The sun., 1919-07-31

stored with the instruments. taken from
the machines In a nearby building.
Were these planes burned In an effort
to stimulate production in the United
States7" was the question that Congress-
man Bland kept hurting at sergeants,
mechanics and other witnesses. None Of
them professed to be In the confidence of
the War Department on this question
and all said they were too anxious to get
home to bother asking about It. They ell
state, however, that before the FIRE was
started a strong guard was thrown about
the field and no pictures were permitted
to be taken Of the confiagration. Some
soldiers did get snapshots Of II, however,
and their names were given to the COM
mittee.
Lieut.. Lockwood Testines,
Yesterdays phase of the Commuters
inquiry was the result of information
given It with regard to this fire by Lieut..
Paul O. Lockwood. formerly an officer
Of the First Pursuit Group. He said he
had not seen any OF the destruction in
France. Upon his return to this country.
however. he met and talked with mem
ers OF his old squadron at Mineola and
they told him Of the IRE II took place
at Colombes-les- Bellies, near Tout. This
WINS hh duNAbNou TGpldCo-
ments. A large stock OF new parts was
kept there for the immediate reoutfit OF
planes from the fighting front
Lieut.. Lockwood testified that he had
seen few American planes In France and
very few Liberty motors. He testified
that when the Meuse-Argonne offensive
was at its height his group had forty
pilots held on the ground because they
could not get either American planes or
the French Spads which they had been
using.
-The French" he said, required all
their Spads for their own work at that
time"
He denied. however that the Ger
mans had the superiority In the air
during the American drives
IT can't say that" he said. I'VE had
the superiority in the st. Mihiel show
and II was about even in the Argonne."
The Germans came over the lines al
most at will. didn't theyT' asked Con-
gresham Bland.
"Eo, but they came over in large num-
ers," the witness replied.
Alfred T. Rover of Scranton. a first
sergeant with the Fourth Squadron of
the First Pursuit Group. told the COM
mittee that after the armistice he had
been ordered to supply a detail OF sixty
This order came from Capt J. L. Nc
Grath. his own immediate commander.
The commanding officer at the field, he
said. was Col ]. G. Aleshire.
Rover denied that he had seen any of
the actual destruction. but said he had
seen some of the planes before and some
after the engines had been thrown out Of
them. Many Of them, he said, appeared
to be new. He said he felt It was a
crime to destroy planes In that way He
did not know the value of an airplane
and was told by Mr.. Bland that the
Packard Company had supplied motors
for $500 and the Ford Company for
about $4,000.
Frank McKesgue OF Brooklyn, a for.
mer member of the First Pursuit Group,
was the only witness who admitted ac-
tually seeing the fire. 1t occurred. he
said. on day just before he left France
about June 81. He had helped to dis
mantle the planes and spoke OF the fire
as the million dollar fire." He said
someone" had estimated the value q!
the $50 planes destroyed at that figure.
WAS there anything to indicate thai
the fire was accidental7" Mr.. Bland
asked.
ut wasn't accidental" the witness re-
piled. Il knew there was going to b.
a fire when they turned the tails up in
the air with the noses on the ground"
Several Of the witnesses mentioned a
plane destroyed which. they said. had
had only twenty minutes of actual serv.
Ice in the air John T. Kelley OF Cen.
trail Falls. r. l.. cleared this up by say.
ing the plane had crashed on tria
flight, and that propeller, running gear
and lower wing were smashed.