Evening star., 1936-02-16
Probe
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tee, conducting the probe, said that
Mounts separation from the service
came over his protest. At the request
Of Senator Clark, Copeland read into
the record telegram which he sent
to Secretary Of Commerce Roper on
September % from his home in Suf-
fern, N. Y.
Copeland's Telegram.
"If J. A. Mount is being dismissed
from department. either directly or
before U.s." Copeland's telegram said,
~ most urgently protest in name Of
Senate committee investigating avia-
ton. I am amazed that any bureau
chief would attempt interference with
work OF our committee by so crude an
effort to dispose of an important wit
ness. I assure you we cannot excuse
what seems to us an outrage. II bu-
reau is unwilling to let the truth be
known there could be no better way
to demonstrate it,"
Later, Mount was asked If he at
tached any connection with his ap-
pearance before the Senate investi-
eating committee last August to his
forced resignation.
1T seems to have had some connec-
tion." Mount replied
Martin and other Bureau of Air
Commerce officials present were given
no opportunity to reply TO Mounts
charges.
It was developed by his own testi-
mony, however, that on April 4, 1884.
he was suspended from duty on
charges which were not made public.
This was a month prior to the crash
in which Senator Cutting was killed
and an even longer time before the
creation of the Copeland committee.
Mount said that the Department Of
Commerce failed to sustain the
charges against him and ordered his
reinstatement. On May 1. five days
before the Cutting crash, Eugene L.
Vidal. director of air commerce, or
dered his reinstatement, Mount ad-
mitted. He said that Martin, who in
the meantime had appointed new
superintendent of maintenance, re-
fused to recognize the reinstatement
order, and he did not get his job back
and did not receive pay.
Notice Of Demotion.
On July !, Mount admitted under
questioning, he received notice from
the departmental appointment division
that he had been denoted $500 year
and assigned to duty as an airways
engineer. He said he was sent to Way-
cross, Ca, but that there were no
duties assigned to him.
1t was not until August 10 that he
testified here before the Senate COM
mittee. He did SO, Copeland stated, at
the request Of the committee. Cope
land asked whether he had been PROM
ised immunity from punishment by the
bureau by members of the committee
before he testified. Mount said he did
not remember.
Mount said that after appearing be-
fore the committee, he returned to
Waycross and about the middle Of Sep
tember received word that Assistant
Secretary of Commerce John M. john
son had demanded his separation from
the service and that Vidal and Martin
had concurred, but had told him that
he would be permitted to return to
Washingtond and resign. This he did.
Oficials of the bureau indicated
informally after the hearing that
Mounts resignation was the direct re-
suit of developments growing out Of
the charges made against him last
April and had not the slightest con-
nection with the Cutting crash or
with Mounts appearance before the
committee.
Mount, in q long statement, said
blame for the Cutting crash rests on
Bureau of Air Commerce executives
who failed to check the efficiency Of
aids to air navigation" He claimed
that the Department Of Commerce
radio beacon at Kirksville, Mo-, near
the scene Of the crash, had functioned
improperly for months before the
crash and that at the time Of the
crash its effective range was less than
S miles. The beacon light ct Kirks-
vile intermediate field was dim and
the radio beacon at Kansas City
showed an improper course, Mount
contended. To the combination of
these factors he blamed the crash.
Air Officials Refused Floor.
Although air commerce officials rose
to their feet several times in an at
tempt to put questions to witnesses or
to reply to charges, they were denied
the opportunity.
bureau had been Improperly man
aged" and intimated that II given an
opportunity he could, without expen-
diture Of additional funds, increase
the efficiency Of the air navigation
aids Of the Department Of Commerce
from S. per cent, which now is the
level, to 90 per cent. within two
months or 90 days" *
Mount told the committee that
when he became superintendent OF
maintenance on July 1, 1888, he made
an inspection trip and found unused
airways beacons, radio and other
equipment scattered all over the corr1-
try. He said that while official ac-
counts here showed only $500, 900
worth Of surplus equipment in stock.
he found "$l5,000,000 worth lying
around"
During the months Of preliminary
investigation by the Senate commit
tee and its special advisers, headed
by Harold T.. Hartney, and during the
,ost xr,aek ~ heayfnec the iY1nalFv has