The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-11-01
HUGHES REPORT
ACCUSESFOuR
ARMY OFFICE RS
Aircraft Investigation Finds
Much Waste
REPORT FINDS NO GRAFT
Prosecutions for Officers Who Tran.
sacted Business With Corporations
Financially Interested.
REPORT FINDS NO GRAFT

Washington, oct 31-The lon
awaited report on the aircraft inyesti
cation, conducted during the last fiy,
months by Charles e. Hughes and AT
torney General Gregory, was PLACED
before President Wilson today by thu
attorney general and immediatel,
made pUblic
Delays and wastes of the production
program, the report declares were due
chiefly to the defective organization
I OF the work Of aircraft production anc
the serious lack of competent direc
ton 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. Tht
civilian personnel Of the Aircrat,
/ Production Board is exonerated of an,
wrong doing.
Attorney General Gregory in a let
ter transmitting the report to Presi
/ dent Wilson says he is in 'substan
tisl accord with the findings Of Mr.
Hughes.
The report finds no graft in the
generally accepted sense, but makes
recommendation for proceeding
against army officers held guilty O.
dealing with corporations in which
they were interested.
The chief waste from the origina
appropriation OF 69l.S5l S66, the re
port says. was in the abandonment o.
two types Of airplancs-one OF then
he Bristol-and a failure to salvage
aggregating about S94,OO0,0OO. The
figures show that last May, of tina
great appropriation, $l24,000,0OO actu
ally had been disbursed, and that VI
70 October 1st, the expenditures hat
reached about S14O,00OOOO for all ayi
alton purposes. This did not include
expenditures OF the sales department
which buys material and resells i
to manufacturers, and for advances
for building plants Contracts let
however. committed about $4,000,
900 Of the fund. The figures are Civ
sn in answer to the general charg,
that the sum had all been expende,
with practically no results.
The attorney general concludes II
Als letter of transmittal that mo sucl
profits have been allowed as to jus
tlfy charge of bat faith"
Colonel +. A. Deeds. the storm-cen
ter about whom ragged most of the
charges which brought on the investi
cation. the report recommends SHOULD
lie brought before a court.martial fol
sending confidential war department
Information on the aircraft situation
70 former business associates in Day
ton, Ohio, and for being sponsor las
February for a grossly misleadinf
statement TO the effect that "the frs
American built battle planes are TO
day en- route to the front in France
Criminal prosecutions of three army
officers are recommended on tho
ground that they transacted busines.
with corporations in which they were
financially Interested These officers
are Lieutenant Colonel J. c. Vincent
former vice president Of the Packard
Motor Car company, now in charge
the airplane engineering division Of
the Aircraft Production Bureau: Lieu
tenant Colonel George W. MiXter, {
stockholder in the Curtiss Airplant
and Motor Corporation, production
manager Of the Aircraft Bureau. ant
Second Lieutenant Samuel b. Vroo
man, ir Inspector OF propeller lumber
and stakeholder in the S. b. Vroo
man company OK Philadelphia. which
sold mahogany to the government fo'
arplanes.
Mr. Hughes concluded his report
with the statement that, 'it is no
within the province of this report tC
make recommendation with respec
10 administrative policy, but It shoult
hn said that under the direction OF
Mr. Ryan and Mr. Potter there has
been made in a gratifying measure,