Evening star., 1934-03-16
''Lindy'' Welcomed Warmly
By Senators at Hearing
Noted Flyer Looks Scarcely Day
Older Than When He Came Here
Following Hop to Paris.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY U. GOULD LlNCULN.
A very young Daniel came to judg.
ment in Washington today. Col
Charles A. Iindbergh told the Sen.
ate Committee on Post Offices ant
Post Roads, which is considering per.
manent airmail legislation, that HI
considered the cancellation Of al
the airmail contracts by the admin.
istration, without first giving the
company an opportunity to be heard
as an un-American act.
Nothing said by members Of the
Senate committee was able to dis
lodge Col. Lindbergh from this posi-
ton.
The committee sought his advice
on the McKellar- Black bill and Col
Lindbergh, Americas leading airman
gave his views with an engaging
frankness that seemed to win prac-
tically all the members of the COM
mittee to him.
Given Warm Greeting.
He came into the committee room
unaccompanied by an array Of legal
talent, wearing boyish and rather
diff1dent smile. The huge crowd
which filled the caucus room in the
Senate Office Building burst into i'm
mediate applause when he came into
the room. Col. Lindbergh was warmly
welcomed by Senator McKellar OF
Tennessee, chairman of the commit
tee, and the other Senators. Together
they were the target of scores Of pho
tographers for several minutes, and
then the tall colonel seated himself
in the witness chair. curling himself
into kind of ball, and proceeded
without notes or any prepared state
ment, to give his views on the pro-
posed legislation and on the technical
side Of aviation.
Looking scarcely a day older than
when he came to Washington soon
after his eventful solo flight from
New York to Paris years ago, Col
Lindbergh listened with difference to
the questions propounded him by the
Senators and replied with great
frankness. He declined, however, to
be drawn into a discussion on their
merits Of the airmail contracts which
were cancelled, saying that he had
nothing to do with obtaining OF
framing these contracts and had nc
knowledge Of them.
Unmoved in Belief.
His text so far as the cancellation
OF the contracts was concerned was
that the Government had no mora
right to annul these contracts without
giving the companies a hearing ano
to that he stuck unwaveringly.
Lindbergh has way Of looking di.
rectly at his questioners. leaning for.
ward with a smile on his face with
great intentness.
One clause in the pending bill Il
which Col. Lindbergh directed the at
tention Of the committee was thai
provision which says mo person shal
be eligible to bid for or hold an air.
mail contract If it or its predecessor
Is asserting or has any claims against
the United States because of a priol
annulment Of any contract by the
Postmaster General"
That leaves untouched the funda-
mental question" said Col. Lindbergh
That question, he insisted. was
whether the contractors should be
considered guilty before they are tried
Hypothetical Question.
Senator OMahoney sought to draw
Col. Lindbergh several times into a
dic1tIScfnro oF tho oir &c
their merits. At one point the Wy
oming Senator, who was formerly As
slstant Postmaster General. asked
whether Col Lindbergh thought that
a contract by his company should
be considered valid if that company
had paid 81, 100000 to prevent COM
petitor from bidding. To this Col
Lindbergh replied that he knew moth
ing about the alleged act on the
part of his company and that it was
hypothetical question since it had
never been proven so far as he knew
Col. Lindbergh told the committee in
reply to questions that he received
$4,000 year salary as technical ad-
wiser Of the Pan-American Co. and
$4,000 as technical adviser Of the
Transcontinental Western Airways. He
added with a smile that he had re-
ceived a salary monthly from the
Transcontinenta1 company ''up until
the first of the month";" and he added
that he did not know what had be-
come of it since that time.
America Was Once Leader.
Lindbergh declared that America
led the world in the development OF
commercial aviation. He made this
statement unqualifiedly, saying Amer
lean commercial aviation Is by far
the leading service in the world
or was" The last part of his state
ment had to do with the situation
which has arisen since the cancel
lation of the airmail contracts by
the Government. He said that COM
mercial aviation was very definitely
ahead in the United States.
Senator Barbour Of New Jersey,
who was questioning the colonel at
the time, asked whether Col. Lind