6 C
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 20, 1963
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
Controversial Dulles Airport Winds Up First Year Long Way
From Success
ByJtOBERT J. SERLING
' UPI Aviition Editor
WASHINGTON (UPI) -Co-
lossal and controversial Dulles
International Airport is wind
ing up its first year a long way
(rom success. It is, However, a
lot further away from being the
flop its critics predicted.
That sums up the first anni
versary of the federal govern'
ment's $110 million monument
SALES ENGINEER A. C.
Kobold, above, is industrial
sales enginner for the Califor-
nia- Pacific Utilities Company,
a position he has held since
he joined the firm in March,
1962. Prior to that, he held a
similar position with the Gas
Service Company in Kansas
City; Mo. He also was employed
by a gas utility in Omaha, Neb.
His 12 years of experience has
given him an opportunity of
working with almost every type
of application of this fuel to in
dustrial and commercial uses.
He attended Texas A and M
University and Creighton University.
to the jet age. dedicated Nov,
17, 1962, and loudly castigated
both before and since.
Dulles was built to providi
the nation's capital with a jet-
age airport, despite the pro-
testa of neighboring Baltimore
that its own Friendship Airport
was adequate for the area's jet
needs.
The federal government's rea-
son for building Dulles was not
because of an immediate need
for a new airport In the capital
area, but to meet future needs,
In its first 12 months, 650,-
000 passengers have flown
and out of Dulles. The Federal
Aviation Agency (FAA), which
administers the airport, had
hoped for about 800,000. In that
sense, Dulles has failed to live
up to expectations. ,
But new airports traditionally
have been slow to attract trai-
fic. . , .
Fights For Business
The truth is that Friendship's
aggressive fight to keep its
business has played a major
role in keeping Dulles traffic
down. The City of Baltimore
spent $50,000 on a "Use Friend
ship" campaign ranging
from radio and television com
mercials to bumper stickers.
Some Baltimore , firms have
even told employes their travel
expenses will not be paid if
flights are boarded at Dulles.
"Frankly," said one top air-
line executive, "we'd get better
passenger loads out of Dulles
than Friendship because It's
more convenient for. the ma
jority of our Washington pass
engers. But we can't afford to
alienate Baltimore and we try
to walk a tightrope between the
two airports."
There is another reason wny
there has not been a mass ex
odus of jet service from Friend
ship to Dulles. The Maryland
airport charges aircraft 14 cents
per thousand pounds as a land
ing fee. The government's air
port, located near Chantilly, Va.
Debate Team from Area Places First
: EUGENE - A University of
Oregon junior women's debate
team placed first' in the Univer
sity of Pacific Tournament last
week end at Stockton, Calif.
Judy Eberhart, Ashland, and
Jo Ann Johnson, Medford, in
capturing the top spot, extend
ed their winning record to 21
out of 23 debates this term.
The team of Marolyn Elle,
Pocatello, Idaho, and Carolyn
Riddle, Portland, tied with the
university of southern Cantor
nia for third place in the sen
ior women's division.
' jne university iquk - secunu i
place in the grand sweepstakes,
losing only to the University, of I Arcadia, Calif.
Southern California. Twenty-
four colleges and universities
from Oregon, California and Ne
vada competed in the tourna
ment.
Also participating in the event
were Gordon Zimmerman, Ft.
Scott, Kan., and Bill Sweetland,
Klamath Falls, who were elim
inated in the quarter finals, and
George Austin, Hillsboro, and
Gary Simmons, Medford, who
won three out of four debates.
During Thanksgiving vacation,
Nov. 28-30, the 10 top UO de
baters will compete with others
from 13 western states at the
Western States Tournament in
v 'iwZi IP?
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DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT This aerial picture
made from a helicopter in 1962 shows the pagoda-like control
tower (left) and nearly-finished main" terminal of John Foster
Dulles International Airport at Chantilly, Va. (UPI)
charges 30 cents per
pounds.
