Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-05
INTEREST IN QUIZ
COST HIM POSITION,
LAWYER DECLARES
Continued from Page y

as to all of these negotiated settle
mentS of war cases that involved
huge sums of money" said Lane.
'In 1919 officers in the air service
resigned and were discharged. About
the middle of 1919 a colonel came
from the treasury department and
was put in charge.
1.-The first case called to my at
tention was the Lincoln motor. [
was ordered to write an opinion as
to 81 900 900 item. / recommended
instead that the Lincoln motor
ought to pay back $J,SS0,000.
I'D bet my ears that if suit
had been filed, the government
would have got more than it did. I
handled the case, and | know what
Pm talking about"
Lawyers for the receivers of the
Lincoln Motors admitted greater
liability, Lane asserted.
Daugherty Involved
"Were the assets in the hands of
the receivers enough to meet the
governments claim?" Chairman
Brookhart asked.
'No, they were about $4,000, 600.
But the governments claim had
priority against that sum and ahead
of other creditors" remarked the
chairman.
Did you hold conferences with
the attorney general himself in
these matters?" asked Senator
Wheeler.
Frequently" Lane said. "Mr.
William ID. Ryder, one of the as
sistant attorneys general, was with
Mr.. Daugherty: Captain Volandt,
Captain j. M. Wainwright, assistant
secretary of war; myself and a
dozen people representing the Lin
coin Motors who participated.
The government paid the company
ISL 100000 for the privilege of can
ceiling the contract" Lane said, un-
der the head of anticipated profits
He knew of no other case in which
the government had paid "a nickeF'
to any other company under similar
circumstances.
Assistant Secretary Wainwright,
Major General Patrick, chief of the
air service, and other war depart
ment officials stated their objections
"vigorously' in conference with the
department of justice as to the Lin
coin settlement, the witness con-
tinued then walked OUT OF the
i
Immediately tiled up" the remaining
in the Lincoln case.
and the department of justice un-
tied them?' asked Senator Wheeler
Eyes, sir
Except for tax and legal expense,
Lane insisted, the government could
have gotten all' of the $4,000, 900.
+
coin plant and the money was in
the bank to the credit of receivers
he said.
Standard Aircraft Case
The witness then came to the
case of the Standard Aircraft cor
poration. Files in this case were
scattered and meager," Lane said,
but his final judgment in August,
919, was that the government should
recover $4,000 900. The government
then had pending a $4,000 claim
of its own.
During the discussions with Harry
B. Mingle, head of the company, the
witness said that Mingle told him
of the connection with the Japanese
banking firm of Mitsui & Co. Mingles
relations with the Japanese com
pany, he said, went back to a college
friendship with a Japanese student.
He declared Mingle never had a
dollar I'D didn't put a. dollar into
the Standard corporation.
Lane declared that the Mitsui com
pany, in financing the Standard, had
oh iY, oh
scented a loss in financing the old
Sloan Manufacturing company" The
government paid this charge in the
Standard settlements, he said. He
added that Mitsui loaned the Stand
ard between $5,000,000 and Sc 100000
which they got back with interest
"to say nothing of this $1.619 900"
In 1919 the government, Lane said,
'by a sort of a lump sum settle
ment, paid the Standard Aircraft
about $4,000
II investigated" he went on, land
thought the probabilities were that
company had been overpaid already.
[ notified them they could not re
ceive any more and they came down
with their officers and lawyers and
besieged the Office
ADULTS and claim preparations
went ahead.
They got about $1,000. 900 paid to
them on their final claim" the wit
ness said. THAT was the total sum.
1t was a bad case. The files were
scattered. some in New York. some
in st. Louis. some in the air service.
Il completed my investigation and
filed my report in August, 1919, rec
ommending that the government sue
the Standard Aircraft for $2,200,000
after offsetting their claim"
The total which should have been
recoverable by the government was
about 100000, 900, Lane said, but the
government had ''foolishly paid for"
certain property which disappeared.
He had heard, he said, that 122 car
loads of material was shipped out"
of the plant, he did not know where
to.
CASTOR B. Means was assigned by
the department of justice to assist
Lane in investigating, the witness
said, and got hold of papers" the
Mitsui company and Mingle had in
safes and vaults.
I'VE found Mingle's private ledg-