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Show (GENERAL HUGH S. JOHNSON Jour: UnM numrn W WNV fcnla PILOT TRAINING WASHINGTON. Five weeks ago I questioned the value and efficiency of the civilian pilot training program, pro-gram, which is a plan to train 50,000 pilots for military and naval service serv-ice by farming the students out to civilian pilots in groups of from 10 to 40 to be trained at so much a head. I said that it was not properly prop-erly supervised, was dangerous and unlikely to produce many military and naval pilots who would not have to start all over again in the primary training of the armed services. I wrote that after seeing the plan in process and talking with experienced experi-enced and impartial training experts upon whose judgment I rely. From other such men that column received re-ceived indorsement, but by some interested in-terested in that program I was told with various degrees of Indignation that I did not know what I was talking about. Wayne Parrish, editor of American Amer-ican Aviation, has watched this development closely, has recently made a study of it and has not, as a recent gossip column implied, the remotest political interest. In an 1 . I .1 Cn4mKn IK leetia editorial in the beptemDer la issue, he goes a lot further than did my column and even hints at the very odorous condition which may result In a congressional investigation. Assistant Secretary of Commerce Hinckley wangled a total appropriation appro-priation of $37,000,000 to finance this program. It was presented as a defense move to train 50,000 pilots perhaps for Mr. Roosevelt's 50,000 phantom planes. The record is not clear as to whether congress was told that nothing noth-ing in the plan commits any trainee to any kind of military service, but Mr. Parrish ruports that pros, pects are assured that there is no such obligation and told just to forget for-get that part of it. Out of 77 graduates gradu-ates of the secondary course, 76 didn't seek military training. No military or naval authority is very clearly on record, but privately private-ly neither branch believes that a satisfactory substitute for the service serv-ice primary courses can be given in this haphazard fashion. Those who doubted the wisdom of the transfer of the independent CAA to the political department of commerce, com-merce, do not feel much encouraged encour-aged by these developments nor by the increasing sabotage of the inspection in-spection service of the old CAA, which hung up so remarkable a record of air safety on the transport lines. Veteran inspectors are being submerged, sub-merged, weeded out or resign in disgust to make places for less ex perienced men. It is hard enough to understand how military and naval pilots can be trained by a slapped together hay crate organization of civilian pilots, but harder still to see how a safe and uniform course of instruction instruc-tion can be given in so many independent inde-pendent "schools" by instructors themselves of a wide variety of experience ex-perience and training without an inspection in-spection service rating almost perfect per-fect efficiency. Many of the so-called so-called "private flying specialists" who are "directing" this loose jointed joint-ed organization for training military mili-tary and naval pilots were examined and failed to qualify under the old inspection service as inspectors. In this new "specialist" rating, they receive higher pay than experienced ex-perienced inspectors $5,600 a year, as compared with $3,200, $3,800 or $4,600; the latter figure being the highest rate in the old inspection service. This and similar policies are stripping that service of competent compe-tent men. Much worse faults of carelessness and monkey business have been reported, re-ported, but I have been unable to confirm them. What this situation needs is a congressional investigation. investiga-tion. Maybe it will get it but not until after the election. DEFENDING BRITAIN While I was in Chicago recently, the "Defend America by Defending Britain" committee staged a mass meeting-largely of Gold Coast in- I -"''"-"in me uoiiseum. It was i harangued by several eminent breast beating war criers. All they ask now is to strip our inadequate army j air force of 50 of its flying fortresses j and detach from our navy the mos- quito torpedo boats which congress recently prevented the President flora sending to Britain How this kind of thing could be done lawfully-even under the at-torney at-torney general's phoney opinion by which the destroyers were detached without even consulting congress- care ThPPT.tThCSe peoPle care. They don't even worry about that because they know the Presi- a,t doesn't care either. . After the terrible rolling we got OnTnev 8 10 Ur AmLgin K"' exPect to live to see day when anybody would be dumb enough on the one hand and have nerve enough on the other, to defy the great weight of American to t?m,n andtry'Pushusin-Lh andtry'Pushusin-Lh 0th:r,WOrd make the orld safe for anything but our own country. This Eastern Seaboard Propaganda. apparenUy Teed by SOme' threatLig w get away with it |