kind of informality. Since the question of a new fair grounds’ has come _ up, I thought the opinion of an outsider who has recalled the old grounds with great pleasure might be pertinent. R NAME WITHHELD CHECK COOL TIRES If automobile tire pressure ig lowered to factory recommendations when tires are hot from fast drivthere is danger of underinflation after the tires have cooled, warns the California State Automobile association. Because air expands when hot and contracts when cold, .tire pressure should always be checked when tires are cold. Low pressure type ires may show a pressure increase of from 6 to 10 pounds after a fast drive on a hot day. GOOD INTENTIONS Sometimes the driver of a\slow moving vehicle will signa] to a) following” car that it is safe to pass. This is a_ well-intended courtesy, but don’t. accept the invitation blindly, urges the California State Automobile association. You are the best judge as to your car’s condition and your own reaction time, so let .your own judgment prevail. The Golden Gate park nursery in San Francisco contains six acres, Where 30,000 to 35,000 plants each year necessary to add to the park’s area, are grown. Got Diccen's I PAIL By this time, Lawson and Castle and . were unanimous in our opinion that the sled idea had not been such a good one, so we abandoned it and _ divided all of our belongings into three packs. These packs we later subdivided and made a couple of food caches along the trail, as the-packs grew heavier and our backs grew sorer. The last of the trip was made on skis and we finally landed in River Valley. Here we found clear ground and set up our tent. Next day we started up from camp toward our objective and got as far as Hamilton Lake. The drifts of soft loose snow were too much for us, and we returned to camp for our skis. That night it started to rain and then to snow in real earnest. It was the heaviest snowfall of the winter and it lasted about three weeks. We managed to reach our objective, and developed the claims after the war was over, but by that time the price of molybdenum had dropped down so that there was. little profit in it. ‘Our tent, which had originally stood on bare ground, was soon in the position of a rabbit burrow in the snow. We kept a fire going all the time, as we were in a region that we filled with timber, and eventually had to climb up nearly fifteen feet above us to get wood, since the snow packed down with intermittent rain. To cut trees, one had to tramp a circle down around the tree in order to get firm footing to stand on and it was later possible to mark our camp in the summer time by a circle of trees looped off fifteen feet above the butts. Finally the storm ceased and a cold spell began. . knew that it was necessary for me to get outside and get my accumulated mail, as I had plans which were badly interrupted by our enforced stay, and food was running short. So I started out alone one morning, meaning to send in help for the others. It was cold, and everything looked entirely unfamiliar, and in crossing a creek about a mile out, I broke through a crust and was wet to my knees. In unfamiliar country at an altitude of nine thousand feet, a blinding wind storm came up, and I could not see for twenty feet by the time I was about three miles from camp. My feet commenced to feel numb, so I decided to return. By the time I got back near camp it was nearly dark, and my companions were fortunately on the alert for me, as . was exhausted. They took. me back to the tent and rubbed my frozen feet with turpentine before letting me thaw out—thereby saving me a bad case of frostbite. So there we were, marooned, and our supplies getting lower. The morning that our supplies got down to one three inch of raw bacon, we decided we would all make a try together, drifts or no drifts. Fortunately, the weather had moderated and it was warmer. Part of the way, we crawled on our stomachs over soft drifts, holding our skis in our hands to rest our weight upon. We had no snow glasses, so we rubbed soot on our faces around our eyes, to keep from blinding as the sun was breaking out part of the time. That first day we made about four miles, and had to make an open camp on the snow. It was blowing pretty hard, so the best we could do was ‘to dig out blocks of snow with our skis—which had been little use to us all day, because the. straps had rotted—and pile them up on the windward side in a wall. We found a snag close to the surface, and some green oak, so we kept the first going all night and ate our slab of bacon. Next morning we were out bright and early, and at noon we came on a cache of hard tack which we had hung up ina tree. This tasted pretty good, and the snow became less, so we made good time that afternoon, and late that night we came on a ditchtender’s hut above the power house. From there on we had easy going, and the following evening we arrived at Three Rivers. Here we heard an appalling story of some three prospectors who had gone into the mountains a month’ before and had undoubtedly been lost in the blizzard. At Lemon Cove they were organizing a search party to rescue the bodies. At noon next day when we three corpses walked in, we broke up the search party. My mail was waiting for me, and in it was a telegram wanting me to join him in a trip to Petrograd. Now I knew why I had been so anxious to get out of those drifts. later. He instructed me to secure my passport and follow on receipt of a cable from Russia. As soon as . could get back to San Francisco, . followed instructions; byt hardly had Janin arrived in Petrograd when the Russian revolution broke out, and, he eventually had to return without being able to finish his work. So I lost out on a chance to see the beginning of world changing events, including the famous Red Revolution —all on account of a wild goose chase into the Sierras in winter time. I have regretted this all my life. In April, we entered the war, and I immediately applied for a commission in the Engineer corps. In the meantime, although over the age limit for aviation, . attempted to get my training in a private source, because Uncle Sam would accept a trained pilot at any age. But before long private planes were cut off, and we could get none for any civilian purpose. Having the misfortune to be a consulting engineer for the Bureau of Mines, my application for enlistment was passed up for the first and second training camps, and . heard that I was being saved for research in strategic minerals. Immediately . worked a private wire at Washington which I happened to have, and got my commission in time to enter the third training camp at the beginning of 1918.dated two weeks before from Charles Janin, in Boston,. With the telegram was a letter written as Janin was\ leaving San Francisco, for Vladivostok, some ten days » a