The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-03-13
NAL SUGGESTION TO
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mean floating a bond issue.
Allen was high in his praise of
Sen. Smathers' work in trying to
get better air service for Monroe
County.
During the past few days Sma.
theirs has been meeting in Wash
ingtOn with CAB brass, post Of
flee officials and NAL executives.
The CAB said the county's COM
plant about premature cancella-
tion of three airmail flights here
was a matter for post office con-
Sideration.
Letter TO Smathers
Allen today released the text OF
letter he wrote to Sen. Smathers
outlining the county's position in
the dispute.
The letter was dated March II.
The text follows:
Hon. George SmatherS
United State Senator
Senate office Building
Washington, D. 6.
Dear George:
We in Monroe County certainly
appreciate the interest that you
have taken in our fight to provide.
air service into Key West. Know
ing how busy you are in the Sen
ate and that you have 66 other
counties calling on you to help in
their problems, we are grateful
to you for having taken hours of
your time to interview the various
agencies and parties involved and
telephone us in person on these
matters.
There are several points which
l would like to clear up for you
which believe will present an
entirely different picture in your
mind.
In revising our system of char
geS to the airlines, our primary
objective was not to provide a new
source of income for the support
of the Monroe County government.
1t was part of a long-term pro-
gram to develop air travel to and
from Miami and points North and
to obtain larger segment OF the
travel that comes from the North
through Miami to Key West and
from Key West 10 Cuba and other
points in the West Indies and Lat
in America.
Battle Told
We have fought a long and hard
battle to obtain Meacham Field.
George Baker, president of Ma
tional Airlines, suggested to you
and you passed the request on to
me that the Monroe County Com
missioners consider helping Ma
tional Airlines get into Boca Chica
Field and abandon Meacham Field.
! wish to assure you that Monroe
County has no intention of doing
this and that when in years to
come it becomes necessary to
give up Meacham Field for the
further development of the Island,
it will only be done when we have
another county owned or city-own-
ed field to take its place. In the
event this country becomes invol-
we'd in hostilities or any other ma
tional emergency arises the Navy
would of necessity bar all civilian
lines from Boca Chica Field thus
cutting Key West off from all civil
air travel.
This suggestion by Mr.. Baker of
National Airlines is right in line
with this company's thinking to-
ward Key West. National AirlineS
comes into Key West only for the
purpose of blocking another ma
jor airline from using our city.
Naturally they will not participate
in any long-range program which
would draw more OF the traffic
which is now being moved from
Miami to Havana through Key
West. Their main objective is to
move their traffic through Miami
to Havana and they have consist
emily refused to make it possible
for person to travel to Havana
(by air. through Key West.
Transportation Problem
A person buying a ticket in any
one of the principal cities of the
nation is unable to travel to Ha-
vana via Key West even though
we have several flights daily leav-
ing Key West for the Cuban capitol.
The County Commission and its
airport advisor, Mr.. Harold Wilde,
have never held that the so cent
per passenger charge is the one
and only way of assessing charges
against National Airlines for the
use of Meacham Field. We have
consistently impaired the informa-
ton to them that we would con-
slider the use of other methods by
which landing charges could be
computed but he has refused even
to talk to this commission or its
advisor stating that we would
first have to go back to the odd
rates prior to January l, 1854 be-
fore he would consider any revi-
sion. We have proceeded on our
airport planning that any improve
ments made to Meacham Field
would be in the interest OF the