Evening star., 1934-02-20
HOOVER ORDERED
A|RMA|L INQUIRY,
BLACK INDICATES
Senator Tries to Show For
mer President Acted on
1890 Contract.
BROWN OUT OF CAPITAL
AT TIME, HE DECLARES
Chairman Says White House
Acted "a Hours After Bid
Was Made.
By the Associated Press.

" the Associated Press.
Senate airmail investigators at
tempted to show today that former
President Hoover ordered a Justice
Department investigation of the bid
by the Avigation Co. in August,
1890, for a middle transcontinental air
route
Chairman Black Of the Investigating
Committee produced records purport-
Ing to show the White House ordered
the inquiry within "a hours after the
bid was submitted. Former Postmas-
ter General Brown, on the stand, said
he was thousands of miles away" at
the time and knew nothing about it.
The route later was awarded to the
Transcontinental & Western Air.
Brown said he was back in Washing
ton before the award was made.
Was in Halifax, He Says.
Black asked Brown II three hours
after the bids were opened. William
p. MacCracken, then Assistant Sec
Fetary of Commerce for Aeronautics,
and three others went to the Post Of
ice Department and submitted objec-
tion to the aviation company's bid.
IT was in Halifax that day." Brown
said.
Brown previously had been ques-
toned by Chairman Black regarding
award Of contract to Transcon-
tinental & Western Air in January
1881, for carrying the mail between
Newark, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,
although Pittsburgh Airways had been
flying a daily schedule in excess of
the required $50 miles over the same
route.
II looked into the operations of the
Pittsburgh Airway and found their
schedules very Irregular" Brown said
who said they were not flying a
regular daily schedule?" Black asked.
Il think somebody with T. w. A."
Brown replied.
Doesn't Know Reason.
why was the bid Of the aviation
company sent to the Attorney Gen
erals Office on orders of the White
House within "a hours after it was
submitted?" Black asked, in oues-
tioning about the middle route bid.
Il don't know" Brown said.
Black asked if MacCracken and
three others didn't submit objections
to the Post Office Department against
the Avigation bid.
Brown said he did not know.
Black said, however, that the con-
troller general had adopted in the
main Browns objections to the bid.
Did you talk with the White House
about this bid?" Black asked.
"Yes. when I came back, I talked
with the President about it."
THE President wanted me to look
Into it very carefully and make the
decision myself"
Did you discuss it with Herbert
Hoover, jr.?"
No; when I got back, I found his
letter stating he had resigned as radio
engineer for Western Air Express"
Letter Urged Action.
A photostatic copy of letter ad-
dressed to w. Irving Glover, former
Second Assistant Postmaster General,
and dated August 26, 1880, said that
Arch Coleman, then First Assistant
Postmaster General, had wanted the
bids, already opened, to be sent to
the Attorney General. The letter, un-
signed, was identified as being from
Chase Cove, an assistant to Glover.
II asked him." (Coleman) the let
ter said, "if he would mind stating
by whose direction it was being done,
as I happened to know you had been
in touch with the White House and
the Postmaster General. He stated
he had just come from the White
House and this was being done at
the direction of some one at the
White House. I asked Mr.. Coleman
If he desired to prepare a letter or
anything Of that sort and he stated
he would handle it.
Delivered Bids, He Says.
"This morning, I delivered the bids
10 him, together with copies of the
several bills, advertisements. etc, and
later in the forenoon he called me
over and returned all of the papers
except copies of the bills and the bid
Continued on Page 5, Column l)
q mn HET IN DOT DAICE