Evening star., 1925-10-12
MILLIONS WASTED,
A|RPROGRAM WEAK,
MADDEN CHARGES
Army and Navy Have Accom-
pIished Nothing at Excess
sive Cost, Probers Told.
TIME TO DIVORCE CORPS
AT HAND, HE DECLARES
Suggest $s7 100000 Budget With
Specific Instructions on Build
ing Up Service.

The Army and Navy were charged
today by Chairman Madden of th.
House appropriations committee with
squandering millions OF dollars 'in 4
purposeless, meaningless, endless eX-
perimental orgy" in technical aircraf,
development.
Testifying before the President :
Air Board which resumed hearing
after a recess OF several days. MI.
Madden declared technical develop
ment of aviation could no longer uc
safely left" to the two military Serv
ices ii the United States was to take
its place among the countries OF the
world i'll the air.
If credit is TO be given witnesses
who have preceded me, he asserted.
the experimental and development
work conducted by the Army and
Navy since the wal has been produC-
tive OF very little, If any, advance
toward plan which might be &C
cepted by Congress.
You have been told by men who
should know that, with few eAcep-
tions, no real steps have been made.
he said.
Cites Patrick Statement.
Citing testimony 10y Maj. Gen. Ma
son NJ. Patrick, chief of the Army All
Service, that 2G2 pursuit planes puf-
chased by the Army had been found
deficient III vision requirements, MI.
Madden said he had heard somethin-
OF a charge oil criminal negligence
but that borders on criminal waste.
Think of buying 90 pursuit planes
that a pilot has difficulty IN seeing Ouj
OF. he exclaimed.
Failure of the Army and Navy to
spend their money 'intelligently' IL
the Air Service, he declared, is nOI
unique, as similar eXtravagant ge,
nowhere programs are being carrieJ
on in tank development. artillery de
velopment, chemical warfare and am
munition development"
Mr.. Madden submitted plan for
promoting Army and Navy aviation.
at cost of $S7 500 900, which, among
other things, would provide for dis
continuance OF all aeronautical engi
neerinS and design work by the two
military services, with the abolition OF
the naval aircraft factory at Phiia
delphla and the Army engineering
aircraft division. He would place all
designing and construction of planes
in the hands of private manufac
turers, with the responsibility for per
formance under design, and with the
military services furnishing only the
specifications desired.
Tells Merit of Plans.
PredlcatnS his recommendation
upon present expenditure of $4,000
900 year for Army and Navy avia-
ton, he said that working backward
from this sum, in other words, trying
to determine just how much aviation
OF a military character might be in
dulged in for this expenditure, l suS-
gest the following:
Fifteen hundred new airplanes OF
various designs at $4,000 each could
be purchased annually, amounting in
the aggregate to $50 900, 900.
Ten ground service men for each
airplane, which is more than ample
to properly care for the airplanes. a
$1,500 each per enlisted man, which
l think would be a fair average to
cover his Army pay, his clothing. sub
Sistence, etc, would cost $22, 500 900.
Fifteen hundred officers, or one OF
ficer for each ten enlisted men, OF
one officer for each of the 1900 air,
planes, would cost approximately
s7,500,000.
IF these airplanes are each flown
300 hours a year, that would be an
approximate total mileage flown OF
45,00O,000, many times the mileage of
these past years: a liberal estimate
Of the cost of maintaining them and
their power plants could not exceed
so cents per mile. the labor having
been provided for in the enlisted man
estimate above; or total of
$22,500,000.
S5,00O,0OO for Fields.
Five million dollars would be a
liberal estimate for the maintenance
of all the flying fields necessary as
bases of operation for these 1900 air
planes.
"a total of ss7 100000. as against
$S6,000,000 now being expended, for
which we have received nothing"
After the first year, under such a
program, Mr.. Madden believed $75,-
aviation work.
Affirming his belief in the "poten-
tialities of aircraft, both in war and
in peace" Mr.. Madden declared that
in his opinion I'VE are barely past
ment.'
If reports reaching him were true,
he said, the charge has been made
here that military aviation has been
retarded because Congress has not
voted adequate appropriations" AS
chairman Of the appropriations COM
mittee he would mot let that charge
go unchallenged."
Reviewing appropriations for avia-
ton, both during and since the war,
Continued on Page 2, Column 81