The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-05-15
BITTER AGAINST BAKER.
BORGLCM CHARGES DECEPTION
AGAINST SECRETARY.
In Letter To President Wilson Con-
cerning Aviation Controversy, Gut.
zon BOrglum Says Baker is Party
TO Untrue Statements Designed to
Mislcad NatiOIi-Aircraft Group
Abuses Confidence.

Washington May 12.-GutZon Bor-
glum. storm center of aviation con-
troversy, made public tonight anoth
er letter to President Wilson DENYING
that he had betrayed the presidents
confidence, renewing his assertions OF
grave misconduct in the government
aircraft production organization and
insisting that the senate military
committee should conduct openly
and thoroughly the investigation
which he says he was prevented from
making "by the war department un-
der Secretary Baker"
In regard to the documents mt
into the senate record FRIDAY design.
eG to capitalize his friendship with
the president by secretly organizing q
corporation to produce airplanes. the
letter says, Senator Brandegee of
Connecticut will submit to the senate
Tuesday or Wednesday detailed evil
deliberate frame up"
1T is matter of the gravest con-
Germ to me-" it added, that credence
could be given to charges of such q
nature or that they could have been
in your possession, and | have receiv
ed no inumatiOn of the falsehood un-
I'll Mr.. Marshall intimated that there
was some sort of charge or charges
Of disloyalty to you. This is so un
thinkable that I dismissed and declin-
ed to even discuss them"
Mr.. Borglum repeats his published
answer to the charges and continues:
1T Is absurd to state that pro-
Germans are clamOring for investiga-
tions while the secretary of war is a
party TO statements, untrue and un
founded, issued to deceive the nation
and serving no other purpose except
to warn Germany to hurry her own
airplane production.
Never. believe, in the history of
the country, has a group Of men been
given so completely q nations re-
sources, together with the admins
tration and the peoples confidence as
have the aircraft group and never has
such confidence been more wantonly
abused. / refer here to Major General
Squires, Howard f. Coffin, Colonel
Deeds and Colonel Montgomery. These
civilian and military members appear
everywhere in the program planned to
meet our military needs and they ap-
pear everywhere i'm the deliberate and
elaborate machinery that placed and
held the colossal contracts among q
few; they appear everywhere in tho
fine network of falsehod and cam
outage and they included Mr.. Baker,
as their partner in the common
statements to the public-they de-
liberately lied to you and framed up
their statements. particularly their
failure, and misled congress before the
directly are responsible for no en-
gines. no planes, no propellers, and
our vanished appropriations
Had there not been this malicious
effort to discredt me with YOU and
impugn my honor on the floor of tha
senate | might have with the rest OF
America, though with shame and an
ger, still be holding my peace, waiting
and watching for the ntermmablc
shifting from one department to the
Other of responsibilities that can lie
only at the door of the executive
members of the aircraft board The
scurrilous slander by Deeds friend
was foul and unfair blow.
This Mr.. President, compels me
to demand that the investigation by
the military committee of the senate
shall be complete, exhaustive in the
matters relating to aircraft produc-
ton. but as these charges have been
brought before the senate the inter
ference by the war department, under
Mr. Baker, preventing me from Sc
curing proper evidence.
IL know you will agree with me in
this, that | have a right to demand it.
Il am loyal to you as our president
and even better. / am loyal to your
thought as so often expressed touch
ing the state of the world and the
nations mission and shall remain so.
port, men or methods inimicable to
our cOuntry's good, planned to deceive
YOU and the nation. and discredit us
i'm the ewes of the world"