Five O'Clock Nest

In New York Harbor, opposite where the Hudson and East Rivers meet, lies diminutive Governor's Island, known to military men as Fort Jay. Ceded to the U. S. in 1800, it was once a prime factor in Manhattan's defense. Iron cannon balls fired from it could repulse enemy ships riding up the harbor under full sail. Time brought changes in defense methods, supplied mines, air corps, long-range coast artillery out at Sandy Hook, left Fort Jay a quaint military relic with restful officers' homes, trim lawns, untrafficked roads, under the towered shadow of lower Manhattan.

To many an aviation expert, to Congressman Fiorello ("Little Flower") H. LaGuardia, Governor's Island long ago appeared the logical place for a handy city air terminal. It was flat. It was five minutes sail to the Battery. The U. S. no longer needed it for defense purposes. Yet the Army, with a handful of soldiers and a Major-General commanding the Second Corps Area, clung obstinately to its convenient garden spot.

Last week Congressman LaGuardia, on vacation at Hot Springs, Ark., renewed his efforts to secure Governor's Island for a city air terminal by charging that resistance to the plan came primarily from Army officers stationed at Fort Jay who did not wish to be ousted from their comfortable nest. Said the Congressman:

"The swivel-chair, five o'clock tea generals are opposing the use of the Island as an air terminal. It is no longer needed for military purposes. Even the General Staff conceded this at a hearing before the Senate Military Affairs Committee. The War Department one time considered selling the Island and even went so far as to have its value appraised. I stopped that by introducing a bill calling for the return of the land to the State as intended in the original grant."

Congressman LaGuardia differentiated between the proposed air terminal where planes would only land and leave with passengers and mail, and an airport where planes would be housed. New York has many an airport on its fringe, no air terminal in its centre.