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Attachment Placed on Trans-Ocean Plane as City Pays Homage to Kingsford-Smith and Aide Los Angeles wined and dined Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith and his navigator Capt. P.G. Taylor, conquerors of the broad Pacific, yesterday, but a discordant and ironical note crept into the homage of extended the ace Australian birdmen in the form of legal action by a promoter seeking $1759 from Sir Charles. And the sturdy little sky clipper, Lady Southern Cross, which had borne Sir Charles and his navigator from Australia to Los Angeles via Suva, Honolulu and Oakland, formed a pathetic picture at Los Angeles Municipal Airport. PLANE FOR SALE The Lockheed Altair monoplane which had boomed across 2400 miles of ocean between Hawaii and California in fifteen hours, ending her dash on the pervious day, was for sale - and couldn't be sold. An attachment slapped on her sleek blue hull prevented her sale. On the day of Kingsford-Smith's arrival here, Sunday, there were festivities at Municipal Airport and downtown, and yesterday there were many congratulating visitors for Sir Charles and Capt. Taylor at the Clark Hotel, where the two were guests of P. G. B. Morriss, hotel manager, and last night a banquet was given the pair by the Chamber of Commerce. But although Sir Charles and his navigator spoke gayly at the banquet and at the meeting with visitors, a sort of pall hung over it all. The Lady Southern Cross was bound by an attachment, and a suit was on file against Sir Charles ANSWER SIGNED True, Kingsford-Smith had responded with typical dash, when notified of the legal action, by preparing and signing an answer which will be filed tomorrow morning, denying all allegations in the promoter's suit, and his gay speech at last night's banquet belied all cares. Astonished by the action filed against him and the attachment placed on his faithful Lockheed Altair plane, Kingsford-Smith, when he had recovered his composure early yesterday, summoned Attorney Leo Goodman and prepared an answer to the complaint announcing he will fight the action and follow it up with a damage suit against the plaintiff. JARRING NOTE IN RECEPTION The jarring note in the otherwise enthusiastic reception of the doughty airman and his navigarot came while Sir Charles was receiving callers and congratulations in his suit at the Clar Hotel. The ace pilot, whose exploits in the air have for seven years been of the sensational variety and who is acclaimed by Americans as enthusiastically as by his own Austral- (Continued on Page 2, Column 1) [[Newspaper story layered under]] Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Australian globe-girdler, who recently flew his Lady Southern Cross 7701 miles from Bristbane to Los Angeles, will take off for Oakland today to visit his brother, E. H. K. Smith, over Sunday. He expects to fly back to Los Angelse tomorrow. Yesterday, just for fun, he took four friends skylarking in the trim blue and silver Los Angeles-built Lockheed plane. Miss Patricia Ellis, motion-picture acress; Miss Carol Stroud, writer; Miss Marry Walker. assistant manager of the Clark Hotel, where Sir Charles is stopping, and Leo Goodman, attorney for the flyer, were his guests. The rest of the day Sir Charles spent in conferences over prospective flying contracts. P.G.B. Morriss, manager of the Clark Hotel, and John Stannage, manager of Sir Charles's business interests in Sydney, sat in with him on the conferences. Stannage will fly to Oakland with Sir Charles today. [[Image]] [[Article cut off]] City Honors Sir Charles Spirit of Fete Dampened Attachment Plaved on Lady Southern Cross Over Claim for $1750 (Continued from First Page) ians and the folk of Great Britain, was informed that his gallant ship, product of a Los Angeles plant, had been attached at the airport. ACTION EXPLAINED "For what?" demanded the flyer. Then he was told of the action, which had been filed early in the day by H. Beverly, assignee for Thomas R. Catton, promoter, who charges that during the months of January, February and March, 1928, Sir Charles became indebted to him in the sum of $1750 for "work, labor and services performed and money advanced," The complaint, filed by Attorney P. M. Bokofsky, further charges that Sir CHarles and his co-pilot on the flight of the famed Southern Cross from Oakland to Honolulu in 1928 " left the State of California, subsequent to the performance of said labor and remained without the State for a total time aggregating six years," and that "no part of the said sum has been paid and there is now due, owing and unpaid $1750 and interest at the rate of 7 per cent from April, 1928." "ABSURD, RIDICULOUS!" His blue flyer's eyes blazing with indignation, Kingsford-Smith, when advised of the nature of the complaint, stated: "Why, it's absolutely absurd, ridiculous, preposterous! The idea of this fellow charging that he advanced money to me! He might have bought me a cigar, but if any money was advanced I advanced it to him. "I mean to fight him to the last, and when the case is over with I shall follow up with a damage suit against him for defamation of character and whatever delay to my plans may incur." Through his close friend, Morriss, Sir Charles then summoned Attorney Goodman, who prepared an answer. The flyer signed the instrument, but the hour was too late for filing yesterday and he instructed his attorney to file it tomorrow morning, today being a legal holiday. QUICK TRIAL SOUGHT Attorney Goodman announced that when the answer is filed he will ask the court to grant an immediate trial of the case so that the flyer can fill pressing engagements in the East. Kingsford-Smith's answer, in addition to denying every assertion in the complain, charges in turn that "plaintiff's assignor is indebted to the defendant," and that the complaint "does not state a cause of action." The action filed by Catton is the outgrowth of efforts on the part of Catton to obtain backing for the first trans-Pacific flight of Sir Charles in the old Fokker tri-motored monoplane Southern Cross, for which the