Historical Event

Ostensibly to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Colonel Charles Augustus Lindbergh's transatlantic flight on May 21, 1927, actually to draw crowds to next year's Paris International Exposition, French Air Minister Pierre Cot last week announced plans for an international air derby from New York to Paris on May 21, 1937.* Though details are still unsettled, the race will be open to all comers, will be for a first prize of 1,000,000 francs ($65,000). This promptly inspired the newspaper Intransigeant to offer an aeronautical Blue Ribbon of the Atlantic, declaim: "France desires that Colonel Lindbergh's exploit shall be commemorated as an historical event." If one condition of the proposal is carried out, the commemoration may well prove a shambles. Decreed Minister Cot: The race must be flown on May 21, come hell or hurricane.

*Announced last October was another grandiose French air race--around the world for $200,000--to ballyhoo the Paris Fine Arts Exposition (TIME, Oct. 21). No mention has been made of the scheme since.

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