(2) The term "Airport" means any landing area, together with all appurtenant areas and air-navigation facilities, buildings, and other facilities thereon that are used and operated in connection with use of the landing area.

(3) The term "landing area" means any area of land or water usable for the landing and taking-off of aircraft.

(4) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. (5) The term "civil airway" means a path through the navigable air space of the United States, identified by an area on the surface of the earth, designated or approved by the Administrator as suitable for interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce.

APPROPRIATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AIRPORTS AUTHORIZED

SEC. 3. In order to meet the needs of national defense, the Postal Service, and civil aeronautics, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Board the sum of $125,000,000, to be expended to establish, improve, and develop airports in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

APPORTIONMENT AMONG THE STATES, TERRITORIES, AND POSSESSIONS OF FUNDS

APPROPRIATED

SEC. 4. Of the sums appropriated during any fiscal year pursuant to the authorization contained in section 3, such amounts, not to exceed 5 per centum thereof, as the Board may deem necessary, shall be available for expenditure by the Board to defray its expenses in the administration of this Act. remainder of such sums shall be apportioned by the Board for expenditure in accordance with section 5 of this Act, in the States, Territories, and possessions of the United States in the following manner:

The

(1) Not less than 1 per centum and not more than 2 per centum of such remainder shall be apportioned for expenditures in accordance with section 5 of this Act, in the various Territories and the possessions of the United States in such manner as the Board may determine to be in the best interests of national defense, the Postal Service, and civil aeronautics.

(2) All of such remainder, unapportioned after the apportionment provided for in clause (1) of this subsection, shall be apportioned for expenditure in accordance with section 5 of this Act in the several States in the following manner: (a) 33% per centum upon the basis of the proportion which the population of each State bears to the population of all the States as shown by the latest available census figures, (b) 33% per centum upon the basis of the proportion which the total mileage of civil airways in each State bears to the total mileage of civil airways in all of the States as determined by the Administrator as of January 1 of the year in which the apportionment is made, and (c) 33% per centum upon the basis of the proportion which the area of each State bears to the total of the areas of all the States.

All sums apportioned for expenditure in any State, Territory, or possession under the provisions of this subsection shall remain available until the end of the fiscal year in which such apportionment is made. All sums apportioned for expenditure in any State, Territory, or possession, but not allocated by the Board for airport projects in such State, Territory, or possession before the end of the fiscal year next succeeding that in which they were apportioned, shall be reapportioned for expenditure on airport projects in the several States, Territories, and possessions in the manner provided for by this section.

ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PARTICULAR AIRPORTS

SEC. 5. (a) The sums apportioned for expenditure in any State, Territory, or possession under the provisions of section 4 of this Act shall be available for allotment by the Board to any State, Territory, or possession, or any political subdivision of any State for expenditure on projects to establish, improve, and develop any airport owned by a State, Territory, possession, or a political subdivision of a State.

(b) No funds appropriated by this Act shall be allocated by the Board to any State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision of any State for any airport project unless

(1) An application for such project, accompanied by such surveys, plans, specifications, and estimates as the Board may prescribe, has been filed with, and approved by, the Board;

(2) The funds allocated by the Board are not in excess of 80 per centum of the total cost of such project; except that the funds allocated may be in excess

of 80 per centum in the case of any project certified by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy to be necessary or requisite for purposes of national defense: Provided, That no funds appropriated by this Act shall be used for the purchase or acquisition of land.

(3) The State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision of a State filing the application required in subsection (b) of this section agrees to comply with such rules and regulations as the Board may prescribe with respect to the development of airports under the provisions of this Act.

PAYMENT OF FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AIRPORTS

SEC. 6. (a) The Board, upon approving the allocation of funds for a project for the development of an airport, shall promptly notify the State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision of a State making the application for approval of such project as provided in section 5 (b) of this Act. Thereafter the Board shall either (1) upon completion of such project certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment the total amount allocated to such project, or (2) if requested by the State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision of a State which filed the application for such project, from time to time during the prosecution of such project and upon the completion thereof, certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment an amount which, when added to any amounts previously certified with respect to such project, is not in excess of the proportionate share to be defrayed by the United States of the total amounts expended up to the time of such certification upon such project.

