Evening star., 1934-01-19
NEW AIRPORT SITE
SENTIMENT GROWS
Chi|Ium Location Reported
Gaining Favor Among
House Committee.

Sentiment among members OF the
House Military Affairs Committee to-
day appeared to be swinging from
Washington Airport to proposed site
at ChiIlum, near the District line in
Maryland, as the location for COM
bined military defense and air transport
terminal for the National Capital.
Every witness appearing at the fourth
DAYS hearing on the McSwain bill was
questioned closely about his knowledge
of the Chillum site. Two of the wit
nesseS we're requested to make per-
sonal study of the area, and Chairman
McSwain announced members of the
committee also would inspect the Chill
um area before hearings are COM
pleted. Two members of the commit
tee, Representatives Goss of Connecticut
and May of Kentucky. voiced a prefer
ence for the Chillum site during to-
days hearing.
The Chillum area. said to lnclude
more than 1000 acres of level grouno;;
on which an airport mile square coulu
be located, was described to the COM
mittee as being one-half mile from
the District line beyond Catholic Uni
versity. A delegation headed by former
Renresentatve johnson of South Da-
kota offered the tract to the commit
tee yesterday at price Of from 81 200
to ST $50 an acre.
Asked to Make Study.
Capt. Thomas B. Doe, president OF
Eastern Air Transport, and william j.
Austin, vice president OF PennsylVanla
Air Lines, were asked by Chairman
McSwain to make personal study OF
the Chillum site and report back to the
committee concerned its des1rablllty as
an air transport terminal McSwain
did not indicate when the committee
would visit the area.
Vigorous opposition to the use OF the
portion of Arlington Experimental Farm
for enlargement of Washington AirpoIZ
was voiced by K. A. Ryerson. chief OF
the Bureau of Plant Industry OF the
Department of Agriculture. Ryerson
testified the department has many vital
" important experiments in progress
on the 50-acre tract adjoining the air
port
THAT is the best part of Arlington
Farm and is the richest piece Of land
we have within 100 miles Of Washing
ton" he said I'VE have longtime ex-
periments there, some of which have
been in progress IT years, under way
on this tract, and they can't be moved
overnight.
we will have to oppose as vigorously
as we can any move to take this tract
from us until provision Is made Tor
this experimental work elsewhere. 1t
probably would take years to develop
new ground to the proper point of fer
tility for the conducting OF these par
ticular experiments.
Research Being Conducted.
1--WE are heavily involved there in
fundamental research work and 1t
would seriously damage our program
to have this ground taken away now"
Among the witnesses today were
Horace L. woodward of the Home and
School Civic League Of Arlington
Military road, and w. S. Dalton, vet
eran Eastern Air Transport pilot.
Dalton was questioned closely as to
comparative fog conditions at WASH
ington Airport and the Chillum site.
He replied that although he was not
familiar with the Chillum property, ne
did not think the difference would be
material. He argued against location
of the airport at point any further
from the downtown District than Wash
ington Airport.
Both Capt Doe and Austin also
stressed the importance of having the
airport as close as possible to the bust
ness section of the city, declaring that
air passenger traffic had developed in
direct ratio to the distance of municipal
airports from the cities they serve. Pas
senger traffic is heavier out OF Wash
ington than out of New York on the line
between the two cities, Doe testified. at
tributing the difference to the better
location of Washingtons airport.