150 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Jean,” Buenos Aires, January 30, 1928, to his “Dearest Mom”; 2 pages in-4 and 2 pages in-8 on Aeroposta Argentina letterhead. Launch of the Aeropostale route between France and South America. He once again sends her his “most tender and affectionate wishes for the new year. May it keep you healthy and happy for me, and may the certainty that I love you very much soften the pain of this new separation. Here, honestly, I don’t have time to get bored. I have a crazy workload on top of the trips I take from time to time. I’m in charge of everything—administration, construction, the operation and flow of mail, hiring staff, and so on. In short, I spend my days at the office. It’s a big sacrifice for me, but I’m making it right now because we need to pool all our energy to succeed here, and since it seems I’m needed…! Fortunately, I’ll soon be making a regular trip every 8 days, which will help me cope with the boredom of the sedentary work that, all things considered, I’ve imposed on myself. The Director of Operations [Didier Daurat] relies entirely on me here. He’s been in Buenos Aires these past few days and treats me as a full-fledged colleague. I have no complaints on that front. But I am, naturally, the target of quite a bit of jealousy. Fortunately, I know how to defend myself, and I no longer hesitate to fight back as soon as I’m pushed into a corner. I do everyone a favor. I never seek personal gain; I always speak in the general interest, so I don’t have to put up with the nastiness of people who imagine that everyone else is like them"... He mentions an “accident that happened near Montevideo to a colleague,” caused by “a part that was probably cut off unintentionally during assembly in Toulouse. Our aircraft are sturdy, and this is the first time something like this has happened on the route in nine years. Here, it made a terrible impression. – The competition in Brazil and here is seizing on the matter as if it were only natural. It’s a very bad start. Moreover, our aircraft take an eternity to arrive from France, and we have to pull off real feats to ensure regular mail delivery. The ships are arriving twenty days late, and we’re running short on supplies. So we’re redoubling our efforts and activity; it’s a difficult period that will be hard to get through, but one that I hope we’ll manage to overcome. I met up with all the Uruguayans at the funeral of our two comrades from Montevideo. They were charming. And yet, in Europe, few people realize that there is a true little corner of France in South America—Uruguay—with such a pleasant natural setting and atmosphere. It was a true national mourning when news of the accident broke. […] Larre Borges is planning a Montevideo-to-Paris flight next September. Maybe I’ll be part of it? He’ll take care of the arrangements. You bet I’d be thrilled. I’m leaving sometime in February for Tierra del Fuego […] to scout out terrain for a future route”… Then he responds to comments made by his mother’s patients: “Those communists sure do say some things! […] How utterly foolish these good people can be! […] There are certainly some forms of misery worth paying attention to, but so many that are hardly worth it! Besides, I don’t think they act this way out of malice, but purely on principle. The Cause, right? Always with a capital C. What a pitiful political stance, and what sinister diplomats! […] If tuberculosis patients are now getting involved in politics, they might as well form a union forbidding anyone from treating them once the 8-hour workday is over—and, for heaven’s sake, go on a sick strike, several days a week if necessary! Where on earth are we headed in France if the Soviets are organizing in hospitals? And why not in cemeteries as well!”… Enclosed: – another unpublished letter “Jean,” Buenos Aires, February 3, 1928, to “Dear Mom” (half-page in-4 on Compagnie Générale d’Entreprises Aéronautiques letterhead), accompanying the mailing of a check. “I forgot to tell you that our international route doesn’t open until March 1. This means we still won’t be able to communicate more quickly before March”… – Plus a cable and a telegram with New Year’s greetings (January 1, 1928). Correspondence, nos. 134, 135, and 132. Provenance: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down within the family