(b) Any amount certified to the Secretary of the Treasury under the provisions of subsection (a) shall be paid by the Secretary to the official of the State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision of a State who has been placed in charge of the airport project by official action of the State, Territory, possession, or political subdivision,

ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD

SEC. 7. (a) The Board is authorized (1) to employ such officers and employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, (2) to make expenditures in carrying out the provisions of this Act for the same purposes for which expenditures may be made under the provisions of section 204 (a) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, and (3) to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(b) The Board shall include in its annual report to Congress information with respect to its operations under the provisions of this Act, including a list of the projects for which allocations have been made during the period covered by such report, the status of all projects then in course of prosecution, and a list of officers and employees employed under the provisions of this Act and their salaries. The Board shall also include in its annual report any recommendations which it may deem appropriate with respect to Federal aid in the development of airports or with respect to amending or supplementing the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 303 OF CIVIL AERONAUTICS ACT OF 1938 INAPPLICABLE TO EXPENDITURES UNDER THIS ACT

SEC. 8. Section 303 of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 shall not be applicable with respect to the expenditures of any funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Senator MCCARRAN. Now, Mr. Chairman, I must apologize; I must go to the Appropriations Committee, but there is here a group, Mr. Gill Robb Wilson, of the National Aeronautic Association, and a number of other gentlemen whom I would like to have you hear, as they will address you. I will have to leave; I appreciate your calling the committee together. I think it is something that is in keeping with the hour we are passing through, is vitally essential, and I want the committee to know this, that it isn't a question of being wedded to lines nor to expressions nor policies, it is a question of being wedded to something that I think is worth while from a commercial standoint in this country, for the development of aviation, that we can

establish airports throughout the country so that the best may be had for the development of our country commercially. I am at the committee's disposal at any time.

Senator CLARK. Thank you, Senator McCarran.

Does anybody desire to speak on this bill?

Mr. THOм. I am Alfred P. Thom, Jr.. I am with the Association of American Railroads. I have merely an amendment to offer, and at the proper time I would be glad to offer it.

Senator CLARK. We are not going to take up the bill for amendments today, but we would be glad to hear from you. Come around and sit down, Mr. Thom.

STATEMENT OF ALFRED P. THOM, JR., ASSISTANT GENERAL SOLICITOR, ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN RAILROADS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Mr. THOм. Mr. Chairman, the association that I represent does not oppose the objectives of the bill under consideration, and my sole purpose in appearing is to suggest an amendment.

Before doing so, however, I wish to point out briefly the reasons which prompt our appearance.

The bill authorizes an appropriation to the Civil Aeronautics Authority of $125,000,000 to be expended for the development of aircraft landing areas. The sums appropriated are to be apportioned among the States, Territories, and possessions, and in turn shall be made available for allotment by the Authority to State agencies and political subdivisions.

Section 5 (b), appearing on page 5 of the bill, provides among other things that no funds shall be allotted to any State agency or political subdivision unless such State agency or political subdivision agrees to comply with such rules and regulations as the Authority may prescribe with respect to the development of such landing areas. The Authority has been giving consideration to such rules and regulations, and a committee of the association which I represent has been in touch with representatives of the Authority on this subject. There is every indication that the Authority desires to adopt rules and regulations governing the height and location of railroad structures, telephone, telegraph, and electric transmission lines, and railroad tracks within several miles of airport boundaries. Such railroad structures are distributed over, and the tracks extend throughout, the United States.

It is highly probable that the selection of airport sites will place them, in many instances, in such proximity to these structures and tracks as to bring the latter in conflict with the rules and regulations of the Authority.

To conform to such rules and regulations, and in order to avoid impairment of railroad operations and service essential to national defense, numerous relocations and changes in the height and character of the structures will undoubtedly be necessary. These changes would involve large and burdensome expenditures. In addition, changes in tracks, aside from the expense entailed, would seriously affect operations due to possible changes in curves and grades, which in turn would affect the speed and length of trains.

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The importance of sufficient and adequate airports is fully recognized. However, it would be most unfortunate for the Authority to have the power to prescribe the rules and regulations which could seriously affect the ability of the railroads to adequately meet their obligations as an arm of national defense.

The Honorable Louis Johnson, Assistant Secretary of War, in speaking of the railroads recently, said:

From three-fifths to two-thirds of all of our transportation needs the railroads can and do meet. We must therefore keep them financially and physically strong. They are the blood stream of American life in peace and in war.