Considering the several lac
tors in Friendship's favor, Dul-
1,000 1 les' traffic growth could be con
sidered remarkable. It has cap
tured approximately 25 per cent
of Friendship's business, large-
29 Per Cent of Energy
Requirements Provided
By Gas, Booklet Notes
Gas one of the oldest energy
sources has undergone such
growth in recent years that it
now provides 29 per cent of
the nation's energy require
ments.
This is pointed out in a new
publication. "Natural Gas, a
Study in Industry Pioneering,"
which noted mat oniy mree
decades ago the fuel was sup
plying but a small fraction of
the nation's energy requirements.
The gas industry is a $28 bil
lion business which has 35 mil
lion customers using this "new"
fuel for everything from air
conditioning to incinerators, ac
cording to the booklet.
"But, in addition, more than
180 million people of the United
CAL-PAC
UnUTlES CO.
Basic to every American step forward is the vision and energy
of a company such as California Pacific Utilities Company.
The wisdom and enthusiasm of this company has resulted in
the introduction of natural gas in the Rogue River Valley.
So we say, "Well Done" Cal-Pac Utilities and we proudly
salute you as the guiding force behind this great new industry
: for Southern Oregon.
O'Keefe and Merritt
Company is proud to
have played a part in
this great achievement
and we look forward to
continuing to serve the
people in this area.
O'Keefe & Merritt
GAS RANGES
"Ail of the Good Things Come From O'Keefe & Merritt"
States are directly or indirectly
served by gas," it points out.
"The reason for this is that
everyone uses every day many
products manufactured or pro
cessed in some way through
the thousands of applications of
this versatile fuel and its by
products." Stressed In Booklet
These facts are stressed in
the booklet which is the first
attempt at bringing together in
a brief account all three
branches of the gas industry:
gas distributors, pipeline com
panies and producers. The pub
lication is intended to acquaint
persons Interested in the indus
try with some of its character
istics and problems.
As recently as 1948, the book
let notes, natural eas was sup
plying less than one-sixth of the
nation's total energy require
ments. The booklet indicates
this figure has grown to 29 per
cent. Other leading suppliers
are petroleum, with about 41
per cent, and bituminous coal,
with a little over 21 per cent.
"The reason for this swift
progress, of course, lies in the
widespread introduction of na
tural gas to all areas of the na
tion," the booklet notes. "Na
tural gas has generally replaced
a manufactured supply which
had served the public well since
the earlier years of the nine
teenth century."
Emphasis on Problems
The new publication puts con
siderable emphasis on problems
facing the gas industry, but as
serts that "the ability of the
natural gas industry to sur
mount such difficulties, as evi
denced by its amazing growth
since 1936, is still the best as
surance that the gas industry
can look forward to a bigger
and broader role in the America
of tomorrow."
It was stressed that what is
needed most today is legislation
under which a more favorable
regulatory climate can be es
tablished. This should provide a
workable type of producer reg
ulation and adequate incentives
to stimulate cxplotation for the
gas reserves necesary to sup
ply the increasing consumer de
mand. Sponsors of the 48-page book
let, which is well illustrated
with pictures and graphs, arc
the American Gas Association,
the Independent Natural Gas
Association of America, the
American Petroleum Institute,
the Independent Petroleum As
sociation of America and the
Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Asso
ciation.
ly because, Dulles proved to be
an efficient, well-run operation.
Dulles' mobile lounge con
cept, for example, was sup
posed to be its biggest draw
back. These giant, $250,000 90
passenger monsters were one of
the new airporfs most widely
criticized features. Scoffers said
they would be unreliable and
passengers wouldn't like them.
The mobile lounges, which
take passengers directly to their
plane, actually have turned out
to be one of Dulles' most popu
lar features praised by the
airlines (which opposed them
Traffic Dangers on
Holiday Are Noted
Some of the traffic dangers
that will accompany the
. Thanksgiving holiday were
pointed out today by Acting
Medford Police Chief Clyde
Fichtner as he cautioned resi
dents to include careful plan
ning for travel in this holiday
preparations.
There will be many motorists
on the highways hurrying some
place for Thanksgiving dinner
and the driver who starts the
holiday "party" season on
Thanksgiving is an added dan
ger, Fichtner stated.
