The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-10
Burned Airmail
Files to Conceal
Graft, Quiz Shows
Continued from Page y

Continued from Page II
recently submitted an N.
R. A. code proposing a minimum wage
of SIS, and 40 cents an hour, with
six days a week on staggered shifts
in open shops.
Their chief witness was Eddie
Rickenbacker, who was presented
with great fanfare about his war
ace exploits and with careful sup
preston Of the fact that he is now
a director of the Aviation Corpora
ton, one Of the big three.
The Roosevelt budget message to
Congress proposes to increase the
Government subsidy to aviation
corporations for airrnail by half
million dollars-from $13, 100000 to
S1A250 900.
James Maher, stenographer who
was attached to the Postmaster Gen
erals Office during HooVer's regime,
told the committee today that he
burned a vast store Of airnal records
at the direction of Kenneth c. Nc
Pherson, Browns personal secretary.
Usually such records are preserved,
but Brown simply selected a few
items which he carried away and
then. said Maher, Il took the files
downstairs to the basement, a stack
at a time, and threw them into the
furnace. 1t was just q, couple of days
before March 4"
Erie Halliburton, Oklahoma oil,
banking, department store and avia-
ton business man wistfully told the
committee the little tragedy of his
own Southwest Passenger Express
Inc, when he bumped into the real
oig-Shots Of aviation and their lieu
tenants in the White House and the
Post Office Department. Halliburton
described himself as an "independ-
ent," although, according to the testi-
mony Of one of Halliburtons Wash
ington representatives he at one time
was, all alone, blocking" passage OF
an aviation bill in Congress.
Halliburton submitted bid to car
ry mail from New York to Los An
geles at 1857 per pound less thar
the rate then being paid, and to carry
mail from Washington to Los Ange-
les for S6.67 less than the then cur
rent rate-but he never received 6
contract. His offer would have
saved the government several million
dollars year. He had been promised
too, both by Postmaster Genera.
Brown and Assistant Postmaster Gen.
eraI Glover that he would receive g
contract if he stopped trying to pre-.
vent Congress from passing the Nc
Nary Watres Bill. So Halliburton die
cease and the bill was enacted. But
then he was informed by his OWL
/ representatives that Brown anC
Glover had decided Halliburton hac
better sell out to the Aviation Cor
poration.
Did Glover tell you, I'll ruin you
You've tried to block this thing (tht
merger) all the way through'?" Sen.
ator Black asked Halliburton.
L had so many conferences I can't
remember in which conference it
came out" Halliburton said. Later
he explained that he had been ad-
vised by w G. Skelly, Republican
National Committeeman of Okla
homa, and one OF Halliburton
stockholders, that he'd better sell out
to TranScontnentaI Air Transport. Il
was then Halliburton sent Skeny the
following telegram, which was read
into the record:
Il do not attend to merge with
or become connected with or as
ISOLATED with 7. A. T. who prostituteo
the names Of Lindberg and Earheart
to the general public and then asked
the taxpayers to pay for such pros
t1tution II you care to sell your
stock to 7. A. T. I have no objec-
ton"
Halliburton reported that Brown
and Glover, by refusing to grant him
the promised contract, did finally
force him to sell out to the Aviation
Corporation. He sold equipment
which he himself valued at from
100000 to 100000 for 81 100000.
Halliburton's merging was but one
part of tremendous series of wal
preparation mergers which resulted
in a complete domination of the do
nestle field by the Aviation Corpora
ton, the United Aircraft and Trans.
port, and the North American Com.
pany, holding companies. These mer
gers were accomplished following {
long conference in the post office de
! partment at a time when witnesse,
testified, smaller operators were viz.
/ tually excluded from airmail con.
tracts under a postal ruling" re
curing night-flying experience which
small companies could not furnish.
Larry King, a lawyer writer-lobby
ist connected with the William Ran
dolph Hearst publications and avia
ton interests and with Halliburton
testified at length about a letter h
had dictated over someone else's sig
nature, describing King as the onl,
person who knew ''how the merger
were put up to the President (Hoo
YeT)," and how some Companies
were forced into mergers" and "hoy
young Hoover was stopped" YounI
Hoover at that time was radio en-
gineer'' Of Western Air Express, which
was merged with North American
Aviation, and was in Washington at
tending various conference. TIT
/ newspapers finally printed hlnt
/ about it. Hoover left town. Kim
explained that the letter he dictated
referred to this. which he didn't thinl
looked right, but he added apol