Evening star., 1918-08-22
AIRCRAFT DELAYS
STRONGLY SCORED
IN SENATE PROBE
t'Wasted Money" Mentioned
and Three Causes of Fail
ures Are Given.
AVIATION Department
SUGGESTED IN REPORT
Review of Improved Conditions
With Recommendations Is Made
by Investigating Committee.

- Ah1ooS
by Investigating Committee.
The long-awaited report Of the Sem
ate military subcommittee investi-
eating aircraft production was SUBJ
mitted today, with a scathing arraign-
ment of delays in the early days Of the
war. a review of improved conditions
and recommendations for the creation
Of a new separate Department Of
Aviation with a cabinet officer at its
head.
Failure to adopt successful foreign
airplanes and motors, waste OF MIL
lions of dollars in aircraft appro-
priations, dominance of the airpiane
program by inexperienced automo-
bile manufacturers, ''unsystematic
and ineffective" organizations and ex-
cessive profits to manufacturers are
among criticisms made by the sub
committee, of which Senator Inomas
Of Colorado was chairman.
Praise Not Omitted.
Disclaiming wholesale condemna-
tion of the aircraft program. the sub
committee praised much that has
been accomplished. and predicted we
are approaching period when guam
tity production of planes soon may
The report is impersonal and
charges of personal dishonesty and
official corruption were left to the De
partment of Justices inquiry, headed
by Charles E. Hughes.
Criticising officials for causing over
optimism regarding the aircraft pro-
gram. the committee says:
while much good has been accom-.
piished, for which due credit should
mitted that our aeroplane program
has. up to the present, presented
many aspects of failure"
Fund practically Wasted"
The original 100000 appro-
priated- by Congress for aviation in
July. 1917, says the report. has been
exhausted and practically wasted"
with 1884, ,o0o, 900 more found neces-
sary. and the report adds:
while an army Of three and q nall
situation is as follows:
six hundred and one De Havi1and
Fours had been embarked Tor france
UP to August 1, 1918. OF these sixty
had souadron 1ns Of s
De Haviland Fours new over the
German lines. Details of its perform
ance have not been receivedA-
Missing on War Front,
I'VE have not single American
made chasse Cor plane of attack upon
the battle front.
made heavy bombing plane upon the
we have not developed in quantity
production successful chasse or
fighting plane"
Other Important Criticisms.
Other important criticisms included:
Abandonment of the standard J
training machine after 1900 had been
built at a cost of $6.o00.o00. and con-
demned as dangerous
singIe-seated fighting machines last
September as obsolete. and afterward
ordering 1000 S. E. single-seat
Spads.
ing machine after expenditure of
able lives"
Delay in developing the De Haviland
machine.
Failure to rush manufacture of the
Caproni and Handley-Page heavy
bombing machines.
Liberty Motor Mentioned.
Failure to develop an airpIane
around the liberty motor.
Incompetence or inspectors.
Location of flying fields at insult
Failure to encourage airplane pro-
ducers.
Patent monopolies of original in
ventors-
Three Causes of Failures.
''In the opinion of the committee, :"
the report stated. "the disappointing
results in tproduction) are
"1) That the airpfAne program was
largely placed with great automobile
and other manufacturers. who were
ignorant of aeronautical problems.
"(2) These manufacturers under
took the impossible task of creating
q motor which could be adapted to ali
classes of flying craft. It is not too
much to say that our airplane pro-
gram has been largely subordinated
to the liberty motor.
"t3) We failed at the beginning
Of the war to adopt the commonsense
course of reproducing the most ap-
proved types of European machines
in as great numbers as possible. This
should have been carried on coinci-
dent with the production of the lib
erty motor. This sound policy has
been very recently, but after a Ia
mentable lapse Of time. adopted"