Manual Arts High School - Artisan Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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T H E A R T I S A N S ' 3 1 The Cairo-Bagdad Air Mail Bv X ' ennie Abdullah HE STEADY DROVE OF AIRPLANE MOTORS over the vast Syrian deserts seem strangely out of harmony with the cultural background of these countries. But the march of civilization is steady even there. There is an airmail track between those ancient, romantic cities of Cairo and Bagdad covering S66 miles, operated by Britain. The route starts at Hinaidi, a few miles from B.agdad, Per.sia, and many ])laces of biblical significance are on the route. i amadi is the first stop after leaving the little hangar at Miniadi. South of Ramadi is a bizarre lake of strangely different qualities and colors of water. After that the dreaded desert confronts the pilot. The only oasis on the desert of Egypt deserving mention is Kasr Kharana, about 300 miles from Ramadi. It, is one of the outposts of the ancient Roman empire, standing like a sentinel on the desert. Near Ziza, the next stop, is Mt. Nebo, from which Moses viewed the promised land. Here British squadrons take that part of the mail bound for Palestine, and the Cairo-Bagdad plane continues on its way with its precious burden. Some miles out from Ziza is Jehovah ' s Rest where perhaps God rested the seventh day when He made the world. The plane finally arrives at Heliopolis after crossing the Judaean Hills, the Dead Sea Peninsula, and the Suez Canal. The probable location of the place where Lot ' s wife was turned tcj a pillar of salt is near Heliopolis, a few miles from Cairo. Usually the Stjf) miles are covered in thirteen hours. Pilots who undertake to carry mail over this route do so at greater risk of their lives than those carrying mail in many other parts of the world. The Cairo-Bagdad route is the result of many years of scientific exploration. But yet there is room for imi rovement. Large plateaus of limestone, quartz and basalt, a very hard black volcanic rock, stretch in every direction. These geo- graphical conditions have their advantages as well as their disadvantages. Fre - quently, sandstorms occur, playing havoc with the motors and increasing the hazard of l)ecoming lost. Even in fair weather the fear of becoming lost among a few quarreling Bedouin tribes is unnerving to the British pilots. Lack of water forbids many refueling stations on the desert. The British Go ernment has conceived the idea of burying huge gasoline tanks in the sands. However, these tanks are subject to the depredations of the Bedouins, who rob not for the gasoline, but for the useless metal. Summer weather does not permit carrying heavy loads, as in the winter. Since the summer temperature is about 110 degrees in the shade, selection of the wood in the construction of planes, and various instruments must be made with the utmost of care. Air mail in such comparatively slow countries as Egypt, Persia, Palestine, and Syria is but one example of the sweeijing effect of the spirit of Modernism. That spirit is forward ever, backward . . . never !

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z LA I Foreword 7 } j By X ' ennie Abdullah jGarnYany is st HE ENTERNAL STRUGGLE of it odernisni is to adjust itst-lf. All dver HKri™ ' lie world changes for the adjust Wiit of people to hisjli conditions, or vice ' ' ' ersa, is quite evident. Italy fii:;lits to regain her e ' OiTOmic, social, and political status hy th e principle of Fascism, wiis system of Igoi ernment, developed l)y Mussolini, permeates every phase of ItsW: n life. FactorV r ethods obliterate antediluvian home industries; air ransporratton is ijp tcwEAropea; i par ; and a national army is kept in readiness. ♦th her rejiiitimon for tn de, manufacture, and natural resources to back her, iviiW to regain tvorld prestige by er reconstruction program. One ■ - off the significant steps in tikis process has been rthe developmeirjx of German air transportatifflQj his includtjrljotli passenger a commercial gjijp ' service. To show luyfliy her inc pity of purpo: v. ' Slpain, and ecau e Hitl Britain ' s yfi sMvt presi vitri] Bri i IS il in e crisis in anada has s pir treatiesiylth France, Belgium, rHain. 1 s in power, ttte Germans maty rise beyond expectations, olding lifeVcolonial empire together is felt by all. The English history.) Indijii ' s vinegar of hatred has turned to . ited jiuoit of ner t d e to the United States. Other .. .y..-,i ossessions have showiy their eeth Some small countries no longer feel the need of the Crown ' s brblfection. A colonial empi T in |fh8 ' making isnorthern and western Africa. There, France, her legs strong after thtf World War recovery, is quietly and diplomatically pre- paring for the future. Tunis, Algiers, Morocco, Sudan, and the Congo — all that territory comprising the best part of Africa — is under French control. One finds splendid development of airway and land traveling facilities. France ' s African penetration makes for an empire of great potentiality in war or peace. Russia is the enigma. Her doings are strange to our ears. But perhaps the drastic moves made by the Soviet Government are only correct steps in the recon- struction program. Stalin, virtual dictator of the Soviet Union, has in his bag of dreams a vision of an independent Russia ; that is, industrially. It would seem that Russian struggles through the various Five-Year-Plans and Ten-Year-Plans would cause the people to revolt. However, the s]3irit of Communism carries the people toward Soviet aspirations. For good or for bad? Quien sabe? Modernism, in the opinion of many, fails to tie up with human ideals. It subverts. We are a world of automatons, enslaved by speed. It remains for our generation to torrect this — to effect an adjustment. We shall fitness new Mndemisms in the future — many of them. But the com- mon ■ laracSeJ-istic of tltlfin all will be this: the modernisms will go Forward ,-erJ ;

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SENIORS