It is therefore earnestly urged that the following amendment be made to the bill:

Insert in line 22, on page 5, after the semicolon, the following: Provided, however, That no rule or regulation prescribed by the Authority or laws, rules, or regulations of a State, Territory, or possession, or any State agency or political subdivision thereof, shall in any manner restrict, limit, or interfere with the free use of lands of common carriers adjacent to the landing area to be developed and the space above such land required for the full enjoyment of the ownership or possession of such land or the right to use the

same.

Senator CLARK. Thank you, Mr. Thom.

Is Mr. Wilson_present?

Mr. WILSON. Yes.

Senator CLARK. Do you wish to be heard, Mr. Wilson?
Mr. WILSON. Yes.

STATEMENT OF GILL ROBB WILSON, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AERONAUTIC ASSOCIATION

Mr. WILSON. Senator, the National Aeronautic Association, of which I happen to be president, appreciates very deeply your calling hearings on this matter, because we feel that the airport development is one member of the trinity of necessity now facing us-aircraft, that is the industry; personnel; and airports.

The President has proposed, and has used a figure of 50,000 pilots as necessary to our national security. Complementary to them would be a great number of observers and flight personnel, and still further complementary to that number of pilots would be a mechanic force which would probably total some 250,000 men, necessary to production, operation, and maintenance of an aircraft allotment of that size. Senator CLARK. I read a statement in the paper yesterday, the New York Times, which said it would take 300,000 ground men for an air force of 10,000 planes.

Mr. WILSON. I am being very conservative.

Senator CLARK. I think that was in the New York Times.
Mr. WILSON. I think he is a little, maybe, not conservative.

Now, if we are to have a national security which is adequate, we must have a national-airport program. The airports we have today have been constructed, a great many of them, without thought as to their vulnerability. There has been very little planning from a comprehensive standpoint in the development of these airports. We have just learned that an airport can be sunk, almost as effectively as a battleship can be sunk.

You only need to let your mind run up and down either coast for example. Take Boston, Providence, Hartford, LaGuardia Field, Floyd Bennett Field-and come on down to Charleston, Jacksonville, Savannah, Miami.

Then the west coast, you have a similar situation-Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Frisco-all of them sitting out there like sore thumbs and all of them serving civil aviation beautifully, but all of them extremely vulnerable.

Senator CLARK. That is a good reason for locating your air concentrations in the center of the country instead of on the two coasts, isn't it, which hasn't been our policy up to date?

Mr. WILSON. That is not a good reason for bringing them all into the center of the country, but it is a good reason for backing the present ones up with ones located in the center of the country.

Senator CLARK. If you are going to locate these airports from the standpoint of strategic value, shouldn't this be done by the Army or Navy instead of by the Civil Aeronautics Authority?

Mr. WILSON. It should be; yes. I am leading up to the general viewpoint we take.

I want to develop the idea that a national airport program is as essential to national security as a large number of aircraft or as a trained pilot personnel.

We don't care how these airports are gotten, we are perfectly willing to compromise any particular viewpoint that we might have, that will accomplish the objective of establishing a national airport policy and getting airports started.

Now, I simply point out these very obvious features of these coastal airports to show that if you put half a dozen of them out of commission, our national-defense program, from the air, would be terribly and effectively crippled.

Now, to produce this land we are going to have to have some distribution, with national flying behind it, because to train these pilots and observers and mechanics, we are not going to be able to employ merely a few airports located in tremendous centers of population. The question of who is going to pay for these airports is of course a most unpopular question in aviation today.

Most of the airports we have are in the red-I think, Senator, that that might be expected because, as you well know, the commerce of the air is only in its infancy. Commerce of the air hasn't yet had an adequate chance to prove itself.

We are serving, on our scheduled air-line operations today, from the last report I received, under 30 percent of our total population. We have, I believe, around 4,000 municipalities in America of over 5,000 population. We are serving between 5 and 7 percent of that total, and with aviation distribution merely in its infancy, I don't believe we could expect to have these airports in the black.

If, in their infancy, the railroads were going to run between a few scattered points, they would have had the same difficulty.

Any system of transportation would have the same difficulty. We must have a little vision in this matter. We must not think that the book is closed on whether these airports are going to be able to maintain themselves or not.

The National Aeronautics Association doesn't care what particular plan is used, but representing a membership that is drawn from the