The Wilmington morning star., 1940-09-29
AN AIRPORT
WHEN DO WE GET ONl

Notwithstanding huge Federal
sums expended on Airports largely
under the direction of the WPA,
now comes another governmental
agency-the CAA (now Cab with
the statement that in all America
today we only have 81 airports
capable of handling modern, mill
tary aircraft. These same officials
mentioned that in Western Front
operations alone Germany enjoyed
the use of $50 first-class airports.
For several years now the Amer
lean people have been led to be-
lieve we were being plentifully sup
piled with airports throughout the
Nation. True, millions have been
expended in the way of WPA
grants to various cities, towns and
village which were fortunate
enough to be in line for pork-bar-
rell handouts of their benevolent
government. A fraction of this
money has been expended to ad-
vantage-that is, it has been the
means of establishing some essen
tial airports and improving others
of real value to air transportation
and to the Nation-both CONNER
cially and from the standpoint of
National Air Defense.
But even when these lavish
grants have in part been allocated
to really essential airports, tn e
waste has been terrific. For every
million dollars expended by tn e
Federal Government on airports,
private enterprise could and would
have accomplished twice as much
per dollar expended. But that is
traditional with Government
spending-and even if any impor-
tant airport has been improved
with funds grossly wastetul-if a
better airport has resulted, we
may charge the waste up to profit
and loss-with emphasis on tn e
profit because a better airport
does exist.
Yet it is ironical to note that
with all this Government squander-
ing, today our airport facilities are
so meagre that this country could
not begin to cope with an aerial
war. When the President made his
recent dramatic appeal for $4,000
airplanes and asked for another
one and one-half billion dollars,
even as he spoke the annual reso-
luton was before Congress for an
additional billion dollar WPA pro-
gram. BUT MARK THIS: TIL e
WPA resolutions stated in part:
None of the funds appropriated
by this joint resolution shall be used
for the manufacture, purchase or
construction of any naval vessel,
any armament, munitions or i'm
plements of war for military or
naval forces"
Thus, notwithstanding the Wash
ington filters on unpreparedness,
Government spending is going
ahead as usual; and if there is
one place where WPA funds could
be used to advantage, it is in the
sane and orderly development of
airports. No good citizen will OBJ
struct wise expenditures on such
an essential part of our National
Defense; but if millions of public
monies continue to be wasted and
often diverted to some favorite
community at the expense of our
Nation as a whole, the cause of
Aviation and National Air Defense
will actually be retarded. Enough
millions were squandered at North
Beach to have provided at least
4 other major airports in the
Metropolitan Area. These S a m e
wasted millions would have built
scores of modest but important air.
port construction must be begun
Immediately and carried through
swiftly-otherwise all this talk
about 500, 900 airplanes will not get
beyond the status of political bally-
hoo.
Effective June 80, 1910 all civil
aviation went under the jurisdic-
ton of the Secretary of Commerce.
On that date the formerly indie
pendent CAA was re-christened
the Civil Aeronautics Board. If the
country is to be convinced that this
transfer was wise, one of the first
official acts Of the new Admins
traitor should be the immediat cap
pointment of a strong and capable
National Airport Commission. 4
NAVY CONTRACT