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Progress Ratified; Lethargy Rejected
Address delivered by Col. Edgar S. Gorrell, President of the Air Transport Association of America, at the dedication of the Civil Aeronautics Authority's Experimental Station at Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 29, 1939.
In the field of aeronautics America's place in the world of tomorrow depends upon whether or not America has or will develop adequate facilities for research and experimentation. To some this issue may seem to be remote, but the true solution of this question is vital to our national security and to America's commercial progress. In the entire field of aeronautics, not only the promise but the possibilities for improvement are limitless. As we go forward, today's boasts will seem puny beside tomorrow's accomplishments. What will be accomplished here in this new experimental laboratory of the Civil Aeronautics Authority is of importance to both the the near and distant future. Air transportation salutes Indianapolis and its farsighted citizens whose vision made possible your truly modern airport which permits the establishment in this community of a modern laboratory devoted to the advancement of our country's aviation and to the continued enhancement of safety and efficiency in travel and trade by air. 
In the world of tomorrow travel by air will reach beyond the wildest dreams of us who traced so anxiously the wings of the Lone Eagle just twelve abort years ago.
But air transport is not only of the world of tomorrow; it is an integral part of the world of today. Yesterday, travel by air was both an adventure and an experiment. Today, to some it is still an adventure. But it is not an experiment. Our modern airliners operate on routine schedules, regularly and dependably, building up a record of safety and efficiency which leads the world and commands the unstinted admiration of foreign operators.
Why, you may ask, is travel by air to some still an adventure when it has become so regular a routine?
You, yourself, can find the answer to that question during the shortest, least eventful trip. When I was a