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Show American O LcPn (Copy lor Thli Department aupptltd fcjr tb American LKion Nwa Sorvlr.) LEGION INTERESTED IN LANDING FIELDS Aviation lundlug Held are being establldhed In many parts of the country coun-try by posts of the American Legion as part of the Legion's outlon-wlde effort to aid the development of flying Howard P. Siivnge, national com-mender com-mender of the Legion, has taken a speolul Interest In the work and has urged posts to undertake the activity at meana of service both to their communities and to the nation. "Aviation Is advancing with such rapidity thut the time appears not fur distant when It will be as necessary for a progressive city to have air connection con-nection as It now la for It to have railroad rail-road connections," Commander Savage Sav-age aald. "Posts will be doing their communities an Important service If they will look ahead and tee that a suitable location Is set aside for landing Held. "Commercial and mall air routes are being extended all over the United 8tates. The cities which gain place on these route are the ones which provide ground facilities for planet. Undoubtedly great advantage will accrue to the cities which are able tn secure places on these routes In the . . , - - Howard P. Savage. same way that cities which secured places oo the railroads trained an advantage ad-vantage over cities which did not, "By establishing landing fields the j Legion posts not only will be benefit- j tng their communities, but they will be aiding In the adv&nce of American aviation nnd making an Important contribution con-tribution to national defense. At more landing fields become available more flying will be done and more pilots will be trained who could b railed upon to mnn the air defenses In case of war." Commander Savage Inspected tli airport established by the Clausen-Worden Clausen-Worden Post at Mason City, Iowa, when In that city recently. lie viewed the field from the ground and from a plane piloted by a Legion flyer. The Mason City Legionnaires leased an 80-acre 80-acre field nn a paved road a short distance dis-tance from the city and with volunteer volun-teer worker from the post made tt suitable for nse by planet. . They will have complete charge of the field for two years, after which the chamber of commerce will share In the work. A typical Legion landing field project was carried out by Longvlew Tost of Longvlew, Wash. The post obtained ob-tained use of a tract of hind 8.000 feet long and 800 feet wide, and with cooperation co-operation of the chamber of commerce and the merchants made the tract Into an airport. Legionnaires went to the field Id a body, cleared and leveled the field, and were served a picnic lunch by the Women'a Auxiliary of the post Other post which have recently completed airport projects Include Lorents post of Mnnknto, Minn.; Lowe-McFarlane post of Shreveport, La. ; Francis K. Self post of Cheyenne, Chey-enne, Wyo.; Hartman poet of Columbus, Colum-bus, Neb.; and Logan Wheeler post of Yakima. Wash. |