Show to II ND A U LIEUTENANT If 11 1 e port of the Destruction Destruction- n. n of r. r Property Denied b br by b Y 1 Pershing f By Associated Press I NEW EW YORK July 31 The The subcommittee ee of ot the house house ot hous of representatives tided by Royall C C. Johnson of ot South 1 b kota which has has been Investigating been Investigating i F practiced upon prisoners In merican prison camps abroad turned a attention here hero yesterday to the de destruction de- de tru of ot American army property U. U under the direction of or army ers The first Incident taken up v disposition of or airplanes at b les Colombes The first witness Paul L. L Lockwood ml f t Stamford Conn formerly a lIeu lIeu- t rant of aviation in the fIrst pursuit I testified that roup upon returning o America he met a number of his hisa a in Garden City who told him Im the planes had been damaged and c then hen burned The engines w were re t J h hopped out the witness said his In In- In told him only the gas tanks end nd being saved The planes tt were re then thrown Into a pile and burned ARMED GUARDS the fire was in progress armed guards patrolled the vicinity to prey pre- pre yent y f ent nt photographs being taken accordIng accordIng accord- accord Ing to the witness who ho estimated that he salvaged parts were worth about 16 cents each Some of the ma- ma hines he had been told had been ling Town n flown wn only twenty minutes Alfred AUred T T. Rorer who was a first ergeant in the first pursuit group told he committee that while he was wasat at Belles les In May la he rel re- re l' l elved an order to detail from fifty t io 5 seventy five men for this work of destruction When he left lett the camp fd b return home hex ha said the work of or orl destruction l was still poing on on and he heI hew t I saw saw w the ruins of ot a number of planes DENIED BY PERSHING Chairman Johnson then ord ordered red two cablegrams read into the record One Oneas was as from General March larch to Pershing quiring about reports of ot the destruction destruction I tion don of or government nt property and the theether ether er Pershing's Pershing s reply denying that tha t I the ithe reported destruction had taken Place lace |