capacity as the executive heads of the county it is their duty to operate the public airports of Allegheny County in the public interest, and as we conceive that public interest, the great burden necessarily imposed upon the taxpayers of the county should, to whatever extent possible, be relieved by fair and reasonable charges to those who use and do business at the airports.

It is to the advantage of the county of Allegheny and the people and industries located there that air transportation be expanded and air service increased because we believe that any improvement in transportation facilities is beneficial to an important industrial community.

It is therefore the intention of the county of Allegheny to continue its policy of operating the airports in the public interest by doing what it can to advance the prosperity of the air transportation industry and to continue to make charges to the air lines on a basis that is consistent with the cost of operation of the airports and in proper proportion to the use made of the airports by the air lines.

In the development of its airports, the county of Allegheny intends to pursue a program of increasing airport revenues from sources other than direct charges against the air lines.

In carrying out its program of airport development the county commissioners know from long experience that successful operation in the public interest requires that, as public officials, they control the manifold income-producing activities and facilities at the airports. As we understand H. R. 6180, the proposed legislation amending the Federal Airport Act will impose restrictions upon the county in the control of essential airport activities and facilities.

This proposed legislation will, if enacted into law, lay down rigid restrictions upon the county commissioners' control over the delivery, storage, and dispensing facilities for petroleum products used by the air lines on airport property and interfere with the county commissioners' control of the dispensing of food and beverages at the airports.

It seems to us that this legislation is discriminatory in character in that it favors a particular class of users of the airport; that is, the scheduled commercial air lines.

This inequality of treatment is in and of itself unbusinesslike, if not unlawful, for the reason that charges for the use of public facilities should always be based upon the broad principle of equality.

After all, the public, through our board of county commissioners, owns and operates these airports and the investment of tax-raised funds in any public improvement requires that there be no preferred and special privileged users.

We believe that this proposed amendment will seriously and actively interfere with the intelligent exercise of good business judgment by the county commissioners in managing the county's airports. The Federal Airport Act now confers upon the Civil Aeronautics Administration the duty and authority to establish reasonable rules and regulations for the administration of airports receiving Federal aid. These regulations are based upon the experience of those who are charged with the actual support and management of public airports and are, of course, subject to revision from time to time as new problems and new conditions indicate the necessity for revision.

It is our opinion that such flexible regulations, together with the natural desire of our board of county commissioners to operate the

airports for the advancement of the commerce of our community are the best guaranty that the scheduled commercial air lines, as well as the citizens and taxpayers of Allegheny County, will be treated fairly and equitably.

Mr. HALE. Thank you, Mr. Blair.

Are there any questions?

Mr. HALE. The next witness is Mr. Melvin H. Nuss, of the city of Reading, Pa.

STATEMENT OF MELVIN H. NUSS, SECRETARY-TREASURER OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES, READING, PA.

Mr. Nuss. I will take but a minute, Mr. Chairman. I appear here as secretary-treasurer of the American Association of Airport Executives, an organization that is 20 years old and has more than 250 duespaying members. You gentlemen have heard from Boston and New York and you will hear from Philadelphia and all of the big cities and the 20 leading airports of the country.

The membership of our association is made up from cities such as Reading, Pa., 110,000 population, with a service population of possibly 150,000 to 175,000 people. At the convention of our association last month in Chicago, lasting four days, this question of use charges took two-thirds of the time. This is a problem that every airport in the United States faces, not only Boston, and not only New York, but the fact is we men of the smaller airports think that they are more fortunate than we are, because they do have opportunities to bring in revenue, nonaviation revenue, which in the smaller communities we do not.

And so, as the secretary, and after consulation with the officers of the association, we opposed this bill because we think it is untimely at this time. These studies of use charges seem to just have gotten started within the past few months in a sufficiently intelligent manner that we really can reach a decision and possibly have some weapons to tackle the airports on.

That is all I have to say, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. HALE. Thank you very much, Mr. Nuss.

my

Mr. HESELTON. That raises a very important question that I was trying to get clear in my mind. I have in mind a small airport in district where I would rather guess that the only other revenue or sources of revenue are what the city may appropriate to it and the sale of soft drinks. I do not think that there is any other source from which the airport secures revenue, and yet it is rather an active small airport and servicing one of our major lines.

With that in mind, I wonder if you would want to submit to the committee a list of your membership so that we can see how widespread your interest is.

