Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-12
Airport Meonderinos

The meanderingS of the Commerce
Department with respect to Washingtons
critical airport problem resemble those
of rudderleSS airplane whose pilot is
lost in fog. The record of the depart
ment'S varied airport recommendations
in recent years shows an amazing amount
of indecision, course changing and aero
battles of the Immelmann turn sort. And
the end is not yet. What the next policy
decision of Secretary Weeks or his ad-
viSerS will be is something to wonder
about
Latest of the departments moves
is a recommendation that Baltimores
Friendship Airport be designated as an
interim" supplemental Washington air
terminal, pending action on the Burke
project. Secretary Weeks keeps steering
back to Friendship, despite all the expert
testimony and reports rejecting the Balti-
more field as unsuitable for Washington
air passengers. 1t is no secret, of course,
that Maryland legislators, worried about
the tagging business at Friendship, have
sought to twist the Secretary's arm. The
trouble with Mr.. Weeks Friendship geS-
lures, past and present, is that they
apparently have been dictated by political
pressureS, not by objective advice from
aviation authorities In fact, the first
official study by the Civil Aeronautics
Board Of the proposal that Friendship
serve as an alternate Washington airport
is Just being made. The logical procedure
for the Secretary to have followed would
have been to await completion of the
study. But logic seems to have played
little part in departmental peregrinationS.
Is there any logic in the confusing
and conflicting airport suggestions that
have emanated from the Department of
Commerce since it first recommended the
Burke airport plan? When political pres
sureS began to build up on both sides Of
the Potomac over the Burke site, with
resultant cutting off of further appro-
priationS, the department began to back
away from Burke. But as traffic 'conges-
ton at the National Airport grew more
dangerous, the departments Civil Aero
nautics Authority urged action on sec
ond airport So did the Senate Commerce
Committee. So did President Eisenhower,
in naming the Secretary of Commerce,
the Budget Director and the Secretary
of the Air Force as a special committee
to review the situation and bring him
report. The report was something of a
classic in the realm of muddled advice.
1t proposed in effect that the Government
do an outside loop on the Washington
airport matter. The Governments nearly
81 million investment in land at Burke
was to be forgotten and primary respon-
sibility for building an auxiliary airport
here was to be shifted to the District,
Maryland and Virginia. Meanwhile, run
ways and other facilities at the present
airport would be improved and Friend
ship could be used as a supplemental
airport" if desired.
This report was so absurd that it
soon was filed away and, presumably, its
authors would prefer to have it forgotten.
In the meantime the Senate Commerce
Committee demanded prompt action on
Burke or some other appropriate auxiliary
airport, So Secretary Weeks came up
with new report This time he revived
an old plan for joint use of Andrews Air
Force Base by commercial and military
aircraft, with Burke as the "beSt alterna-
tive" and Friendship as third possibility
However. he overlooked checking with
the Air Force first about the Andrews
proposal. Air Force opposition blasted the
Andrews idea. That left Burke once more
the leading contender. AS result, the
President has urged Congress to appro-
pirate S34.7 million to complete the air
port at Burke. But political presSureS
are building up once more against this
logical recommendation 1t is anybody's
guess whether political expediency will
win out against public safety in the long
drawn-out airport controversy.
se3IAee 0.:n.,,