New 'Fireball' Raises An Old Question: Do Flying Saucers Exist? Californian, Who 'Talks' to Men From the Stars, Says 'Yes'; Scientists Assail Air Force By ELLIOT CARLSON Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL They're back. The latest was sighted a few nights ago by residents and pilots in the north- ern tier of states and Canada. They described it as an orange fireball. The Air Force at first called it an unidentified flying object, but now says it was a meteor. Some other people called it a flying saucer. Several people say they saw the fireball last Tuesday night. An 11-year-old boy in Laramie, Wyo., says he watched it drop into the woods near his home. A woman in Elyria, Ohio, says she saw it plunge into a lake Michi- gan. Scientists and police combed a 70-acre area near Pittsburgh after a woman there saw an object crash to earth "smoldering." Despite these witnesses and search efforts, however, the thing has yet to be found. In this regard, it is like all other unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, which are mysterious be- cause they are seen but never found. Whatever it turns out to be-meteor, mirage,

Mars-it appeared in a banner year for such objects. Unidentified objects disappeared from public consciousness following a rash of reports of saucers in the mid-1950s. "We've had more reports this year than in any year since 1957, when we had more than a thousand," says a spokesman for Project Blue Book, the Air Force program set up in 1948 to evaluate re- ports of the phenomena. Men From Outer Space Nobody knows what the objects are or where they come from, but there is no lack of theories

Saucer Clubs of America, Inc., is sure the "men" come from outer space. How do they know? The "space people" have told them. It was only that, says Gabriel Green, who runs the California group. "Space people have given us information about life on other stars and solutions to insurmountable prob- lems on our planet." One suggestion allegedly made to Mr. Green in 1960 by a visit from Al- bert, a Centaurian, a nearby star: Run for Pres- ident as a write-in candidate. (He campaigned

The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a private re- search organization in Washington, doesn't agree with that theory. "We reject reports of beings landing on earth to solve all our problems," says a spokesman. No men from

the committee. It believes a Congressional in- vestigation would prove that UFOs "are real aerial objects...under the control of living beings." As an afterthought, the spokesman adds: "There are a tremendous number of peo- ple who have been able to pinpoint them- selves as experts in this field because it's so con- troversial." One man who's not confused at all is Charles A. Maney, professor emeritus of physics and mathematics at Defiance College in Ohio. Says Maney: "These objects are unquestion- ably from outer space." He bases his reason- ing on the fact that the objects often interfere with electrical circuits, indicating to him "some means of propulsion associated with magnetic fields." "There's Nothing To It" Such notions are scoffed at by astronomers, however. "All this is imagination outside the realm of science," says Donald H. Menzel, di- rector of the observatory at Harvard. "I have studied more than 1,000 Air Force cases and discovered that all have simple explanations in terms of known natural phenomena. There's not one, not hundreds. Some are quite spec- tacular, such as reflections from ice crystals or stars, searchlights on clouds or high- altitude spider webs. But to some people the idea of flying saucers is a matter of religious conviction," he says. Mr. Menzel reads more into the Air Force data than does the Air Force itself. Of the 700 UFO reports made to the Air Force in 1964, 675 remain classified as "unidenti- fied." He defines this cate- gory as containing sightings whose pertinent data can't be correlated with any known object or phenomenon. "The Air Force's approach disturbs some people, however. "The Air Force should admit there are natural phenomena taking place un- der our noses of which we know nothing," says I. M. Levitt, director of Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. He adds: "The Air Force is trying to explain something that isn't susceptible to explanation." Robert Fleser, director of the Oklahoma Sci- ence and Art Foundation planetarium at Okla- homa City, believes "the Air Force must have had its star-finder upside down during Aug- ust." When several reports of flying saucers were ascribed by the Air Force to sightings of stars. "The constellations of Taurus and Orion weren't visible at the time the Air Force said the sightings were made. I think they made an error." The whole problem, says J. Allen Hynek, chairman of the department of astronomy at Northwestern University and a consultant to the Air Force, is that the matter should be studied more thoroughly. "Pressure to conformity in academic cir- cles and fear of ridicule have slowed the study," according to Robert Hall, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois in Chi- cago. "The possibility of life on Mars is an un-