Mr. Nuss. I am not prepared to do that at this moment. I might also say that the outline of this bill was forwarded to all of our members only last week, and it so happened that I just became the secretary-treasurer of this association last month, and, of course, taking over the duties from a man who had it for 15 years, the transfer of the

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membership list was a little bit slow, but I should be very happy to do so.

Mr. HESELTON. I think if he may be permitted to file that with the clerk, it would be helpful to us.

Mr. Nuss. I will do that immediately upon my return.

Mr. HESELTON. And if he would like to, and if it can be sent to us in time to have it incorporated in the record, it could be attached to his testimony.

Mr. HALE. That could be done.

(The list referred to follows:)

MEMBERSHIP OF AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF AIRPORT EXECUTIVES

A. H. Abel, manager, port of Oakland, Oakland, Calif.

Robert Aldrich, director, Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission, 2420 University Avenue, St. Paul, Minn.

Nathan A. Abernathy, manager, Abernathy Field, Post Office Box 809, Pulaski, Tenn.

Fred Alley, manager, Wertz Field, also Koonskin Airport, Charleston, W. Va. A. C. Altvater, manager, Sebring Air Terminal, Box 52, Sebring, Fla.

O. L. Andrews, manager, Municipal Airport, Post Office Box 433, Greenville, S. C.

Leland B. Apperson, Jr., manager, Box 420 Route 6, Stockton Field, Stockton,
Calif.

Glenn L. Arbogast, manager, Municipal Airport, Long Beach, Calif.
Edwin D. Bailey, mayor pro tem., city of Houston, City Hall, Houston, Tex.
Glenn S. Banfield, manager, Chemung County Airport, Elmira, N. Y.
Robert Keenan Barrett, manager, Rusk County Airport, Henderson, Tex.

J. G. Bastow, assistant manager and assistant chief engineer, port of Oakland,
Municipal Airport, foot of Grove Street, Oakland, Calif.

F. L. Bayler, manager, Hector Airport, Fargo, N. Dak.

E. Ellis Bentley, general manager of airports, 940 South Main Street, Jacksonville, Fla.

William Alexander Berlin, director, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, Post Office Box 1549, Tampa, Fla.

John Berry, commissioner of airports, city of Cleveland, Municipal Airport, Cleveland, Ohio.

Walter E. Betsworth, manager, Municipal Airport, Box 966, Sioux City, Iowa.
Milton Emory Boelson, manager, Municipal Airport, Evansville, Ind.
George Borsari, Airport Section, CAA, Washington, D. C.

Neil G. Brackstone, manager, Capital City Airport, Lansing, Mich.

James C. Buckley, director of airport development, LaGuardia New York International Newark Airports, 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, N. Y.

Harry J. Buff, manager, Phillip Billard Municipal Airport, Topeka, Kans.

C. V. Burnett, manager, Detroit City Airport, 11201 Conner Avenue, Detroit,
Mich.

Robert Burns, manager, Lockheed Air Terminal, Burbank, Calif.
Millard Byerly, manager, Mount Hawley Airport, Peoria, Ill.

F. A. Charnahan, manager, Municipal Airport, Bloomington, Ill.

Vincent A. Carson, assistant manager and supervisor, Newark Airport, Newark, N. J.

Vincent K. Cates, manager, General Edward Lawrence Logan (Logan International Airport, Boston, Mass.).

Warren J. Chanter, manager, Reynolds Field, Jackson, Mich.

John A. Clinch, manager, Lee Bird Airport, Municipal Airport, North Platte, Nebr.

William Henry Coffin, manager, Vail Field Airport, 6429 Anaheim Telegraph Road, Los Angeles, Calif.

Clyde Cole, manager, Bishop Field, Flint, Mich.

Byron Cookson, manager, Twin Cities Airport, Benton Harbor, Mich.

C. F. Cornish, director of aeronautics, State of Indiana, Indianapolis, Ind.

Gen. John Curry, director of aviation, Stapleton Field, Denver, Colo.

J. Victor Dallin, Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics, 901 City Hall Annex, Philadelphia, Pa.

Hugh J. Dobbs, general attorney, Springfield Airport Authority, Springfield, Ill.

Charles B. Donaldson, CAA, Carson City, Nev.

Mike Doolin, director of airports, city of San Francisco, Calif.

William Harold Doty, superintendent, Albert Whitted Airport, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Charles W. Duke, manager, Bendix Field, St. Joseph County Airport, South Bend, Ind.

