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Show 1CRJFT Charges and Intimations Intima-tions of Irregularities in Connection With the Government Programme Pro-gramme Freely Made. BORGLUM REPORT BASIS OF DEBATE Criminal Prosecution Is Demanded; Military Committee to Reopen Investigation as Result of the Revelations. i WASHINGTON, May 2. Charges and intimations of irregularities in connection with the aircraft programme which have been published and discussed dis-cussed in capitol cloak rooms for some time "were brought to the floor of the senate today with demands for a new investigation with a view to criminal prosecution. During the debate several members of the military committee declared in favor of reopening tho inquiry recently concluded by the committee, but Sena tor Hitchcock. . of Nebraska, acting chairman, said the committee was without with-out power to deal with criminal prosecutions prose-cutions and that the department of justice jus-tice should handle that phase of the matter. mat-ter. Later committeemen conferred with Gutzon Borglum, who made a report re-port to the president on tho aircraft programme, and it was said that whether wheth-er the committee would act 'depended upon information to be submitted by Mr. Borglum within the next few days. CONFIDENCE GAME, SAYS HITCHCOCk. Senator Hitchcock, dwelling upon alleged al-leged misleading of the public regarding regard-ing aircraft production, told the senate that the aircraft board has been "playing "play-ing a gigantic confidence game on the whole country." He declared the Libert' Lib-ert' motor, in fact, is nothing but the Packard motor improved and that the government is contemplating paying the Packard company between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for its interests. Senator King of Utah said he would introduce a resolution for an investigation investiga-tion if the military committee did not act, declaring personal responsibility for the "failure" of aircraft production produc-tion should be fixed. Others urging further and thorough investigation were Senator Brandegee of Connecticut, who recently asked the committee to investigate alleged "pocketing" "pock-eting" of the Borglum report to President Presi-dent Wilson; Senators Thomas of Colorado, Colo-rado, New of Indiana and Kirby of Arkansas, military committee members. mem-bers. TELEGRAM FROM BORGLUM READ. Presenting a telegram from Mr. Borglum denying statements in recent senate debates that he was "not an entirely disinterested witness," Senator Sena-tor Brandegee said the military committee com-mittee should hear witnesses proposed by Mr. Borglum regarding possible criminal aspects of the delay in aviation avia-tion production. Mr. Borglum 's telegram denied that he is financially interested in the manufacture manu-facture of planes. The report of H. Snowden Marshall's special aviation committee also should be considered, Senator Brandegee said. Senator King said he considered it the committee's "sacred duty" to make further investigation and "fasten responsibility for its failure" of aviation avia-tion production. He had heard it said, he added, that "somebody ought to be shot" in connection with the delayed production. BAKER INVOLVED BY POINDEXTER. Senator Poindexter of Washington , referred to the criminal law against ! accessories to crimes and to statements I regarding aircraft production made by (Continued on Page Poor.) l AIRCRAFT BOARD IS ATTACKED li SEiTE (Continued from Page One.) Secretary Baker, and asked: "Is not the secretary of war himself the man that ought to be reached by the committee, if it is seeking to hold someone responsible? " 'I believe the sesnary was as completely com-pletely deceived by officials in charge as was the committee," Senator Hitchcock Hitch-cock replied, adding that the secretary had reorganized the aviation personnel and thus indicated his lack of confidence confi-dence in those displaced. Senator Knox of Pennsylvania, Republican, Re-publican, suggested that civil as well as criminal responsibility in expenditure expendi-ture of the aircraft appropriations also should be fixed. "There are charges of conspiracy," he said, "that indicate misuse or of obtaining of hundreds of millions of dollars of the people's money." Report of Committee. Senator Hitchcock said the recent aviation !port of a majority of the military committee had given the country the facts, after the committee and the country had "for weeks been misinformed and misled by members of the aircraft production board and the signal corps. ' ' A minority of the committee. Senator Sena-tor Hitchcock said, refused to sign the report, because they felt it should be submitted first to the president. Senator Kirby of Arkansas, of the committee minority, said he did not join the majority because its report was not complete and did not give it "a fair vjew " of what has been accomplished ac-complished in aviation work. When the bills providing appropriations appropria-tions for aircraft construction wero pending before congress, said Senator Owen of Oklahoma, a propaganda was conducted through the press, apparently apparent-ly for the purpose of preparing the country to pay high taxes for airplanes. air-planes. Replying to Senator Pomerene's question it the board had purposely deceived de-ceived the committee and the. public, or if the board itself had been deceived, Senator Hitchcock replied be was not disparaging the Liberty motor, but reiterated re-iterated that tho board Ifad practiced a gigantic confidence scheme on the public, adding "That only shows the character of the men who are on the aircraft board. ' ' Why Report Was Hastened. In refusing to sign either the majority ma-jority or minority report, Senator Beckham Beck-ham of Kentucky, a member of the military committee, said he did this because he did not believe the committee com-mittee was ready to make a report. The report was hastened, Senator Thomas of Colorado, also a member of the committee, explained, because of articles sent out by a news agency with headquarters in Cleveland which ac. cused certain senators of "being either liars or ignorant of the facts. ""Among the senators named in the articles, he said, were New of Indiana and Weeks and Lodge, both of Massachusetts. Because Be-cause of "these epithets" the committee commit-tee felt compelled to make the report at the time it did. "As one who signed the majority report, I want to say it is not my understanding un-derstanding that the report marked the close of the work of the committee," commit-tee," said Senator New. "It only-brought only-brought the proceedings down to date. I believe it is the duty of the committee com-mittee to proceed with the investigation. investiga-tion. ' ' After today's discussion military committee members said the committee would soon reconsider opening and enlarging en-larging the aviation inquiry. WADSWOR TH FILES REPORT SCORING THE GOVERNMENT WASHINGTON, May 2. A report on the aircraft situation, compiled by the investigating committee of the Aeronautical Aero-nautical Society of America, was filed In the senate today by Senator Wadsworth of New York. It reviews the statements on the progress prog-ress of the building programme attributed to Secretary Baker and brands them as false and misleading. The report does not attempt to fix responsibility- for delays de-lays and failures, but In a general Way supports the published charges made by Gutzon Borglum. It charges that not more than 5 per cent of the facilities for building aircraft have been utilized and that recruiting and training of men for flyers has glowed down. "Practically all statements bv officers of the government regarding the execution execu-tion of the aircraft programme must be absolutely neglected as untrustworthy," said the report. "Inventive genius was left unutilized, so the 1913 programme is imperiled unless steps are radically taken to combat this evil." The report also concluded that the censorship cen-sorship was without military value; that recruiting had been such as to create uncertainty un-certainty and cause loss of men: that production of fighting planes "Is lagging through lack of co-operation of departments." depart-ments." and that delavs will increase with the rate of production. The Liberty motor, basically of good design, said the report, was discredited by exaggeration of high officials, and It's production has been uselessly delaved the high altitude type still being in' its' Infancy. In-fancy. Writes to President. NEW YORK, May 2. Alan R. Hawley, president of the Aero Club of America, made public here today a letter he has written to President Wilson suggesting steps to be taken to "correct the vast mistakes of the aircraft programme an insure against a costly failure to supply the air forces needed by the allies to win (he war." Mr. Hawley recommends that a,n assistant as-sistant secretary of war and an assistant secretary of the navy be appointed to the aircraft board, to be followed by the creation of a department of aeronautics, baaed on the British plan. "A separate department of aeronautics is the only solution so-lution to all problems of building the air forces." he declared. Mr. Hawley also called to the president's attention a report that the signal corps Is refusing further enlistments for the air service, "although only one-sixth of the necessary aviators are under training." |