Imperial Valley press., 1934-02-13
CRITICISM BY
WHITE HOUSE
DRAWS FIRE
Roosevelt Asked To Correct
Amazing Injustice Directed
At Lindbergh.
CONTROVERSY GETS WARM
Nevada Senator Asks Investi-
CATION Of Stock Gift Made To
Flyer By Airline.

WASHINGTON, F'ep Is. lU.f)-
Dudley Field Malone, New York at
torney, today called upon President
Roosevelt to rectify the amazing
Injustice which he said was done
to Col. Charles A. Lindbergh by
White House criticism of the fly
er's air mail telegram to the Pres
ident.
Malone referred to a statement
dssueH yesterday by Secretary
Stephen Early, who said Lind
bergh IS telegram protesting cancel
lation of air mail contracts appear
ed to have been sent for publicity
purposes, as evidenced by the fact
that it was made public before it
was received at the White House.
Senator McCarran Dem) Neva-
da, urged a senate investigation of
a gift of $25O,0OO worth of stock to
Lindbergh by an airline with
which he is connected.
Malone telegraphed the Presi-
dent:
81 am sure that you, after
thought, in common with your fell
low citizens, must have been pro-
foundly shocked at the statement
that was given to the press from
the White House in connection with
the air mail contractS-which ques-
toned the high personal motives of
Colonel Lindbergh.
cit may we'll be that Colonel
Lindbergh, unsophisticated in po-
litical ways, did not make sure that
you had received his message before
he gave it TO the press. But in his
undoubted enthusiasm for the cause
of aviation, he was, in addressing
you, merely exercising the right of
any citizen in democracy directly
to petition the leader of his coun-
try. ......
s'I know nothing about the mer-
its of the fundamental issues in
volved in the discussion of these air
mail contracts. But / do know that
there is no man who can success
fully question the diSintereSted mo-
tives and services of Colonel Lind
bergh toward the prestige of the
United States in aviation.'
WASHINGTON, Feb. l3. U.P)-
Supporters arose today in defense
OF both President Roosevelt and
Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, on OPP
posite sides in the fight over cam
collation. of private airmail con-
tracts, as preparations proceeded
for the army to take over flying
the mail next Monday.
Mr. Roosevelt ignored Lind
bergh S protest against cancellation
of the contracts after Stephen
Early, White House secretary, caus-
tically characterized it as obviously
sent for publicity purposes.
A storm of controversy over the
matter gathered quickly.
81 for one,' said Senator VAN
oenburg (Rep) Michigan. "decline
at this late date to reject Colonel
Lindbergh as the premier aviation
counsellor Of the nation.
cit is regrettable, declared
Senator Nye (Rep) North Dakota,
"that two great national idols, the
President and Lindbergh, should be
brought into public conflict by
such a dirty mess as the aviation
situation, but Lindberghs protest
is weakened by his connection
with the aviation companies and
the big fees he received from
them"
Senator Norris tRep0 Nebraska,
said the airlines which lost con-
tracts were trying to use Lind
bergh S influence with the public
to suit their own ends.
cat last he said, "Lindbergh
is earning the $250,OOO stock fee
and other fees which he received
from the aviation industry for use
of his name.o
Postmaster General Farley said
IA main mail routes, covering
1l,l06 miles of the existing 27,029
miles, would constitute the nucleus
of the army'S emergency mail Sys-
tenn. and that it was hoped to put
service in effect on 10 other routes
at the same time or soon there
after.
1t was indicated that administra-
tive and congressional leaders were
studying the permanent abolition of
the air and ocean mail subsidy
system and substituting contract
plan under which the government
would pay private airline operators
their actual cost of carrying the
mail plus a reasonable profit. 1t
was emphasized that such plans are
purely in the formation stage, and
the lnterdepartmental aviation COM
mittee declined to make recon-
mendations, regarding the present
situation as purely an adminiStra-
tive problem.