<--PREV Doc #313  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #315 Document #314; September 2, 1957 To Charles Fountain Willis, jr. Series: EM, AWF, DDE Diaries Series ; Category: Personal The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace Part II: Civil Rights; June 1957 to September 1957 Chapter 5: Little Rock   Dear Charlie:1 While it was nice to hear from you, there was no occasion for thanking me for signing the certification bill for the additional airlines leading into Alaska. There was nothing personal about my action.2 Actually, because this procedure violated my normal practice I was tempted to veto the bill and approved it only because the mass of the argument was that through permanent certification there would be greater chance for amalgamation of the four lines now running into Alaska. This would unquestionably reduce the amount of subsidy devolving upon the government. This has not only been a firm purpose of the Administration from its beginning, but frankly, I hope to get something into the law that will gradually eliminate payments as they become unnecessary.3 After I had approved the legislation, I was informed that both personally and by letter you gave your assurances to my Special Counsel that, with the legislation approved, within the year you would work out a merger between your company and one of the other States-Alaska carriers, and gave your further assurances that in any event, with the legislation approved, your company could be made self-sustaining within two years.4 If this is the result of the legislation--and I hope it is--it will have produced great progress. Please convey my greetings to your bride5 and, of course, best wishes to yourself. Sincerely 1 For background on Willis, president of Alaska Airlines, Inc., and assistant to Sherman Adams from 1953 to 1955, see Galambos and van Ee, The Middle Way, no. 1476. 2 On August 26 the President had signed into law H.R. 4520, authorizing permanent certification of Northwest, Alaska, and Pacific Northern Airlines to operate routes between the United States and Alaska. The legislation did not affect the permanent certificate held by Pan American Airways on its United States - Alaska route (see New York Times, Aug. 27, 1957, and Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1957, pp. 632 - 33). 3 Eisenhower had said that he signed the legislation with "some reluctance" due to the subsidies the government was paying the Alaska and Pacific Northern Airlines. The President was also concerned that the legislation had bypassed the normal certification procedure established by the Civil Aeronautics Act. Despite these reservations Eisenhower had approved the bill because the "complete dependency of Alaska upon air transportation presented unusual circumstances." Eisenhower was also persuaded by congressional belief that permanent certification would over the long run actually reduce the need for subsidy, since "the carriers will be in a better position to finance modern, economical equipment, and make long-range plans" (ibid.). 4 No merger would take place. For developments see the following document. 5 Willis had married the former Elizabeth Firestone in 1954. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. Personal To Charles Fountain Willis, jr., 2 September 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 314. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/314.cfm <--PREV Doc #313  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  Second Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #315

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