Evening star., 1936-02-05
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.


The Post Office Department Is
planning to move all airmail opera
tions from Washington to Baltimore
on February Is in the event Washing
ton Airport is closed by the Bureau
OF Air Commerce, it was announced
today by Second Assistant Postmaster
General Harllee Branch, in charge of
airmail.
There is nothing else left for us to
do" Branch said. Boiling Field is
out of the question for modern air
transport operations and there is no
other airport here. 1t would cost the
Government and the air transport
lines thousands of dollars to tear up
their installations here and move and
would prove a source of great delay
and inconvenience to the Post Office
Department and the public, but there
appears to be no alternative"
Branch said the Post Office Depart
fer with great reluctance, feeling that
robbing the Capital Of all air trans
portation and relegating it to the avia-
ton status of a backwoods village will
make the city and the Nation ridic-
ulous in the eyes of all modern nations
The only hope which we can see
today" Branch said, ''is that Congress
will act before February Is to close
Military road"
To Appear Before Committee.
Branch said he will appear Friday
morning before the House Military
Affairs Committee at hurriedly called
session to consider the closing of the
portion of Military road which now
divides Washington Airport into halves.
Chairman Randolph of the House
District Subcommittee. which has
studied the Washington airport prob
lem, announced today he expected to
appear at the hearing Friday.
For the first time in the history
Of this controversy" Randolph de-
clared, "it is being recognized openly
by the Federal Government that the
airport problem here is not merely of
local importance The Post Office
Department is realizing that closing
of the airport would have serious ef-
fects on the transportation of the
United States mails.
"It takes a shock like this to en-
phasize the fact that this airport is
intertwined not only with the air pas
senger traffic but with the carrying of
the mails
Hopes for Temporary Move.
Branch expressed the hope that
even if all air transport and airmail
operations are moved to Baltimore,
the situation will be only temporary.
II cannot conceive that Washington
will always remain without an air.
port" he said. THE question has be-
come one of national Importance and
of international interest and we hope
that the present crisis will be the
stimulus to establishment of perma-
nent, adequate airport here"
Closing of Washington to air trans
port operations, Branch said, will
bring chaos into the air transport
system in the East" There now are
Sc transport planes entering and
leaving Washington Airport each "a
hours on regular schedule and in
creased schedules have been planned
in the immediate future. Three
airlines have their Eastern terminals.
at Washington Airport.
Much outgoing Airmail.
The Post Ofice Department now
has 10 trained employees at Washing
ton Airport. In December, they
handled $4,000 pounds of outgoing
airmail, exclusive of mail passing
through the airport, which was trans
ferred from plane to plane.
Its big business and is growing, I"
Branch said.
Baltimore does not have trained air
(See AIRPORT. Page ST.