Evening star., 1934-05-07
F0UL0|S BLAMED
|NA|RPLANE CASE
Subcommittee of House
ProberS Praises Wood.
ring in Report.
BY the Associated Press.

! BY the Associated Press.
A subcommittee of HOUSE inVesti-
gators reported unanimously today
that Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois,
| chief of the Army Air Corps. acted
in clear violation of existing law"
in the proposed purchase Of airplanes
costing $7.5O0,OCO.
! Coupled with the criticism of Foulois
was a commendation of Harry H.
Woodring. Assistant Secretary of War
No recommendation was made IN
this first formal report on the COM
mittee's inquiry into War Department
expenditures since 1926. Future rec
concentrations were promised, however.
/ The eight members who agreed to
tell the House that Foulois had vio-
lated the law were Chairman Rogers
of the aviation subcommittee and Rep
resentatives Hill, Democrat. of Ala
bama; Montet, Democrat, of Louisl-
ana: Harter, Democrat. of Ohio;
James Republican, of Michigan: Goss,
Republican, of Connecticut: Plumley,
Republican. OF Vermont. and Kvale,
Farmer-Labor. of Minnesota
The report recalled that late in
1888 the P w. A. set aside $500 900
for the purchase of Army airplanes.
1t asserted that Foulois had decided
to buy the planes. without competition.
from the Northrup Corporation. the
Boeing Airplane Co. and the Glenn L.
Martin Co.
Woodrings Plan Adopted.
On Woodrings insistence, the plan
for direct purchases was dropped and
specifications drawn on which COM
petltive bids were asked. Pointing to
these specifications, the committee
said:
we desire again to emphasize the
fact that Assistant Secretary Wood
ring insisted on full competition in
this matter, but the actions of the
chief of the Air Corps resulted in a
violation of the law so that the judge
advocate general of the Army in a
memorandum to the Assistant Secre-
tary of War dated March 5. 1884,
held that in his opinion the invita-
tions for the bids under consideration
did not afford a proper basis tor COM
petition as required by law
The judge advocate generals objec-
ton was that bidders could not deter
mine how much weight would be
given to price, speed or any other
factors in the selection.
Quotes McCarrs Report.
The committee quoted at length
from an advisory report by j. P. Nc
Carl, controller general, crltlcizlng
the specifications because they made
it possible to purchase only planes of
a type previously tested by the Army
or Navy. That stipulation. he said,
might prevent rapid aviation develop
ment and could have been inserted
only for the purpose of seeing that
the planes were purchased from GER
tain concerns.
Your subcommittee finds unani-
mouSly," said the report, that every
action taken in connection with this
S7,50O,0OO allotment by Assistant Sec
retary of War Woodring was deemed
by him required and full justified,
while the actions of the chief of the
Air Corps, Maj. Gen. Benjamin D.
Foulois, are in our opinion and in the
| opinions of the judge advocate gen.
| eral of the Army and the controller
! general of the United States in clear
violation of existing law"
The report was submitted directly
to the House without being consid-
cred by the full committee. 1t was
said that neither the House nor the
| full committee would be expected to
act on this partial report.