George M. Dwight, Jr., manager, Municipal Airport, Burlington, Iowa.

H. E. Earp, Jr., deputy manager, Municipal Airport, Baltimore, Md.

Ellis Eno, manager, Eno Airport, Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Leigh Fisher, 2549 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, Mich.

Francis T. Fox, manager, Municipal Airport, Worcester, Mass.

Dr. John H. Frederick, professor of transportation, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.

Walter P. Fulkerson, manager, Sky Harbor Airport, Post Office Box 1977, Phoenix, Ariz.

B. E. Fulton, manager, Municipal Airport, Akron, Ohio.

Francis J. Geng, airport director, St. Paul Municipal Airport, St. Paul, Minn. Col. Richard D. Gleaves, director of aviation, Berry Field, Nashville, Tenn. C. B. Green, manager, Draughon Miller Airport, Temple, Tex.

Lloyd A. Glidden, manager, Baker Field, Box 121, Durant, Okla.

W. H. Green, manager, Municipal Airport, Deland, Fla.

William S. Green, superintendent, Fairfax Municipal Airport, Kansas City, Kans. Bennett Hill Griffin, airport administrator, Washington National Airport, Washington, D. C.

O. C. Hall, manager, Grand River Airpark, Comstock, Mich.

Claude L. Hamel, manager, Shreveport Municipal Airport, Shreveport, La.

L. D. Hammond, manager, Wold-Chamberlain Field, Minneapolis, Minn.

Joseph W. Hance, owner, Hance Airport, Wyndotte, Mich.

Leo Hardt, M. D., 30 North Michigan Avenue, suite 1308, Chicago, Ill.

Gus E. Hauser, manager, International Airport, Dade County Port Authority, Post Office Box 1155, Miami Springs, Fla.

Herbert N. Henckell, Jr., executive secretary and member, Board of Commissioners, Alexander County Airport Authority, Cairo, Ill.

T. B. Herndon, chief, aeronautic_section, Department of Public Works, Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport, Baton Rouge, La.

Francis F. Hidinger, manager, Municipal Airport, Box 1911, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Joseph E. Hightower, manager, McGhee Tyson Municipal Airport, Knoxville,

Tenn.

Dave Horn, manager, Jefferson City Memorial Airport, Jefferson City, Mo.
Harold E. Horner, room 1023, 228 North La Salle Street, Chicago, Ill.
Homer D. Hoskins, manager, Municipal Airport, Pontiac, Mich.
Edwin C. Houters, manager, Rochester Airport, Rochester, N. Y.

Louis R. Inwood, director of aviation, Municipal Airport, Kansas City.

James C. Johnson, manager, Springfield Flying Service, Inc., Municipal Airport, Springfield, Mo.

Charles Johnston, manager, Capital Airport, Springfield, Ill.

Arthur R. Jones, manager, Theodore Francis Green Airport, Hills Grove, R. I. William M. Joy, president, Joy Airport, Inc., 18000 Masonic Boulevard, Fraser, Mich.

Fred J. Kane, manager, Monterey Peninsula Airport, Post Office Box 254, Monterey, Calif.

Paul Best Koonce, manager, Municipal Airport, Houston, Tex.

D. O. Langstaff, executive director, New Orleans Aviation Board, Moisant Airport, New Orleans, La.

Hervey F. Law, New York Port Authority, 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Don Lothrop, 1213 Michigan Avenue, Evanston, Ill.

William H. Lyons, Municipal Airport, Norfolk, Va.

Grant W. MacCurty, Prescott Municipal Airport, Post Office Box 350, Prescott, Ariz.

Fred E. Machesney, manager, Machesney Airport, Rockford, Ill.

Alfred MacDonald, director, Board of Park Commissioners, Municipal Airport,
Witchita, Kans.

Don Martin, manager, New Castle County Airport, Wilmington, Del.
Richard L. Martin, manager, Municipal Airport, Box 922 Oklahoma City, Okla.
Edwar A. Maxwell, manager, Municipal Airport, Box 423, Greenwood, Miss.
Cecil Meadows, superintendent, Kern County Airport, Kern County, Calif.
James Frederic Mellus, manager, Municipal Airport, Kalamazoo, Mich.
H. O, Middagh, manager, Rosecrans Field, Box 868, St. Joseph, Mo.

