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Show BITTER ATTACK Scores 'Soreheads' Who i Failed to Get the Contracts. GOES AFTER PROBERS Reflection Upon Men Gave U. S. Valuable 1 Service. NEW YORK, Oct 29. The congressional con-gressional committee Investigating 'army air service was vigorously attacked at-tacked today by John D. Ryan, formerly for-merly direcior of aircraft production, 'for having made intimations against "persons w-hose serices had been of value to the government" on the testimony tes-timony of "sore heads v. ho wanted to obtain government contracts " Mr I Ry an appeared as witness before the J sub-committee of the special commi'-Itce commi'-Itce which is holding hearing here. The sub-committee is inquiring : particularly into the construction of a government spruce railroad. 38 mib s lone, at the cost of $1,000,000, in the Olympla peninsula, Washington, connecting con-necting with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. Mr. Ryan Is a director of the railroad Intimations In Charge. Referring to a telegram sent by the committee to Secretary Baker fr m Portland, Ore., urging that a proposed sale of the government railroad iu Portland at 8 pcr cent of its value b held up, Mr. Ryan said, he thought , it was outrageous and scandalous and an abuse of the congressional pri' 1-lege 1-lege to make charges in that telegram without giving the persons involved a hearing. 1 He read a telegram from Secretarv Baker to the committee, dated September Sep-tember 1, last, saying the committ 3 was making assumptions and giving I widespread publicity to intimations against persons whose services had ; bi en of value to the government "Soreheads" the Cause. "A lot of soreheads who failed to joblain government contracts on the coast, ' Mr Ryan said, "rushed to you with suspicions." He said he had Informed Secretary Baker that he could have nothing to do with negotiations on extending the Milwaukee road because of his connection con-nection with the Milwaukee. Secretary Secre-tary Baker then directed Assistant Secretary Stottinius lo conduct the negotiations. The only thing Mr. Ryan had to do with the spruce railroad, he testified, was to telegraph to Colonel Bryce P. Disque that the cost of the road must be ki pt as low as possible. Don't Want Road. Mr. Ryan said the Milwaukee road l.ad never to his knowledge considered purchase ot the government Bpruoe railroad. President Byron of ihe Mil-waukee Mil-waukee told hfm, be testified, that the Milwaukee would not bid as the spruce railroad was of no use to it. At a conference With Byron at Ryan's Ry-an's home In Butte, Byron told him. the witness lid, 'hat Colonel Disque had decided to built, the, government spruce railroad line via Lake Crescent ovei Ryan's protest. Ryan told Disque Dis-que the Milwaukee never would be Interested In-terested in th" Lake Crescent toiiM as II wanted to extend its lines from Deep ( reek to Lake Pleasant. The railroad administration would not permit this Disque thought the Lake Crescen route could be built more easily. Asked about 7900 timber holdincs ol the Milwaukee Land company, owned by the Milwaukee railroad, he said that the proposed Deep Creek route would have been ten times as valuable to those holdings as the gov-ernment gov-ernment railroad is. 00 |