The Sentinel=record., 1918-05-07

Washington, May 6.-Talk of graft
and acknowledgement in the national
aeroplane construction program. hearu
Tor months in senate debate and CAPT
tol gossip, eliminated today in a pres
ldential order tor an investigation by
the department of justice. Almost ST.
multaneously it became known that
Major General Squier, chief signal or
| ftcer, and until recently in direct
charge OF army aviation, had demand =
ed military court OF inquiry.
The white house, in announcing
President Wilson's action, made pub
| lie a telegram received from Howard
Coffin, former chairman of the air
craft board urging an official inquiry
that regulations Of innocent men
| may not be ruined" and a series ot
| letters exchanged between the pres
ident and Gutzon Borglum. the sculp-
| tor, to whom is attributed responsible
! ty FOR statements that corruption III mo
expenditure OF funds and pro-German
intrigue has hindered aeroplane con-
struction.
There also was a letter written by
the presidnt TO Snator Thomas, OF
Colorado, a member of the senate nn,I-
itary affairs committee, assuring him
that every fundamentally OF the de-
partment of justice would be urged 20
pursue charges of dishonesty, or NAL
feasance of any kind, il Mr. Borglum's
allegations are found worthy of seri-
Gus consideration. Senator Thomas
laid before the president last week as
sertions made TO members Of the com
mittee by the sculptor.
The exact status of MFR. BOrglIm as
an investigator which until now has
been more or less of a mystery to
the public, is cleared UP iby the cor
respondence 1t develops that after
the sculptor had written to Secretary
Tlmuhy last November in regard tol
alleged defects in the aviation organ
ization and the desirability of having
certain experts called in, the pres--
dent wrote a letter to Mr., B1rglum
asking him to come to Washington
and lay the matter before the serro-
tary of war and with the aid OF a
member of the secretary's staff, dis-I
cover the facts by personal investi-
cation. Borglum did this and on Feb
ruary / the president presented a per-
sonal report from him to Mr. Baker
with a note saying This is AIr Borg
lum's report. is there not some oneI
whom you can ask to go over this
thing with an unbiased mind and give
us his naive Impressions OF il. There
may be something worthy of our con
sideration."
On May % after an exchange OF tel
egrams with Borglum the president
wrote that he had placed the material
the latter had furnished at the dis
posal of gentlemen to whom he haG
committed the task Of making a sys-
tematic inquiry into the whole avia-
tion situation. These gentlemen were
the special committee headed by II.
Snowden Marshall, of New York,
whose preliminary report preeeceG
the recent reorganization of the army
aviation service and the appointment
of John d Ryan as director general.
Apparently the sculptor resented
not being allowed to carry out the in
quiry himself. In response to a COM
plant that he had not been supplied
with suitable expert assistances, theI
president on April 15 informed him
that he had heard he had been undeYl
serious misapprehneion as 10 hlsI
status
81 never at any time constituted you
an official investigator" wrote the