Is there some sort of rule in Seattle that says all proposals for advancement and change must be greeted with a loud and definitive "No"?

As soon as Southwest Airlines suggested moving its operations to cheaper quarters at Boeing Field, the nattering nabobs of negativity immediately cried "No way." The "no-way" crowd spewed their nonsense even when the airline did something that none of the promoters of sports palaces did: offer to pay for the improvements themselves.

Southwest would spend $130 million on a terminal and a parking facility. When Quest Field was on the drawing boards, a certain multi-billionaire wanted us to chip in a lot of our hard-earned money.

Then, over the weekend, Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg said the change wouldn't fly. Ladenburg is also chairman of the Puget Sound Regional Council, a council that time after time was instrumental in various transportation plans going down in flames because of objection of one or more suburban cities. That, in turn, pushed into being the all-Seattle monorail to avoid the objections of the out-landers.

Ladenburg adds icing by suggesting that such airport expansion plans should be decided here and not by a corporate headquarters in Dallas.

We suggest the plans should be made in Seattle and not in Pierce County.

This newspaper is not certain the plan is a good one, but we want to know more. Many cities, including Houston, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and London, have close-in airports for short haul flights. This idea could benefit the traveling public by closer connections and the Boeing Field area with economic development.

The idea needs studying, not knee-jerk reaction by naysayers. After we have the facts, we can make the decision.