OCR Text |
Show AIR PROGRAM IS DISAPPOINTING Drastic Reorganization of Production Pro-duction Machinery Recommended Recom-mended Officials Scored. OUTLOOK PROMISING Delay in Liberty Motors, Ma-, chine Parts and Training of Aviators. WASHINGTON, April in The United States government's aircraft program is characterized as "gravely disappointing" and a drastic rconra-Jnization rconra-Jnization of production machinery was i recommended in a report by the senate sen-ate military committee today which charges government officials with misrepresenting mis-representing the situation and misleading mis-leading the public and with ' procarf-tination" procarf-tination" and "indecision." I The prospects for the future, the (committee said, look more favorable I and the production of the last few: j weeks promises to get the program Minder way to such an extent that a sufficient number of planes will be tarnished later to meet all require- j j roents of the troops in France. One Man Control Proposed One man control of production is proposed and the committee suggests that building be taken entirely out of I the hands of the signal corps Delay Is I charged not only in Ihe manufacture lot Liberty motors and machine parts' but in the training of fliers as well. The committee recommended that the one man administrator be appoint- i 1 ed by the president and assisted by a I corps of expert engineers and designers. design-ers. It suggested that "no man who has any near or remote interest in a I company manufacturing airplanes, or engines, should be permitted to act as ; adviser, or be in authority." Liberty Motor Production. The Liberty motor, the committee declared, "is just emerging from the development or experimental stage," and ' is not designed for and cannot be used in the swift single seated fighting machines." Of 22,500 Liberty motors ordered, the committee said, onl 122 have been completed for the army. 142 for the nary and four ship pod overseas. The production of Liberty motors to' date is. of course, ' gravely disappointing, disappoint-ing, " says the report. "Government of - i flclals have made the mistake of leading the public and allied nations na-tions to the belief that many thous- j ands of these motors would be com-! pleted in the spring of 1918 Informa-! tion of this sort, not borne out by the facts, has been injurious, and its constant con-stant dissemination the committee regards re-gards as misleading and detrimental to our cause " Serious Delay in Training. Regarding the training of aviators, the committee found there has been "very serious delay" in providing them with training planes. "As a result,' the report says, "several "sev-eral hundred of the American cadets have been practically idle and have made no progress." About 1200 cadets were sent to England. Eng-land. France and Italy last year to receive re-ceive primary and advanced training. When Senator Chamberlain of Oregon, Ore-gon, chairman, presented the report. Senator Sheppard of Texas was given leave to file a minority report This was the first public evidenee of any division, although it had been reported report-ed that, after a stormy session yesterday, yester-day, the Chamberlain report was approved ap-proved by the narrow margin of eight to six. |