Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-04-12

part may account for this gravey disappointing situa
ton Your committee however is convinced that
much Of the delay in producing completely combat
aeroplanes is due to ignorance Of the art and to fail
ure TO organize the effort in such a way IS TO central
ize authority to bring about quick decision A certain
aoofness in dealing with persons possessing informa
ton based upon experience an apparent intention Of
conhnng the actual production TO a restricted number
of concerns, and failure of the officials in charge Of
the work to grasp the situation in a broader way and
seize upon the best approved foreign engines and
planes and proceed promptly to build as many as pos
sblc for the campaign Of 1918 has contributed to the
failure. 1t is greatly to be regretted that the state
ments of government officials have misrcpresented the
progress OF the aviation program. This has mslead
the public, and your committee cognizant of the facts,
has in the performance of its duty made this report
to the senate"
1T is apparent from the evidence" said the com
mee that the twelve cylinder Liberty motor is lust
emerging from the development experimental stage.
Since the original design and the setting up of the first
completed motor in July, 1917, large number Of
changes have been found necessary, many of them
causing delay in reaching quantity production Within
the last two months changes of considerable impor
lance have been made, which it is hoped, will make
the servcabe for combat planes OF the defensive
type, and for bombing and observation planes 1t is
not designed for and cannot be used in the swift,
single scatter hghtlng machine y Few OF the motors
are being flown in appropriate machines"
When we consider that the first appropriation,
reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars,
for aviation program has been practically spent
and second appropriation asked for and still we
have practically nothing to show for it, while our
soldiers over in the trenches are dependent upon
the English and French aviators if any happen
to be available, to drive the German flyers from
the air above them, it is most sorry reflection
upon the department in charge, and one of the
things most needed is thorough housekeeping.
1t is impossible to hide up the nefciency and keep
the people in ignorance any longer. The commit
tee from which the above is quoted is not polite
al one. 1t doubtless contains preponderance of
democrats, and the statements made are based on
actual observations. The cry has been raised,
1--WE know no politics in this war; and we trust
there will be none. But inefficiency has place
in the war program of this country if we are to
win and get the rsost out of the enormous sums
of money being raised by the American people.
The persons responsible for these conditions
should be pucked out and their places filled with
competent men, regardless of their political afili-
atons.
The failure of the aviation program is practic-
ally duplicated in the construction of big guns.
Six months time and millions of dollars have been
wasted in the effort to evolve something that
would surpass the best cannon of Europe, and now
we are having to go back to what there was before
us at the start In the mean time, our boys in
the trenches are dependent upon the French for
such cannon as they possess. There are too many
ideasts and old grannies in the war department
and not enough hard-headed business men,
-(S-