Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-02-20
''Contcmptibly Inefficient, -
Says Senator Robin
son Of Arkansas.
LOSS OF LIFE IS
DUE TO NEGLIGENCE
War Department Has Had
Months to Act: Too
Much Procrastination.

WAsHINGToN. Feb. le.-More
w evidence in support of his
charge that the army aviation service
is 'contemptibly inefficient was
made public tonight by Senator
Robinson of Arkansas, who declared
he would continue his efforts for u
congressional investigation despite the
announcement of the war department
tiat it would make an inquiry into
the subject. Chairman Chamberlain
of the senate military committee, be-
fore which Mr.. Robinson testified yes
terday. said he would ask the COM
mittce to vote Monday on the sena-
tors resolution for investigation.
81 introduced my resolution in De
ccmber,' said senator Robinson. 81
waited until yesterday for the war de-
partment to act. For months The de-
partment had all this information. As
. result of inefiiciency several men
who believed the machines were un-
safe. were compelled to fly and were
/ killed. Now | think the inquiry should
he made by persons outside the
army"
Plenty of Data.
The senator said further data re-
carSing-th service had been laid be
for him today by persons claiming
to have authoritative information.
! This, together with documents pre-
scented to the military committee yes
! terday, including the Photographic
copies of letters purpoiting to have
passed between lieutcnant-Colonel
Samuel Reber, in charge of the aVia-
| ton service and Captain Arthur ;.
| Cowan, in charge of the San Diego
station, will be placed at the disposal
| pt inN tgD -
gress may appoint.
The data made public tonight Was
given out in the form OF "A statement
! by Senator Robinson quoting from Id
| dltiOnal letters he said had been
written by aviation officers.
| "In one letter." said the statement,
Colonel Reber wrote: The house
military committee, which Is Mr.. Hay
for reasons best known to himself
made up his mind to stick to three
hundred thousand, and he succeeded
in bluffing the senate conferees. This
is the whole story and had we gone
| to some other committee we would
probably have gotten as much money
as the navy did
Two Years Behind.
"a letter from Captain Cowan tc
| Colonel Reber, dated January 10
| 1919, asked IOT authority lu SptH,
$500 for the purchase of a 1915
motorcycle My official reason,
wrote Captain Cowan. for wanting &c
purchase this motorcycle is that the
latest mod rrn motorcycle we have
here is 1913. We should keep track
of the improvements and be ready e
recoSimend the type best sud fol
our work. My personal reason foi
wanting to purchase this motorcycle
is to provide myself with means OF
transportation between North IslanC
and my quarters at Coronado.
Upon the quartermaster's corps in
the army is placed the duty of build
ing barracks and they have appro-
priations for that purpose. Never
theless. Colonel Reber on May 30
1918, wrote as follows to Captain
Cowan There is one thing | wish
you would ne very careful about and
not let your quartermaster refer in
any way to the structure we have
erected on North Island as a temper
AIRY barracks. A requisition arrived
the other day for something for the
temporary barracks and the quarter
masters office fell down in fit They
said that they had no temporary bar
racks and that they knew nothing
about Temporary barracks, which was
their proper state of mind as We
cannot tell my person officially that
we have built barracks"