Evening star., 1945-04-07

are fearful that Congress may say
eyes" They are fearful of the
hypnotizing influence of Juan Trip
pc, president of Pan American Air
ways, the most persuasive person
who ever came to Washington on
business.
They remember, among other
things, the incident of the Ameri-
can Export Airlines back in 1910
American Export, desiring to COM
pete with Pan American in transat-
lantic service, had applied to the
Civil Aeronautics Board for a GER
tificate of convenience and neces-
sity-in other words, license. The
board after due investigation
granted the certificate, but Con-
gress did not permit American EX-
port to operate. 1t refused to ap-
propriate the air mail subsidy with
out which no company could meet
expenses.
Urged by Navy.
The Navy urged the need for the
additional service, Admiral Towers,
at that time chief of the Bureau of
Aeronautics, appearing in person
before the House Appropriations
Committee. National defense re-
quired air service competition on
the Atlantic, he said. The President
of the United States supported the
Nays demand. The national policy
on the subject, as written by Con-
gresS in the Civil AeronauticS Act,
called for: Competition to the ex-
tent necessary to assure the sound
development of an air transporta-
ton system properly adapted to the
needs of the foreign and domestic
commerce of the United States. of
the postal service and of the na-
tional defense"
Congress voted to repudiate its
own declared policy. Congress had
listened to Juan Trippe.
Later, with the coming of war.
the Navy, needing the additional
service, just as it had foreseen, made
contract with American Export
and that line is now furnishing
transatlantic transportation.
The case for monopoly is largely
the case for Juan Trippe himself
and the excellent pioneering job
his Pan American has done. Those
now opposed to giving him post
war monopoly have nothing but
admiration for Trippe. They say his
company has done a good job over
the Atlantic and the Pacific. They
give him much of the credit for
forcing the German and Italian
companies out of Latin America
accomplished in part through the
use of the same talents that have
made him SO hard to beat in WASH
ington. They concede the sincerity
of Trippe's conviction that only a
company headed by himself can
carry the ball for this country in
competition with other countries,
But they don't agree with him.
See U. S. Ownership
AS some of those opposing the
Trippe-McCarran idea put it, if a
private monopoly is established it
will lead inevitably and rapidly to
Government ownership, which none
OF them desires. Assistant Secretary
Of State Will L. Clayton and As
sistant Secretary of War Robert A
Lovett have stated this view for
their departments. L. WEIGH Pogue,
chairman of the Civil Aeronautics
Board, has told the Senate Com
merce Committee
THE immunity of the manage
ment from effective discipline by the
Government Gin case of monopoly
would. be almost complete. We
could not afford to cancel certifi-
Gates, fail to give new ones where
the public interest required them,
or even do anything publicly by fin
ing or reprimanding in order to
enforce Government policy. Our loss
abroad would be too great. AS long
as it is possible to have more than
one there is not the same risk Of
complacency toward or noncon-
formance with Government policy.
Formally to adopt a chosen in
strument' policy would be long
step toward naturalization.
"A chosen instrument in inter-
national air transportation would
be considered outside the United
States as being an arm of govern
ment If any company is to
be put in that status it should not
be subject to the mixed and possibly
conflicting considerations of national
interest and private interest"
AS for any vested rights Pan
American may feel it has acquired
in this field, Oswald Ryan, member
Of the CAB, points out that, under