New-York tribune., 1918-05-07

for nothing else but investigation.
have given months and months of valu
able time, hoping that investigation
would come.
There has been q great deal of talk
and great deal of noise. but for some
strange, unaccountabe reason it is i'm
possible to get official action that will
really investigate the aeronautic group.
Asserts the Nation Knows
"The nation knows its billions, or
such part of them as they could possibly
manage to use, are gone. The nation
are no planes to protect them, although
Colonel Deeds told tho National Press
Assoc ;ation recently IN great confidence
that we have 200 iliers, with 200
planes. AL ours, n-irg o7er our lines.
An officer who has arrived in this
country within the week, straight from
our troops. informs ne we have loss
than twenty: that they are French
school planes; that they are not al
lowed near the German lines and that
our single balloon is hastily pulled
down out of danger as the enemy
planes appear.
81 was among the first to call official
attention to specific weaknesses in the
Liberty motor. In spite Of the resent
-.ent at the time, the justice Of these
criticisms has been admitted hy the
chairman of the Aircraft Board. cor
rection made and they ale rebuilding
She engines on those lines at this mo-
ment: but | had sinned in daring to
criticise, and, as some Of YOUR most
important and prominent associates in
our government have said. Borglum
'blundered in telling the truth
"a have said the aero department is
full Of profiteering, that hundreds Of
millions have gene that factories have
been created where there were no fac
tories necessary and contracts to the
extent Of fifty millions given to men
who had neither rhyme nor reason for
the remotest connection with the cmer-
gency of aeroDlane production, but
who had the pull with Deeds and who
are still houndcring in their ignorance
bic of fulfilling their contracts, still
drawing under the cost-plus system
upon the Treasury Of the nation.
Aeronautic Men Snubbed
Il have said that aeronautic men of
ability in the nation have been snubbed
and ignored and unemployed, who knew
the art of aeroplane building, are even
at this writing without the slightest
consideration by the group who dealt
out the colossal funds for their pur
pose.
81 have said the Liberty motors
should never have been undertaken
until other available motors had been
put in production sufficient for an
emergency fleet of aeroplanes built
that our army could have used when it
was ready, and have said that this
was not done, because the group who
were interested in the production of
the Liberty motor were interested in
establishing and controlling the mo-
nopoly of that engine for aeronautic
work and were not interested. at least
never have shown interest that pro-
tected the troops they were charged to
protect | have also said that there
has been gross profteering in the
methods of contracts and that millions
could be saved if the government would
act quickly. even by the consent OF the
manufacturers themselves.
"I have pointed out that although the
engine was still an experiment, there
were no planes; there can be no
planes and there will be no planes
until an engine or the engine is done
and a perfect and complete thing, so
the country believed that when the
Liberty motor would reach its produc
tion we would have thousands of
'planes.' This is another gross fallacy.
We cannot really begin the construc-
tion Of aeroplanes until our engine and
it's working horsepower have been es-
tablished. In other words, except for the
ACQUIRED material and experimentation
carried on under various producers and
paid for by the cost-plus contract sys-
tenn, enjoyed by manufacturers who are
agreeable and acceptable to the ring
we have ACCOMPLISHED nothing in our
aeronautic programme.
Nothing Denied, He Says
"Charges could not be more serious.
Charges more grievous could not be
made against department. or group
of men. Seven or eight investigations
have been made, besides my own, and
there is no single definite denial OF
anything I charge. Why is it then that
this otfends? Why is it that placing
the truth before the authorities fails
for months to meet with response and
finally with brusque rebuke, and why,
after the work is done and delivered
a month or more, should | receive a
letter from you refutng the authority
which alone brought me to Washing
ton and under which 1 had worked so
long?
Little can I add to what have said,
and there is little that l wish to add.
am now certain my services have at
least compelled some kind Of an in
vestigation, and | have at least in
formed the country OF its needs and
the camouhage deliberately planned by
group of men intrusted with great
army of our military machine has come
to an end-I hope it has come to an
end, but the chart of reconstruction
which [ saw the day before yesterday
fills me with definite alarm"
Mr. Borglum also gave out copy of
a letter to President Wilson, dated Jan
uary '21. transmitting his first report,
which complained of attempts to block
his investigation by officials, but as
serted that he had been able to con-
meet "the broken links of chain of
dishonesty and disorder that runs
throughout our production depart
ment"
Another Billion