Evening star., 1927-11-15
Low Estimates of District
Commissioners Seen as
Reason for Separation.
ARMY FIGURES COST
AT ABOUT 81, AGO. 900
City Heads Planned to Ask $780,
coo for Starting of Gravelly
Point Project.

President Coolidge who has favored
the establishment of municipal air
port at Gravelly Point. on the Poto-
mac. from the very first, was repre-
sented today as deeming it advisable
to have Congress enact a bill author
izing such a project rather than pro-
viding for it, inclusion in the next
District estimates to be submitted to
Congress.
Because of this attitude on the part
Of the President it was learned from
reliable authority at the White House
today that the District Commissioners
have agreed to proceed along the lines
suggested and will therefore withdraw
the airport item from their estima tes
and will at once set to work preparing
the sort of legislation Congress will be
asked to act upon.
Cost Is Determinant.
The President, it was explained
thinks 1t is best for Congress to au-
thorize this project principally because
the cost as originally estimated bv
the Commissioners, which was $3.50.
900. has been found to be just about
one half of what the project will ul.
tlmately cost Advices received by the
President are to the effect that a
survey made by Army engineers, puts
the cost of this project as high as
81, 100000. Therefore. because of the
estimated cost Of the Gravelly Point
airport will run more than a million
dollars, the President is represented
as being of the opinion that the mat.
Va of
there are other matters involved, in.
cluding the question of what pro-
portion of the expense. If any. the
Federal Government should bear
which the President would like to
have threshed out by Congress. AL.
though he personally is understood to
be fairly well convinced that the pro.
posed Gravelly Point site is preferable
to any of the other sites sug.
gested, he is inclined to think that
it would he good idea to have this
question also decided by Congress.
President Coolidge. has on num-
Der of occasions since the question
Of an airport for the Capital was
frs. proposed expressed himself as
being genuinely interested In the
proposition and ON more than one oc
casion has made it clear that he per-
City. to have such port. Through
out his administration he has always
strongly advocated Government as
sistance in the development of COM
mercial aviation and has expressed
himself to the extent of hoping to
see commercial airports established
at every large sized city in the
United States.
Lord Watches Program.
When the matter of the Gravelly
Point site was brought to the Presi-
dents attention while i'm the Black
Hills last Summer he indicated that
he would be willing to leave the mat
ter in the hands of the Commission
ers and said that he would be willing
to be guided by their judgment. 1t
was explained on his behalf today
that probably the suggestion to the
Commissioners to take the item out
of the District estimates for next
year would not have been forthcom-
ing from the White House had it not
developed that the Commissioners
estimate of the total cost of the prof.
ect was virtually $750,000 below what
the Army engineers estimated.
1t is known that the President has
been kept advised as to the prelimi-
1dTlCS IIiCiucHL VI Tie SLdItlHS VI the
establishment of Washington air.
port by Brig. Gen. Herbert M. Lord,
director Of the budget. The latter. fol-
lowing a conference with the Presi-
dent today, indicated that while the
District estimates have not been put
in final form by the Budget Bureau, he
felt very certain that the District
Commissioners will ask Congress for
the authorization for the airport
rather than endeavoring to obtain the
appropriations in the budget esti.
mates. The item which was in the
Commissioners estimates providing
for the commencement of the work on
this proposed project called for an
appropriation of $150,000. Whether
or not this will be the amount Con-
gress will stipulate for the beginning
Of the work if it should pass the
authorization is problematical.