APRIL, 1959
THE PIEDMONITOR
PAGE THREE
STATION OF THE MONTH . . .
You step off Flight 350 in
Wilmington, North Carolina,
walk into the modern terminal
and you immediately sense an
air of festive excitement. . . It’s
Azalea Festival Time, one of the
gayest events in the South.
4s you go around touring the
beautiful garden spots, you
wonder if all the beauty queens
visiting for the occasion can
match the colorful majesty of
Queen Nature. You’ve never
seen so many radiant flowers...
it is no wonder that everyone
has caught the gay spirit of
Spring in a playful mood.
It’s a whirlwind four days.
Along with 250,000 other care
free people you join in a street
dance and enjoy the outdoor art
exhibit. Then, on Friday night
“The Queen is Crowned!” Love- !
ly film star Debra Paget reigns
this year and at her Coronation
Pageant you are entertained by
variety acts and the display of
even more “Queens of Beauty.”
The next day you cheer the
mammoth parade and gasp at
the precision flying of the world
famous Blue Angels, the Navy
aerobatic team. That night King
John Sutton is crowned and therei
is another program of varied
entertainment and a dance. Sunday you get up late and take a
leisurely drive around the still colorful but resting city and re
turn to the airport.
You greet the Piedmont agents and take a mental note to
remember the names of these friendly folks. Now there’s Station
Manager Harold Libscomb, Division Supervisor Peter Jones,
Chief Agent James Rutledge, and agents Ellis Benton, William
Conway, Everett Kearney, Edmund Kerr, and James Sandifer.
\They ask you to come back to North Carolina’s major seaport
city, pointing out that their city of quiet beauty is always a
place of up-to-date amusements with some of the South’s best
beach resorts only 30 minutes away. The people of Wilmington
preserve the spirit of southern gracicnisness in a city that is
growing in industry and modern convenience, growing in health
and beauty, and offering many special attractions for its count
less visitors.
You climb aboard flight 305 and as you settle down in your
seat, you are glad you visited our station in Wilmington. . . es
pecially on North Carolina’s most colorful weekend, The Twelf
th Annual Azalea Festival.
“Temporary” 10% Tax
At the beginning of World'coramerce, defense and postal
War II a “temporary” ten per-iservice; and plays favorites since
;ent tax was imposed on passen
ger transportation in order to
discourage non-essential travel
by civilians using common car
riers. Nearly fifteen years have
passed since the end of the war -
and the “temporary” tax is still
here. A tax that was practical
during the war has long outlived
its purpose and has become, as
Sen. G. A. Smathers of Florida
says, “a drag upon the civilian
economy.”
But, of course, there is the
“other side” of the picture.
Those who are in favor of the
retention of this tax base their
main argument on the fact that it
constitutes a source of revenue
for the federal government. How-
it is a deductible expense for
business but not for personal
travel. Indeed, a comparitive
view of the situation seems to
offer little sound reason for the
continuation of this tax.
President Eisenhower has pro
claimed 1960 as “Visit the United
States Year” and has called for
an all-out national effort to pro
mote the travel idea, and legisla
tive opinion on the tax strongly
suggests the existence of plenty
of anti-tax sentiment in the new
Congress. Needless to say, such
an attitude warrants the sup
port of every Airline employee,
Piedmont included. The com
panies that make up the nation’s
public transportation s y s t e ms
ever, the strength of this argu-jhave long sought the repeal of
ment is considerably weakened I this tax, and have been joined
THE CROWNING OF THE QUEEN! Governor of North
Carolina, Luther H. Hodges crowns beautiful Debra Paget .
Queen of the Azalea Festival.
because, as Sen. Smathers points
out, “The passenger tax yields
the Treasury a little over $200
million annually and is not,
therefore, a substantial part of
our total tax structure.” The
significance of the tax is further
questioned because: it costs the
airlines and other carriers need
ed revenue by discouraging
travel; makes the carriers un
willing tax collectors and costs
them money in the accounting
and reporting end; tends to drive
business to private transporta
tion, thus helping to undermine
the economic health of an in
dustry essential to the nation’s
by other organizations and
representatives of the govern
ment. The Civil Aeronautics
Board is also on record as op
posing the travel tax. And with
such men as Sen. Smathers
(sponsor of the tax repeal
amendment presented to the 85th
Congress) stating, “I will con
tinue my effort to repeal this
tax and I feel confident that
this can be accomplished.”, hope
again runs high. Perhaps the
86th session of Congress will
finally repeal this transportation
tax ... if not, Webster needs to
change the meaning of “tem
porary”!
