Evening star., 1937-07-28
COMMERCE AIDE
URGES PASSAGE
Of AIRPORT BILL
Johnson, Assistant Secre.
tary, Favors U. S. Owning
D. c. Plane Center.
FULL SITE UTILIZATION
DECLARED IMPERATIVE
Immediate Construction of Out.
lying Base for City Also
Recommended.

Immediate enactment OF the May
bill authorizing enlargement of Wash
ington Airport was advocated by As
sistant Secretary of Commerce j..
Monroe johnson before the House
Military Affairs Committee today.
johnson approved the principle Of
Federal ownership of an airport for
the Capital and told the committee
Washington Airport should be i'm
proved to the utmost possible limits
and that Congress should also under
take immediate construction of an
outlying airport for Washington.
johnson estimated that Washing
ton Airport is safe only so per cent
Of the time for operation of 2l-passen-
ger Douglas transports now used by
two Of the airlines. The May bill would
make the field safe for much greater
proportion of the time, but there still
will be need for an outlying airport for
extremely bad weather he testified.
johnson urged that the committee
take immediate action on the bill, re-
gardless of what is done about de-
velopment of any other airport site
1--WE have more than 500 landings
and take-offs day at Washington
Airport and getting to the point of
serious air congestion johnson tes-
titled. conditions at the airport must
be improved, but Congress should ini-
tlate long-range program looking to
development of an outside field. Such
q field will be badly needed before it
can be completed, even if we start
now"
The airport problem and the results
Q recent hearings on the subject will
be discussed by the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission tomor-
row and Friday, Preliminary studies
on approaches to the proposed Camp
Springs airport and free way" or ex-
press highway to connect the Maryland
site with one of the Anacostia bridges
will be taken under advisement, said
John Nolen, jr., director of planning.
Gorrell Urges Passage.
Col Edgar S. Gorrell. president of the
Air Transport Association of America,
another witness before the committee
yesterday, also urged immediate pas
sage Of the May bill. He said that, in
his opinion, Washington Airport is
safe under the present standards Of
operation, but that it is usable only
part of the time under such stand
ards, and that the airport should be
enlArged to make 1t usable under all
normal conditions. He also agreed
that two airports will be necessary
in the near future.
Conditions at Washington Airport
create an immediate emergency which
can be overcome only through enact
ment of the pending bill, the commit
tee was told by Representative Ran
dolph of West Virginia, chairman of
the former House subcommittee on
local airport bills.
Freeland Chew, member of the
Board of Commissioners of Arlington
County, distributed to newspaper men
attending the hearing typewriter
statement in opposition to the May
bill. He branded the move to enlarge
the airport "a well conceived plan" by
airport officials to increase the value of
their property. He said it is "unthink-
able that the Government would con-
slider giving to private corporation
valuable industrial lands lying in
Arlington County and thereby greatly
increase the salable value of an air
port site which the corporation is de-
sirous of turning over to the Fed
eYal Government"
He also objected to closing of Mill
tary road, pointing out that it has
been used by citizens of Arlington
County for rs years and by bus COM
pAnies which are denied Use of Me-
mortal Bridge. The proposed substi-
tute, toward which Washington Air
port has offered to donate s25 1000,
would be little compensation to the
people OF Arlington County" in return
for the sale to the Government of
Washington Airport, thus forever
Withdrawing from taxation more than
14o acres Of our most valuable in
dustrial land" he declared.
Chew said that the War Depart
ment has granted permission to Ar
lington County to improve Military
road and the work is expected to begin
shortly.
The Agriculture Department is op-
posed to turning over for airport use
the portion Of Arlington Experimental
Farm joining Washington Airport,
the committee was told by E. c. Auch-
ter, acting chief of the Farm Indus
tries Bureau
He characterized the Sc acres in the
tract as the best land in the farm
and the only part suitable for certain
types Of experimental work. He said
the land Is worth between $1,000 and
100000 an acre.
Representatives Of the War Depart
nfent told the committee there is no
objection to the closing Of Military
road, which has no further value for
military purposes.
Objection to the filling in Boundary
Channel lagoon was voiced by Thomas
3. Settle, secretary Of the National
Capital Park and Planning Commits
SION, who said that the use of this
area would bring airplane operations
too close to the Mount Vernon
Memorial Boulevard.
Meanwhile. the Copeland bill, SINH
lar to the May bill, has been placed
on the Senate calendar, and there is
q possibility it may be reached Mon
day, when the calendar is scheduled
as the order of business.
Although the King bill authorizing
development of the Camp Springs
site recommended by the District Air
port Commission also was placed on
the Senate calendar, there was in
creasing doubt of the prospects for
passage Of this bill The Aeronautics
Subcommittee of the House Naval
Affairs Committee, which is unani-
inouSly opposed to the Camp Springs
project, was expected to report its
objection to the full committee to-
day and to urge that all possible