Evening star., 1924-04-03

will admit that that time hasn't ar
Copyright, 1s24D
sue the Standard Aircraft for $1,000
600, after offsetting their claim"
Says Material Disappeared.
The total which should have been
recoverable by the government was
about $20O. O.000,0 600, Lane said, but the
government had "foolishly" paid for
certain property" which disappeared
He had heard, he said, that l22 car
loads of material were shipped out
of the plant, he did not know where
CASTOR b. Means was assigned by
the Department of Justice 10 assist
Lane in Investigating, the witness
said. and got hold OF. papers the
Mitsui Company and Mingle had III
safes and vaults.
I'VE found Mingle's private ledger,
Lane went on, and among olher
items we found was that Sl,6ls,OOO.
lost before the war by Mitsui & Co.
in financing a Plainfield, \. j., plant,
was charged into assets of the stand
ard Aircraft Corporation, and the
government paid 1t.
Action Since Monday.
Lane said that if the War Depart
ment had sent the Standard case 10
the Departmen of Justice for action,
il had been done since Monday" so
far as his Office knew. The wicker
sham firm, as counsel Tor MllsuL
made a tremendous assault on the
government report, making an eH-
tensive review necessary, he said, ana
the review showed that the govern
ment ought to recover about S2,ooV,-
00O and had paid TO the company
about $1,000. 600 additional, which 1t
ought not to have paid"
"Mr. Mingle was found dead in the
city of New York, some time last
September" the witness remarked
saying there was secrecy about the
matter"
Both rent. and depreciation" had
been collected from the government
on the same property, Lane said,
when "any one with one eye could
see that one item or the other was
false.
Overpayment Charged.
The Standard company. he said. got
s2,200,000 as amortization OF plant,
he said. Notwithstanding the fact
that it got from sales more than the
plant ever cost
Our final figure was that they were
oyerpaid on amortization and depre-
citation about SIC, 100000" he added
Taking up the Bosch magnetic case.
Lane said the government had paid
that concern s452,0o0 when mot D
cents worth of goods had been deliv-
cred to the government on the con-
tracts involved. The contracts were
made with the alien property GUS
todan.
Whatever the government paid this
company was overpaid.' the witness
said.
Price Called Too Low.
Lane said sale of the Bosch com
pany by the alien property Gust odian
for $4,150.C00 had been closed. despite
the fact that his examination of the
companys books indicated a value of
s12. .00O. 900 He did not know whether
A. Mitchell Palmer or Francis P. Car
van made the sale as alien property
Lane said his record indicated that
the War Departme case went
to the Depar tment of Justice in Janu-
airy. 1922. He added that he had no
knowledge OF grand jury proceedings
and never had been called as a wit
ness
Asked if he ever recommended that
criminal prosecutions be instituted in
the Standard case, Lane said that was
not his duty-that he was merely ad-
wiser.
Lane said the Bosch sale of securi-
Hornblower & Weeks" but before
Mr.. Weeks became Secretary of War.
1t was brought out that the Bosch
case had been sent over to the De-
partment of Justice from the War
Department after Mr.. Weeks came
into office.
VOlandt Takes Stand.
Capt. Volandt then took the stand
and testified that the papers he took
from Lanes brief case were official
data" of the department He declared
Secretary Weeks had told him to in
form the committee that these papers
could be obtained only by subpoena
on the Secretary himself.
Volandt admitted having Instructed
Lane Ito stay away from the COM
! mittee."
ing testimony asked Senator Wheel
Absolutely not" answered Capt
| Volandt. "I want him to testify and
want to give my own testimony.
Was Not Under Orders.
volandt insisted he was mot under
brief case. He said ne had Suspend
ed" Lane last Saturday when he re
fused to come to the Office" and that
Lane was later separated from the
service" by action of Secretary
Weeks.
! The witness said that when Lane
failed to appear at the office he had
wanted him to work on the Standard
and Willys- knight cases, in order to
rush them to the Department of Jus
tice for action. The Standard case
| wdent over about five days ago he said,
but denied that committees proceed
| ings 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
were put "in the safe"
Took Omcial Records.
Questioned by Lane with the COM
mittee's permission Volandt insisted
| he had touched no papers except of
| fetal records of the air service Vo-
] landt said Lane had -four volumes"
| of copies of air service records. He
| had taken up in the department, he
said, the question of the statuatory
right of officers to copy such records
| for themselves in personal files"
The Secretary of War has taken
over the papers and has directed me
to advise the committee that a sub
poena for them will have to be served
upon him." Volandt said. when oues-