The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-13
'B0RGLUM' PROMISES
TO BRING EVIDENCE
TO BOLSTER CHARGES
In Lengthy and Rambling Letter to
President He Is Bitter Against
Aircraft Board.
DECLARES RESPONSIBLE
MEN LIED ABOUT WORK
Otherwise Statement Ia Lacking In
Specific Aiicgations--Earnesaiy Pro-
tests That He Is Loyal to Ma
ton.

Washington. May In a long let
ter sent to President Wilson tcnigh.
Gutzon Borslom stated th..t he wou.d
place before the senate either on
Tuesday or Wednesday detailed evil
dence and afidavits ir answe: &c the
charge that he had selfish motive
in his recent investigation Of the air
craft boards failure to produce air
planes His reply to the charges Will
be read into the record by the sena-
tor from his state, F. b. Brandegee,
of Connecticut.
Borglum repeats his charge that
Secretary Baker has advisers OF TeU
tonic origin who are opposing Efforts
at the complete investigation Of the
aircraft program and asks that all
matters in dispute be aired by the
senate military affairs committee
His letter reads:
My Dear Mr.. President--On Tues
day or Wednesday shall place be-
fore the senate OF the United States
through Senator Brandegee of my
state. detailed evidence together with
affidavits attached and relating to the
falsehoods and deliberate frame up
by confessed tool of Colonel Deeds
and the mans engineer, and which by
the following statement from the head
of the war department intelligence
bureau appears.
Here Borglum uses part of an ar
ticle in a local pa per which states
that Colonel Ralph II. Van Deman,
head OF the intelligence section, de-
clines to discuss in any way the &C
tivities of his Office In connection with
the inquiry and which states that IL
became known yesterday that the in
telligence section had not seen the
report signed by Henry Fl. Suplee
telling of Rorglum's alleged efforts to
form an aircraft manufacturing com
pany. The letter 10 the president
continues;
III is a matter of Eravest concern
10 me that -credenee could Re given
to charges of such nature. or that
they could have been in your posses
ton OF the falsehood until Mr.. Mar
shall intinlated that there was some
sort Of charge. or charges OF dis
loyalty 10 you This is SO unthink-
able that / dismissed and declined
even to discuss them. The publicity
OF your letters to me, through wide
and artfuily arranged and widely ad-
yertised charges against me, pre-
scented by Senator Thomas. together
with the deliberate interferences BY.
epartmental aid you placed at my
SEi ftaGs GRdHNtSy niHE 6llQ
General Squiers, Stanley King acting
directly under the secretary Of war,
together with other subordinates
deputized to interfere with my inves-
tigation efforts. constitutes very
grievous chapter in Americas effort
to get production of airplanes.'
The letter then reports Borgium s
denial as published in the morning
papers and coptinues.
1T is Absurd to state that pro
Germans are clamoring for investi-
cations, while the secretary of war
is a party TO statements untrue and
unfounded. issued to deceive the ma
ton and serving no other possible
purpose except to warn Germany to
hurry her own airplane production
as we are just lana toreverf just
Al the peak of production
Never. ! believe In the history of
the country has group OF men been
given SO completely nations re-
sources, together with the admins
tration and the peoples confidence, as
have the aircraft group and never
have such condolences been mo r c
~antonly abused. refer here to
Major General Squier. Howard T.. Cof-
nm, Colonel Deeds and Colonel Mont
gomery. These civilian and military
members appear everywhere in the
progra m planned to meet our military
needs--and they appear everyw here
in the deliberate and elaborate ma