Monday, Feb. 14, 1955

To the CAB

Ross Rizley, 62, former Oklahoma Congressman (1941-49) and onetime Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, was named by President Eisenhower last week to the Civil Aeronautics Board to succeed Oswald Ryan. First Republican appointed to the board (in 1938), Ryan became such an expert in the complicated airline business that he dominated CAB for much of his 16 years as a member. The appointment ended a muddle over Ryan's successor. Harold Jones, onetime CAB member, was first offered the job (TIME, Jan. 17), but the appointment was withdrawn after protests that he was biased against small and nonscheduled lines. The offer was then made to Rizley, a small-town (Guymon, Okla., pop. 4,718) lawyer and ex-state senator, though he had had little experience in airline matters. The airline industry had wanted Eisenhower to reappoint Ryan. But when his term expired last Dec. 31, the White House kept him in the dark about reappointment, gave him no reason why it decided against him. Eisenhower has not even sent him a letter of thanks for his years of service.

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