Frank B. Salisbury, a professor of plant phy- siology at Colorado State University. At the risk of being unpopular, Mr. Salisbury told the fifth annual Space Conference this year that "there may be some natural explanation of these things, but a tentative possibility to be considered is that UFOs are spaceships from Mars." Fueling the flying-saucer controversy has been the large number of reports from what many people consider reliable witnesses-pilots with technical backgrounds. Since 1947, more than 100 private, military and commercial pilots have reported spotting strange objects in the sky, according to one study. Pinning down such reports is difficult, how- ever. "Some of the boys did report things they couldn't identify a few years ago," says a spokesman for American Airlines. "But our pilots haven't made a report for years." Nevertheless, "we have on file a great num- ber of reports from pilots who want their names used but still want to tell somebody what they've seen, claims J. B. Hartranft, Jr., president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots As- sociation. And he says: "I haven't drawn any conclusions myself, but I think we're certainly got a good mystery on our hands." 4-18-66 "Report Them...Forget It- I Have Enough Credibility Problems As It Is."

Disc-Like Object Hovers, Rises For Two Hours East of Kettle Point By JIM STICKLES Free Press Bureau SARNIA - A re- port, sighted in the sky east of Kettle Point was watched for more than two hours by about 100 persons. Lawrence Brissette states a story in the Point Indian Reserve. Mr. Brissette said a motorist brought the object to his attention and he looked at it through a pair of binoculars and saw the object. It was disc-shaped and red, white lights were flashing from the object. Mr. Brissette said

the sightings. Mr. Brissette said planes in the area point while the group along the Lake Huron shore. The object was not in Michigan near UFO sightings were received Saturday night as far north as the tip of the "Thumb" in Lake Huron. Odd lights were reported in the sky over Oakland County and the neighboring Detroit area. Others were reported westward in the Lansing area. Dr. J. Allen Hynek of North- western University, scientific consultant to the U.S. Air Force said phenomena at Dexter and Hillsdale on the night of March 20 probably were the result of swamp gases. Sheriff Douglas Harvey of

defense director William Van Horn of Hillsdale County criti- cized Dr. Hynek's report. Van Horn said the swamp gas explanation was an attempt to "explain it away arbitrarily." Flying Saucers Gain Proponent 5-26-66 NEW YORK - The nephew of the late Dag Hammarskjold has startled America's top science writers by telling them he believes that flying saucers exist and that they come from outer space. Knut Hammarskjold, whose late uncle was secretary gener- al of the United Nations, spoke at a convention here of the associ- ation of science writers. Hammarskjold also suggested that our space neighbors are becoming more and more inter- ested in what people are doing on earth. "The possible existence of neighbors in space will, if con- firmed, create problems of le- gal, political and technical characteristics," he said. UN Watch For Saucers Urged UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Feb. 7 (AP)-Colman Von Keviczky, an employe in the U.N. Office of Public Infor- mation, proposed to Secre- tary-General U Thant today that members of the United Nations establish a network to observe flying saucers. VonKeviczky, who says he believes someone in out- er space is sending saucers regularly to flights to earth. He told Thant the United Nations must authority to establish tact or represent in a face-to-face with extraterrestrial STRANGE OBJECT OVER MT. WILSON A-2 Los Angeles Herald-Examiner 8-4 There was something over Mount Wilson early today but it didn't catch the entire city napping. Police and newspaper switchboards were flooded with calls describing the object variously as a "puff," a "greenish ball," a "long ball and a light at the end." It was first sighted about 4 a.m. and remained in view for about half an hour. A similar fireball was sighted about the same time from Sacramento and from Vandenberg Air Force Base, it was reported. Vandenberg reported no launches during the preceding 24 hours which might account for the phe- nomenon and said radar Thursday, Aug. 4

at Vandenberg said

was investigating.

Sgt. David Teike Hollywood division, object here appear over Griffith Park

said. The only solid fa ing: A lot of people Flying saucers mystery 2-3-66 PEOPLE in North land are saying three separate Flying Saucers. The first report came 17-year-old banana G. Pedley, who while tractor through a property on his way farm, heard a loud above the noise of Suddenly about ahead of him, a blue- shaped craft about and 20 high, rose ver about 800 feet and trave terrific speed before south-westerly direction. On investigation of National Parks the circle being in diameter and four other marks found nearby made. During the last six no less than sightings of flying been reported in Queensland press. Hundreds of sight flected in the Tully District last few days to view which are partly gases scrub. The RAAF has reports seriously ask for clippings ments which examined, and any flying saucer might the area will be inves