The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-05-17
WILSON ORDERS
AIRCRAFT INQUIRY.
Acts to Clear Innocent or Find
Guilty.
GRAFT CHARGE TO BE AIRED
President Instructs Department o.
Justice To Make Investigation AS
Result Of Demand BY Senate
And Mr.. Coffin.

Washington.-Talk of graft and mis-
MANAGEMENT in the national a1rplane
construction program, heard for
months in Senate debate and Capitol
lobby gossip, has eliminated IN
presidential order for an investigation
by the Department of Justice. Al
most simultaneously it became known
that Major General Squier, chief sig
nal officer 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 pubic
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 series OF
letters and kilograms exchanged be-
tween the President and Gutzon Dor.
glum, the sculptor, to whom is at
tributed responsibility for statements
that corruption in the expenditure OF
funds and pro-German intrigue has
hindered airplane production.
There also was a letter written by
the President to Senator Thomas, OF
Colorado, member of the Senate
Military Committee, assuring him that
every fundamentally of the Depart
ment of Justice will be used to pur
sue charges of dishonesty or malver
sation of any kind if Mr.. Borglum's
allegations are found worthy of seri
Gus consideration. Senator Thomas
laid before the President last week
assertions made to members of the
committee by the sculptor.
The exact status of Mr.. Borglum as
an investigator, which, pntil now, has
been more or less of mystery to the
public, is cleared up by the CORE
spondence. 1t develops that after the
sculptor had written to Secretary
Tumulty last November in regard to
alleged defects in the aviation organ
ization and the desirability of having
certain experts called in, the Presi
dent asked him to present his ideas
Later, on January 2, the President
wrote letter to Mr.. Borglum asking
him to come to Washington and lay
the matter before the Secretary of
War, and with the aid of member
{ the Secretary's personal staff dis
cover the facts by personal investiga
ton.
NV
1 the President sent a preliminary re,
port from him to Secretary Baker
with this note: Here is Mr.. Borg
lum's preliminary report. Is there not
someone entirely disconnected from
aeronautics and from those who are
prominent in carrying out the air
plane program whom you can ask to
so over this thing with an unbiased
mind and give US his naive impress.
sions of it? There may be something
worthy CT our consideration and sug
gestions worthy to be adopted"
On March 20, after an exchange of
kilograms with Borglum, the President
wrote that he had placed the material
the latter had furnished at the dis.
posal of gentlemen to whom he had
committed the task of making a sys
tematic inquiry into the whole avia.
ton situation. These gentlemen were
the special committee headed by H.
Snowden Marshall, of New York.
whose preliminary report preceded
the recent reorganization of the Army
Aviation Service and the appointment
of John D. Ryan as director general