The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1924-03-28
Air Probe
Blocked by
Officials
So Testifies Ex-Covernment
Agent Before Senate Com
mittee-Says Airplane
Firms Overpaid.
Two Concerns Named

Washington, March 27.-H L.
ment of Justice, told the Wheeler
Brookhart committee investigating
Attorney General Daugherty today
that he quit the department because
his Investigations into aircraft frauds
were blocked "by powerful interests
caught In the meshes of tho law"
lie charged also that the principal
report he made relative to these
frauds, involving the Standard Air
craft and Wright.M Martin concerns, has
disappeared from the department
files.
scaife told the committee he had
found evidence of overpayment OF
more than s7.ooo.ooo in two cases
before they stopped me.
He produced q memorandum signed
"A. f. Myer, special assistant at
torney general" who was In charge
of aircraft prosecutions, instructing
him 10 take no more audits of air.
craft payments.
Testimony Links Up.
scaife's testimony linked up with
flat Of CASTOR B. Means. another ex-
agent OF the department. who testl-
fled 10 days ago he collected sloo'ooo
in 81 900 bills from the japanese rep
resentative OF the Standard Aircraft
corporation and turned it over to
Jesse w. smith, the bumper ana
friend" of Attorney General Daugh.
| erty. -.
Finally scaife said he became so
disgustcdf' he quit.
.srhere was an oserpsyrnent OF ss.-
es3 .47B to the Wright Martin Aircraft
corporation. and s2.554.3sS to the
Dayton Wright company" said SCARE.
."I was trying to get an audit oi
the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft cor
poration when | was stopped
Were you ever told that your In
vestigation was. hitting the big fei'
lows and would have to stop? Ash
urst asked.
II was given CASTOR B. Means as
an assistant, and we were the only
investigators, but later We were both
taken off. because We were getting
up among the big crooks
/ scaife drew laugh when he said
/ he had investigated Means. Means
had already testified he investigated
almost everybody in Washington, IN
cluding Secretary Mellon.
scaHe said he assigned Means TO
lloeate .tSree large files of important
| ~ the SnTfIae air.
craft case" which were shipped from
the Pacific coast aircraft base to "a
private address In the east"
Means found the files and got
confession from the man who got the
files" said Scaife.
sent TO Wall Street
THE files wers sent to Dwight ID.
] Davis al es Wall street, New York.
"Why we're they sent to Wall
street."
II don't know: that's one OF the
reasons why ! resigned"
scaife charged that the Standard
Aero and the Standard Aircraft cor
poration were both owned and con
trolled by Mitsui 4 Co..
"Mitsui 4 Co. were Japanese fin
anciers and before tho war were pay.
masters for tho German secret serv'
Ice.
"Our investigators Of the Stand
ard Aircraft corporation showed !,
had collected s2.2s7.ss2 Illegally fron'
the government In settlement OF
their claims. The se.26I,342 was paid
them for depreciation of property
when they didn't own the property.
In addition they collected s37o.49a for
rentals"
| Reasons Sought
There were a hundred thousand
reasons for dropping the prosecution,
but can YOU tell us one of them?"
asked Ashurst.
Before scaife replied. Wheeler i'm
| terjected
Yes there were 100. 200 reasons and
each OF them was n dollar bill"