Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-04-03
WITNESS Says
He WAS 0USTED
ER|QM SERVICE
hoD1as F. Lane, Until Few
Days Ago, Patrick's Legal
Advisor, Was Dismissed
plD NOT OBEY ORDER
! TO Keep Away from Commit
tee Investigating Affairs of
Atty. General Qaugherty

WASHINGTON, April S:-The
storm-swept course of the Daugh-
srty investigating committee took a
sudden turning today which led II
: into a swirl of charges and recrimi-
nations centering in the War De-
partment.
Thomas T. Lane, until few days
ago legal adviser to Major General
Patrick, chief of the Army Air Ser
vice. testified that when he refused
to comply with an order to stay
away'' from the committee, he was
dismissed from the air service ana
his desk and brief case rified of val
liable papers bearing on aircra
transactions.
The officer named by the witness
ns having given him the order and
taken the papers, Captain w. r.
s.volanflt. followed Lane Immediately
mon the stand and told the committee
8 did advise Lane not to appear
store the committee. He confirm
n also that he had taken certain Oh
the records in the possession
Tane. and saidcSecretary weeks hau
instructed him to say that a SUD
boena served on the secretary nlm-
kelf would be necessary TO prins lhe
bapers before the commlttee.
Volandt denied that he had oe.
lsircd to suppress Lanes .estiiiioNy ;
declared he had taken only ollcias
records" from Lanes desk ana otaei
cose. and insisted that he was act
.al,,ated .nly by a desire to see tnat
fhe committee should come through
I fhe proper channels IL 1T desired u
..ecure possession of the documents.
senator Wheeler, the COMMITTEES
,rosecl1tor. Immediately instructed
IA no committee clerk to get out
{hnoena for the secretary OF war'
describing the papers" wanted.
Lane had described the missing
racords ~ the committee as relating
70 MANY aircraft cases on whlch ne
had worked. These cases, he saio'
included the Lincoln Motors case
the Standard Aircraft case: and the
Bosch Magnetic case, in all OF whlcii
he charged that overpayments hao
! been made by the government. In
the Lincoln case. he said, the de-
nartment of Justice made a settle
ment over the protest of the war
department and 80 bad" that when
il was broached General Patrick and
Athe other war department repre-
y; ;sentattves walked out" of the con-
4 ference.
volandt insisted he was mot un-
der orders when he searched Lane
brief case. I1e. said he had "sus-
pended" Lane last Saturday when
he refused. to come to the office, "
and that Lane was later separated
from the service by action of Sec
retary Weeks.
The witness said that when Lane
failed to appear at the office he had
wanted him to work on the Stan
dard and Willys-Knight cases, in
order to rush them to the depart
ment OF justice for action. The
Standard case went over about five
days ago, he said, but denied that
committee proceedings had any
effect on the procedure with this
case.
Lanes brief bag was emptied of
papers at the air service Office the
next day, the witness said. and they
we're put "in the safe".
French is described as a political
associate of the late Jake Hamon,
Republican national committeeman
from Oklahoma.
Wolfe was one Of the managers in
Ohio for Leonard Wood.