Omaha daily bee., 1920-02-17
Production Of Air
Craft "Waste Riot

| Graft Waste Rlot"
Continued From First Page)
minority report replies to the major
ity findings as 'ntemperate, biased
and vituperative, an exaggeration of
alleged mistai.cs1 and mi, na.e.
ments." 'gratuitous reflection
upon men who faithfully served the
government during war" and a
repetition of defamatory charges
ad1nittedly unsustained by evidence" !"
Answers Majority Report.
Answering the charge of the ma
| jority report that only 2l3 planes
! had been shipped to the front up
to the armistice and that these were
De Havilands. dangerous and known
as flying coffins" the minority re-
port quoted Brig. Gen. M. A. Pat
rick, director of construction and
forestry operations of the Ameri-
can expeditionary forces, as saying
that no larger percentage of De
Hayilands came down in flames than
other types. Mr.. Lea asserted that
only 80 De Havilands out Az sent
over enemy lines were lost. The
majority declared more American
aviators would have been killed ex-
cept for the failure of General
Pershing to receive more than 2l3
De Havilands."
Sending American aviators to the
front in this type of plane the ma
Jority said, was more wasteful Of
human life than "equipping shock
troops with wooden guns"
On this point the minority report
said the government turned out more
thcn 1000 planes iur;ng slc war.
and these were practically the same
as machines used bv the allies.
Up to Secretary Baker,
Touching on responsibility the
majority report said Secretary
Baker was properly chargeable with
any success or failure of Ameri-
cas- aircraft program"
The greater part of the majority
report was taken up with an indict-
ment of conditions in the spruce
forests where $4,000 soldiers were
assigned for civilian duty under
Colonel Disque, a former warden of
the Michigan penitentiary. 1t was
charged that Disque illegally spent
$4,500,000 of government funds in
1913 when he EARNED OUT 10000
soldiers to cost-plus prices, the gov
ernment paying contractors who
charged ] per cent cost-plus profit
on the soldiers pay. Secretary Baker
was charged with direct responsible
ity "for this, unprecedented prac-
tice." Thirteen logging railways
were said to have been started. none
of which were completed before the
war ended, and FIVE cost $8,325, 1874,
the majority asserting that some
roads took roundabout course "ine
order to touch summer resorts"
Defends Use of Soldiers.
There were not enough skilled
loggers in the country to carry out
the governments spruce production
program, said the minority report,
defending the use of soldiers.
Government spruce properties, ac-
cording to the majority report, were
estimated by Disque to have sal
valge value of 10 per cent of cost, on
which basis settlements were made
with Great Britain for its share OF
spruce losses. An expert accountant
employed by the committee testified
that $30,0O0,0O0 was wasted by
Disaue, based on the contract price
in 1918.
The minority report held that at
the end Of the war the spruce pro-
duction corporation had on hand
salvageable properties costing orig
inally Sl8000,000 and that settle
ment was made with Great Britain,
which paid $l4,OOO,000 as lump sum
for its part of the obligation. On
this settlement 10 percent salvage
value was accepted. Property cost
ing more than S4,O00.000, Mr.. Lea
declared, was sold at "a per cent of
its cost price.
s3o,ooo,ooo Wasted.
The majority report alleged that
more than S30,0O0,0O0 was wasted
through mismanagement in produc-
ing airplane lumber in the north
west. The cost plus contracts were
described as direct invitation" to
premeditated waste and extrava-
gance. The cost of FIVE of the log
ging roads was practically double
the assessed full cash value of three
great transcontinental roads," the
report charged.
With all Of his force and prep
aration, the majority report asserted,
Disque turned out only z per cent
of the airplane lumber delivered in
1918. On the other hand, the minor
ity report set forth that Oregon
lumber men adopted resolutions
congratulating the country that a
man of Disque's foresight had been
detailed by the government to pro-