New Britain herald., 1918-11-01
$24l,OOO,OOO Waste
IS hughes REPORT
Court Martial Of Col. Deeds
Recommended by Investigator

Washington, D. c., Nov 1.-The
long awaited report on, the aircraft
investigation, conducted during the
last five months by Charles E.
Hughes and Attorney General Greg
orys was placed before President Will
son yesterday by the attorney gener-
al and made public.
Delays and wastes of the produc-
ton program, the report declares,
were due chiefly to 1.-The defective or
ganization of the work of aircraft
production and the serious lack of
competent direction of that work by
the responsible officers of the Signal
Corps"
No fault is found with the manage
ment of aircraft affairs since the re-
organization of last May, which placed
John D. Ryan in charge. The civilian
personnel of the aircraft production
board is eXonerated of any wrongdo-
ing.
Attorney General Gregory, in let
ter transmitting the report to Presi-
dent Wilson, says he is in Substantial
accord" with the findings by Mr..
Hughes.
The report finds no graft" In the
generally accepted sense, but makes
the recommendations for proceedings
against army officers held guilty of
dealing with corporations in which
i they were interested
! The chief waste from the original
appropriation of $691, 1866, the re-
port says, was in the abandonment of
two types OF airplanes-one of them
the British-and a failure to salvage,
aggregating about $24,0O0,0 900. The
figures show that last May, of that
great appropriation, $134, 100000 &C
tually had been disbursed and that up
to October 1 the expenditures had
reached about 100000 900 for all
aviation purposes. This did not in
! clude expenditures of the sales de-
partment, which buys material and
sells it to manufacturers, and for ad-
! vances for building plants. Contracts
! let, however, committed about $470,-
| 900, 900 of the fund. The figures are
| given in answer to the general charge
! that the sum had all been expended
| with practically no results
The attorney general concludes in
! his letter of transnittal that mo
/ such profits have been allowed as to
Justify a. charge of bad faith
| CoIonels Court Martial Advised.
! Colonel E. A. Deeds the storm CEN
ter about whom ragged most of the
! charges which brought on the inves-
! tigation, the report recommends
should be brought before a court
! martial for sending confidential war
departm ent information on the air.
craft situation to one time business
Associates 4in-.Dayton, Ohio, and for
being sponsor last February for a
q. Itt,4a +0
the effect that the first American
built battle planes are today en- route
to the front in France"
Criminal prosecutions of three
army officers are recommended on
! the ground that they transacted bus
! mess with corporations ir which they
! were financially interested. These
! officers are Lieut.. Colonel J. G. Vim
i cent formerly vice president of the
! Packard Motor Car Co. now in charge
! of the Airplane Engineering Division
! of the Aircraft Production Bureau:
! Lieut. Colonel George w. Mixter, a
J stakeholder in the Curtiss Airplane
and Motor Corporation, production
! manager of the Aircraft Bureau, and
! Second Lieut.. Samuel 3. Vrooman,
! Jr inspector of propeller lumber and
! stakeholder in the S B. Vroonan
/ Co. of Philadelphia, which sold ma
! hogany to the government for air
: planes.
/ Mr.. Hughes concluded his report
/ with the statement that 1t is not
within the province of this report to
! make recommendations with respect
! to administrative policy, but it would
! be said that under the direction of
Mr.. Ryan and Mr. Potter there has
| been improvement in organization