The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-12
GREAT AERO FRAUDS
BEING REVEALED
~ "a IA SEQ 1T
- trs--- -;
Congressman Frear of In
] vestigating Committee y
Makes Statement l
S: SPRUCE G. PRoDUc TIoN !
MOST EXPENSIVE
Logging Road In West Built at Cost of
$10O, 600 Mile War Department
Neglected to Make Any Investiga-
ton Of $4,000 900 Waste

NEW YORK, Aug. 12.-Despite the
appropriation of more than ST. 900, 00O,-.
900 for the United States air service
there were only 2l3 American built OBJ
servation planes at the front and no
day or night bombing planes or fighting
planes, according to Representative
James A. Frear of Wisconsin, chairman
of the subcommittee of the house inves.
tigating aviation.
Representative Frear and his fellow
representatives, Walter NJ. Magee of
New York and Clarence F. Lea of Cali.
fornia. have gone to Chicago, where the
committee will hold hearings The
three representatives will go to st. Paul
and Seattle in connection with the in
vestigation into the expenditure of
81 ,056, 100000 for the air service
"When the armistice was signed the
American forces had in commission, in
eluding those used for advanced train
ing. 740 planes, more than half of
which had been furnished by foreign
governments, Mr. Frear said. ''There
were 1,250.000 American troops actual
ly engaged at the front. To have given
adequate air protection to them there
should have been provided, according
to Maj Zen. Patrick, chief of the
air service in France, 3,400 planes OF
all types.
One reason why the trip to the Pacific
coast will be made by the sub-commit-
, tee is that the expenditure of nearly
$5o,000,000 for spruce production never
has been adequately looked into, al
though charges of the gravest nature,
involving men in high positions. have
been made concerning it. One of these
charges concerns the building of 3S
mile logging railroad at cost to the
government of 100000 mile, when
other logging roads cost only tenth of
that sum per mile to build
Despite the fact that a thorough in
vestigation of the spruce situation was
recommended by Charles E. Hughes.
conducted, Mr.. Frear said no political
motive is back of the present trip of
the snb,eQmmittee, although Homer
Cummings, chairman of the Democratic
national committee, has admitted on
the stand, according to Mr.. Frear, that
he had sought TO discredit the present
investigation from the start and would
continue to do So
The aircraft service spent nearly
$5o,ooo.0oO on spruce production, build
ing railroads. erecting vast mills, &C., y
he said. When Mr.. Hughes investigat
ed the aircraft service he was unable to
go into this phase of it. but recommend
ed to the President that it be investi-
gated by the attorney-genera The
President did not carry out that recon-
mendation.
"When the subcommittee of the SEN
ate, of which Senator Thomas (Col was
chairman, made its investigation, it was
unable TO go into this phase of the work,
although it did report that large part
of the $640000,000 then expended had
been wasted. Since then members of
Senator Thomas committee have ur-
gently recommended that the spruce
production division be investigated.
Senator Jones wrote the President last
January pleading for an honest to God
investigation of this subject
Charges of great gravity have been
made TO the war department and filed
with the committee on expenditures in
the war Department.; charges which re-
hect on the honesty of men in high posi-.
tions; charges which allege wholesale
graft at time when dishonesty in the
military service was tantamount TO
treason. We have found that the spruce
production division constructed 3S
mile railroad at cost of upwards of
100000 a mile at time when logging
roads were being constructed at a cost
of one-tenth that sum; that this rail
road was built on the recommendation
of high officials of the Chicago, Milwau-
kee and st. Paul railroad; was built un-
der the immediate supervision of the
chief engineer of that road who Was