He listed several precautions
motorists should take: Find out
from the local weather bureau
or police what the weather is
like where you plan to travel;
allow plenty of time to reach
your destination; have car
brakes, lights, tires, steering
and windshield wiper equipment
checked before starting and al
low time for rest stops.
The officer also urged motor
ists to avoid returning home
late at night or right after a
heavy meal.
Campaign Shows 163
Suffer Eye Ailments
HUEHUETENANGO, Guate
mala (UPI) A campaign
against blindness in the Mary-
knoll mission area here has un
covered 163 children suffering
(rom eye ailments.
In cooperation with Uie Na
tional Committee for Sight,
Maryknoll priests working in
the Prelature of Huehuelenan-
go, under the direction of Bis
hop Hugo M. Gerbcrmann, N
M., of Nada, Texas, have ar
ranged to havo the operations
performed in a hospital in the
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in the beginning) and public
alike.
They also have contributed -to-better
baggage handling. Sur
vey after survey has shown
that the majority of arriving
flights at Dulles have baggage
waiting for passengers when
they leave the lounges and
without the necessity of lengthy
hikes to baggage delivery areas.
And because they enable jets
to park up to a mile away from
the terminal puiming, tne air
lines have saved thousands of
dollars in fuel costs. Exactly
how much is unknown, but it
costs $100 a minute to taxi a
jet. This undoubtedly has offset
the $6.35 the airlines are
charged for every lounge trip.
Attracts Visitors
Dulles also has become, to a
lot of people's surprise, one of
the capital area's biggest tour
ist attractions. More than one
million persons have visited
Dulles since it opened, purely
in a sightseeing capacity.
Dulles has been praised by
virtually every pilot who has
used it. The enormous runways
and modern navigation aids and
runway lighting make it a
dream airport for the flier.
Criticism of Dulles centers
largely on ground transporta
tion, and Dulles officials freely
admit there has been some jus
tification. The gripes are:
Too long a ride between
the center of Washington and
the airport. It is quite a ride
an average of 43 minutes. But
the official running time be
tween downtown Washington
and Friendship is 50 minutes.
Dulles may seem longer be
cause the route is almost com
pletely through wide-open coun
try with little to see. And there
is little doubt that many air
travelers have been spoiled by
the proximity of National Air
port to the city about 15 min
utes at the most.
Inadequate Service
Inadequate limousine serv
ice. Limousines meet every in
coming flight, but one difficulty
is that many passengers have a
habit of sightseeing when they
arrive and often miss the bus.
They must either wait for a spe
cial one to be sent out for the
stragglers or take a taxi at
$11. But FAA officials think as
traffic increases at Dulles,
ground transportation will im
prove accordingly.
Concessionaires at Dulles
complain that business is too
slow. For some, it probably is.
Only a few are making mefney.
But G. Ward Hobbs, FAA's top
airport official, says only one
has asked for a rent- adjust
ment. He also points out that
bidders for space at the air
port were warned business vol-
ume would be slow until Dulles
grew.
Financially speaking, Dulles'
own income from all sources
has just about matched prelim
inary forecasts for the first
year. For fiscal 1963, the air
port's budget estimated incoma
at $1.1 million. The total was
only $10,000 under that.
1 ;
, M M
fcK.H
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HAGGARD
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312 North Main Phoenix Phont- 535-2522
WELCOME...
NATURAL GAS
A new way of life has been intro
duced to the Rogue River Valley with
the dedication of -natural gas.
This new power will mean jobs
and comfortable living to many in
the Southern Oregon area.
Among the natural gas outstanding
attributes are speed and economy.
We applaud California-Pacific
Utilities Company and El Paso
Natural Gas Company for their vision
and effort in bringing this valuable
new resource to our region.
Our congratulations
to California Pacific
Utilities Company
and El Paso Natural
Gas Company for
bringing natural
gas to the Rogue
Valley. Lininger's is
proud to have been
a part of this great
development. We're
happy to have had
equipment that
could be used in
laying pipe lines and
we'll continue to
assist in connecting
the new service of
natural gas to homes
in this area.
BUILD THE MODERN WAY
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CONCRETE BY...
LB INI B INI
Phone 773-7555
city of (juozaltcnango,