W:
than a million azaleas and countless Beauty Queens
festivities at the Azalea Festival. Here Miss Virginia
Success Of
Stockbroker Tour
In the last issue of the PIED
MONITOR there was an article j
reporting that representative
stock brokers had been the guests
of Piedmont for a day. From
all reports the program was very
successful. An example of this
success is to be found in a spe
cial security analysis of Pied
mont prepared by the research
department of McDaniel, Lewis
and Co., an investment securities
company of Greensboro, N. C.
The analysis included a state
ment of the history of Piedmont,
the operational facilities, the
standing of the company in the
industry, and a financial state
ment. The following is an excerpt
from the analysis.
“CONCLUSION:
With the advent of the new
F-27 Pacemaker planes and the
gradual extension of air routes
into large and populous areas
not now served, the future for
Piedmont appears the brightest
in its 12 years of air line serv
ice. One of the most important
contributions to the future suc
cess of Piedmont is the break
even load factor for the F-27
Pacemakers, which is 55-58% as
compared to a 78-80% breakeven
load factor for the present DC-3
planes. Management is alert to
its opportunities and is constanly
seeking improvement of services,
more efficient operations and ex
tension of routes into the larger
cities which are the destinations
of many passengers originating
here in the Carolinas and else
where. Earnings in 1959 should
rise sharply and continue to im-
BIRTHDAYS
INT-Ervin Aaron; ILM-Hugh Baldock:
ILM-John W. Berryhill: INT-Jim Brad
ley; INT-HarJey G. Britt; INT-Robert
V. Brookshire; INT-DaJlas Brown; INT-
Jacob Chandler; DCA-WiJllam C. Clark,
Jr.; INT-William A. Comer; ILM-Wil-
liam B. Conway; INT-William W. Cox:
ROA-Roscoe C. Cromer, Jr.
GSO-Clyde T. Crouch; ORF-James D.
Duffy; INT-Hop Hee Dunne; TRI- Don
Edmondson; INT-Charles R. Eller; LYH-
Jack T. Elliott, Jr.; ROA-Ralph W.
Evans; ORF Johnnie R. Flowers, Jr.;
DCA-M. C. Franklin; TYS Harold L.
Giles; ROA Eugene R. Gray; TRI-Billy
W. Hamilton.
INT-Robert G. Harr; EWN-M. L.
Harris; ORF-William S. Hart; INT-Donald
Hastings; ORF-Willie Hendrick; INT-
E. Hicks; PHF-Robert L. Hill; INT-
Joseph D. Hoots; DCA-Roland L.
Howard: CVG-W. J. Jacobs: ORF-A.
Jenkins. Jr.; ILM-Ben P. Kennedy;
ORF-Thomas A. Kirk; INT-Compton K.
Lane; BLF-Johnny A. Lawrence.
DCA-Josephine Lindsay; CMH-P. D.
Loar; ROA-Alfred M. Lundy: DCA-W.
McFarland; TYS-George E. Malcomb;
Georgia admire the flowers at Greenfield Gardens, prove year after year”.
■INT-Charles O. Miller. Jr.; INT-EJdon
'C. Monson; ORF-John L. Morris; INT-
Gorrell C. Myers; ILM-Robert F. My-
rick: LYH-AIonza L. Norvelle; PKB-
Merrill L. Oxley; INT-Nancy Lou Pitts;
INT-Jimmy L. Plemmons; CHO-G. N.
Rawley; DCA-Frank Roscana; RIC- Ro
bert F. Rose; INT-Joseph E. Roy; INT-
Joseph F. Russell; INT-Robert A. Sand
berg; ORF-Raymond F. Schulte: INT-
Houstin K. Scott; ILM-Ralph V. Shipton;
INT-Sylvia Louise Shore Tibby) ; HTW-
Frank J. Slone: INT-Luther S. Smarr;
GSO-R. E. Smith; ILM-R. P. Smith,
Jr.; INT-PauI S. Snell, Jr.: SDF-Shirley
Stevenson; ORF-Marvin E. Stokley:FAY-
Opal F. Taylor; DCA-Wallace R. Taylor;
INT-Robert L. Thomason: LEX-Beverly
Todd; HKY-Roy W. Tucker; DCA-
James E. Vestal; INT-Romie M. Voss;
INT-Othel Wagoner: SDF-Joseph L.
Wathen; INT-Garland R. Welborn; INT-
Roy L. Westbrook. Jr.: INT-Arthur S.
Williams: INT-Helen G. Williams; CVG-
Edwards J. Wisnieski: BLF-James A.
Woodruff: INT-James R. Wright: INT-
Kenneth N. Wright; CLT-Thomas F.
Young, Jr.
TiEPnONT' .
A bystander at the Kinston Station gives his artistic view
of a Piedmont Agent at flight time.