Jack E. Miller, manager, Sam Houston Airport, inc., Route No. 3, Box 158, Houston, Tex.

H. Lane Mitchell, commissioner, Department of Streets and Parks, Shreveport, La.

G. Patrick Moore, Post Office Box 547, Fort Worth, Tex.

Corliss C. Moseley, president, Grand Central Air Terminal, Post Office Box 1351, Glendale, Calif.

Senator Pat McCarran, United States Senator, State of Nevada, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C.

Col. William H. McArthur, manager, New Orleans Airport, New Orleans La. Harry McKay, manager, Municipal Airport, Kokomo, Ind.

Gordon McKenney, manager, Lindbergh Field, 1040 West Broadway, San Diego, Calif.

George M. McSherry, New York Port Authority, New York, N. Y.

A. H. Near, director of aviation, Bowman Field, Louisville, Ky.

Bob Neblett, manager, Hawkins Field Municipal Airport, Jackson, Miss.

William H. Nichols, manager, Orange County Airport, Route 4, Box 504, Santa Ana, Calif.

Ralph L. Nolan, manager, Municipal Airport, Joplin, Mo.

Clifton Pen Oleson, manager, Dubuque Airport, Dubuque, Iowa.

Earl O. Olson, manager, Duluth Airport, Duluth, Minn.

Clarence E. Omdalen, manager, Municipal Airport, 313 Insurance Blgd., Waterloo,
Iowa.

Wayne Parks, manager, Jefferson County Airport, Beaumont, Tex.
Ralph W. Petrie, engineer, Twin Cities Airport, Benton Harbor, Mich.
Frank Phillips, assistant manager, Municipal Airport, Columbia, Mo.

Clayton L. Piper, commissioner of engineering, City of Toledo Municipal Airport,
Toledo, Ohio.

Wilfred M. Post, Jr., manager, Allentown-Bethlehem Airport, Lehigh Aircraft Co., Allentown, Pa.

Harry W. Potter, manager, Municipal Airport, Post Office Box 358, Bismarck,
N. Dak.

Peter G. Powell, manager, Blue Grass Field Airport, Lexington, Ky.
Lillian F. Quinn, manager, Brainerd Field, Municipal, Hartford, Conn.
Vern L. Roberts, manager, Municipal Airport, Moline, Ill.

Maurice Roddy, aviation editor, Chicago-Sun Daily Times, Chicago, Ill.

Phillip Henry Roettger, superintendent, Weir Cook Municipal Airport, Indianapolis, Ind.

Robert M. Ross, Logan International Airport, Boston, Mass.

Joshua W. Rowe, manager, Municipal Airport, Baltimore, Md.

Matthew John Ryan, manager, Municipal Airport, 309 Southigh Street, Marshall,
Minn.

George S. Sanford, manager, Ontario International Airport, Ontario, Calif.
Harold R. Schlesselman, manager, Mankato Airport, Box 207, Mankato, Minn.
Robert T. Schott, manager, Conover-Mast Publications, Inc., Aviation Mainte-
nance Magazine, 333 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill.

Don E. Self, manager, Municipal Airport, El Paso, Tex.

Robert P. Selfridge, manager, Municipal Airport, Post Office Box 431, Columbia, Mo.

Charles W. Short, manager, Municipal Airport, Box 2547, Tulsa, Okla.

Albert A. Shuster, member of board, Springfield Airport Authority, Springfield,

Ill.

Donald B. Smith, superintendent, Municipal Airport, 207 City Hall, Sacramento, Calif.

J. Patrick Smith, manager, Downtown Airpark, Inc., Box 4726, Oklahoma City,

Okla.

Milton V. Smith, manager, Municipal Airport, Portland, Maine.
Laurence A. Straley, manager, Municipal Airport, Clinton, Iowa.

John B. Sweeney, director, department of aviation, Allegheny County Municipal
Airport, room 511, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Don Swenson, manager, Rochester Airport, Rochester, Minn.

A. E. Thomas, manager, Des Moines Airport, Des Moines, Iowa.

S. E. Travis, Jr., Civil Aeronautics Administration, Post Office Box 1689, Fort Worth, Tex.

Gene Tumbleson, assistant manager, Civic Memorial Airport, East Alton, Ill. Vernon L. Tyler, manager, Clover Field Airport (Municipal Airport, Santa Monica), 3400 Ocean Park Building, Santa Monica, Calif.