present ship is named. MONEY NEEDED "I shall sell the ship, and I hope to get about $30,00 for her," Sir Charles was stating when news of the legal action reached him. "She is worth every penny of it - and more . . . she is the finest little airplane in the world today." The Lady Southern Cross cost about #21,00 when built. "I must sell her, much as I hate to, in order to reimburse my backers on this flight and myself for the $5000 or $6000 the hop cost me in expenses. When I have sold her I shall attend to business in the East, then return to Australia." CHARMS AUDIENCE At the banquet, attended by 200 civic and professional leaders of the city as well as flyers including Miss Amelia Earhart, Bobby Trout, Walter Brookins and others. Sir Charles charmed his audience with wit and expressions of a friendliness United States. Giving all credit for the eopchal trans-Pacific hop to his navigation he said, "Capt. Taylor with his instruments found a tiny island between two fat continents - and it was Suva, then he found some others, and they were Hawaiians. "Let's get together, all of us in America and Britain, and say, 'Let's get together and police up the rest of the world.'" His speech was met with storms of cheering. Capt. Taylor said: "Smithy was the man who brought us through. It was his superlative skill with heavy and light loads, and his leadership, that did it. Once he said to me, 'If you can't find Suva we'll just go up and wait till the stars come out, then we'll see it.' In Honolulu he bought a ukulele and I got a steel guitar; were we downhearted?" CAPTAIN LEAVES TONIGHT Capt. Taylor leaves over TWA tonight for the East, where he will sail for England and a job with a transport airline. Speakers and guests included Mayor Shaw, Walter J. Braunschweiger of the Chamber of Commerce, W. M. Gurnery, British Consul, Senator McAdoo, president of the National Aeronautic Association, Lloyd Stearman, president of the Lockheed plant, and Col. Richard Barnitz, head of Municipal Airport and municipal aviation affairs. The famed world flyer early in the day had provided interviewers with surprising statements concerning development in aviation and navigation in the air, before news of the legal action came. DOUGLAS PLANE LAUDED "Of course, transe-Pacific commercial flight is reasible and it will be done in land planes, not sea-planes or flying boats, I believe - or at least it ought to be that way. And your great Douglas monoplane built in Los Angeles is the type of ship for the job. They wont' need floating airdromes or a line of steamships dotting the course to Australia or the Orient from California. "In a short time, when payload has been increased without sacrificing fuiel load, the California-Honolulu flight will be as simple and devoid of hazards as my own hop was, and plenty of islands are strewn along the route between Suva and Hawaii, the longest flight. DIESELS IMPRACTICABLE "Diesels will not be practicable for a long time, and when they are, the cost of crude oil will soar, and too, we have a flashless gasoline now which will do away with fire hazards." LADY SOUTHERN CROSS LOG DRAMATIC REPORT The log of the good ship Lady SOuthern Cross, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith's swift locally built Lockheed monoplane or the Pacific which terminated Sunday in Los Angeles after a fifteen-hour flight from Honolulu to Oakland is best and most tersely told in a series of radiograms from the world flyer received in this city by his close friend, P. G. B. Morris, and by the Oakland radio operators. The take-off of the doughty Lady Southern Cross at Wheeler Field, Honolulu is history. The messages broke into the sleep of Morriss, manager of the Clark Hotel, at frequent intervals. The first message sent by Sir Charles was to Wheeler Field, which he had just left. It read: "Again, many thanks to Gen. Dorey, Col. Emmons, Capt. Page, Capt. Duncan, Capt. Duke, etc., all splendid fellows who worked all that time so cheerfully and well and made my machine the beauty she is now. Last, but never least, that good scout, Lieut. Wright. Cheerio and Aloha - Smithy." MESSAGE TO MORRISS This was followed by a message to Morriss: "Just passed Lurline right below. Hawaii away off abaft starboard beam. Abover clouds at 3400 geet. Beautiful weather . . . VMZBF." And then: "Our position at 0020 GMT is Lat. 22.14 N., Long. 55.50 W. All fine and well." Then came: "Going to be difficult to go slow enough to arrive Oakland reasonable hour tomorrow. Present plans to arrive there about 9 a.m. Leave for Los Angeles at 1 p.m. . . . VMZBF." And next: "CQ. . .CG. . . Ralph Heintz, S.F., Hope sigs O.K. Know operating bad but doing my best. Cheerio. Smith, VMZBF." This above the Pacific's wastes, when he feared his operating was not good enough for the receivers at San Francisco. And the next message was: "Kingstong Syd, Morriss L, A. Night very dark and few clouds, , all well. VMZBF." BLIND FLYING The next one told of blind flight, that art sought by all birdmen. It read: "Just had fifteen minutes blind through rainstorm but above clouds. Now at 10,000 feet. ALl well. Position at 0500 G.M.T. is Lat. 25.25 N.. Long. 149.40 W. 575 Statue miles. VMZBF." The Lockheed Altair was doing everything asked of her, and straining at the leash, as the ace flyer held her throttled down over the black wastes. Next flashed and crackled: "MAKING A GOOD TIME" "Now at 9000 feet. A bit warmer. Everything fine. Sky clear." After this, from the void above the Pacific, came: "Seem to be getting some westerly wind and making good time. Weather still good but night awfully black." This followed: "We have cold feet but are happy. Position at 1300 GMT is Lat. 33.30 N., Long 33.00 W. Expect arrive about 9 a.m." And then: "Nice morning here. We are approximately at Lat. 35.50 N., Long 28.18 W.at 1500 GMT." Then: "WOuld like Coast Guard Patrol make a little smoke if possible. We are due to pass them in about two hours or less." It was not long until the Lady Southern Cross passed the Coast Guard and rolled to a landing in Oakland, another ocean scalp in the belt of Kingsford-Smith.
