The Pioneering Age NEWSPAPERS of today are filled with tales of individual daring, courage and adventure. They record almost daily human exploits of an amazing nature. Thanks to modern facilities for speedy transmission of information the public Is kept fully informed. Readers, however, receive such an abundance of thrills that many feats, notable in their significance, are passed by with indifferent attention, because they become more or less routine due to the frequency of such incidents. Within a comparatively few days we receive the news that a massed flight of navy planes charts a new trail from the Hawaiian islands to tiny Midway island in the center of the Pacific; that Amelia Earhart, intrepid woman conquerer of the air, negotiates the distance from Mexico City to New York in little more than 14 hours; that Transpacific Airways is pressing plans for regular airplane service between the American and Asiatic mainland; that Admiral Byrd and his heroic companions return from Little America, covered with laurels for their explorations in the frozen south; that pilgrims from Minnesota landed in Alaska, ready and eager to wrest independence from another wilderness and prepared to battle against the elements to reestablish themselves in a new land of promise. It is not unusual to hear the laments of the present generation with respect to what it describes as a drab existence. Moderns refer wistfully to early pioneering exploits, of battles with Indians, of life in the wilds, and of adventure in general. It is human to crave escape from routine; to long for thrills to break the monotony of living. Isnt it true that yearning of this nature is similar to the ambitious quest for economic opportunity? Arent we prone to gaze upon green pastures in the distance, failing to take note of the fertility at our very feet? The good old days teemed with the spirit of the pioneers. But, the commonplace today would have stunned the older generation. Those who live today need not cast their eyes backward in search for adventure. We are in an age of pioneering in virtually every field known to man. And, it is safe to predict, we havent seen anything yet. Another Belgian Tragedy ANOTHER tragedy has cast its somber shadow over the royal palace of Belgium. It has been a year and a half since King Albert was killed while mountain climbing among the hills of his realm. Queen Elizabeth has never recovered from the shock. Now the news of her sons accident and the death of her beloved daughter in law, Queen Astrid, have added to the poignancy of her sorrows. There was a time when the House of Hapsburg seemed to be pursued by a relentless fate, as one member of the ruling family after another was suddenly removed by accident, assassination or self destruction. Royalty is making an unfortunate record in Belgium in this regard, and the world mourns in sympathy with the people of the little kingdom, who drained the bitter cup of affliction during the World war. Albert was one of the most gallant, democratic, thoughtful and popular rulers known to history. Queen Astrid, 29 years of age, the former Swedish princess, the model mother of three children, the devoted wife of King Leopold, the most popular lady in her realm, met the grim destroyer on an Alpine road over which she and her husband were touring through Switzerland. Queen Astrid was a beautiful woman, charming in her disposition and manners, gracious and considerate toward her subjects, unaffected by the honors she bore with dignity and glorious in a motherhood which she held to be her highest distinction. All prominent officials of Europe held the queen in exalted esteem and the heads of all governments are expressing their sympathies to the bereaved family and to the people of Belgium.