The Wilmington morning star., 1946-05-06
Fair Enough
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1916, by King Features
Syndicate. Inc.)

velt's activities and associations, in addition to
his defaulted loans, which would be thorough
ly investigated by appropriate committees OF
| Congress if the Democrats were not in control
and determined to suppress all information
which would tend to discredit the character
with which the party has endowed his late
father. Practical politicians on both sides rec
ognize that this character is one Of the great
est assets of the Democratic party and the
Republicans therefore are as eager to dis
credit it as the Democrats are to preserve 1t.
Whether the Republicans, in a similar posi-
ton, would act otherwise we do not know. Mr..
Coolidge did not try to protect the Harding ad-
ministration, but it would be naive to expect
that the Democrats would give him credit
for virtuous motives. Such is the cynicism Of
the game Of politics that Republicans might
not attribute such motives to him.
Certain operations Of Howard Hughes, the
rich Houston, Tex, and Hollywood manufac-
turer, motion picture producer and aviation
magnate, would come under scrutiny were
the Republicans returned to power il Con-
gress.
Hughes and Elliott Roosevelt are intimate
friends. Hughes is also a friend and might be
called a protege of Jesse Jones, of Houston,
the former Secretary of Commerce. The Jones'
es have known him since his childhood and re-
gard him highly.
In 1913, the reconstruction finance corpora
ton put up $18, 900, 900 to enable Hughes and
Henry Kaiser to build three enormou wood
and plastic cargo planes, more than twice the
size of the B-29 ana capable of carrying $50
persons. Construction began at Culver City,
Cal, but Kaiser withdrew when it developed
that the $18, 900, 900 would not produce even
one of these ships. Jones, as head OF the r. F.
c., told Hughes he himself would have to pay
any excess cost and Hughes carried on. The
ship has not been completed, however, and it
may never fly. The experience may be worth
something to aeronautical science, but there
is, of course no standard by which to ap-
praise the value of such information.
| The Army Air Forces had become interest
ed in another Hughes plane in 1899. General H.
H. Arnold states that it seemed suitable for
military use and that the design was highly
interesting because duramold contraction was
to be used and the snip presented the promise
Of Improvement in the aerodynarnic and struc-
tural arts. Aluminium was scarce and General
Arnold thought it might be possible to get
quantity production in spite of the shortage.
On July 8, 1912, President Roosevelt person
ally inquired about this ship which General
Arnold describes as suitable for high-speed,
llong-range, high-altituGe service. The next
year, the Germans were knocking down many
American photo-~reconnaisance pilots In P
38's.
I'VE needed something that would do the
lob and outrun the German fighters" General
Arnold wrote. The British mosquito had prov
ed itself but we were unable to get mosquitoes
in sufficient quantities. The Hughes airplane
was the only one already designed which ap-
peared entirely suitable and which could be
produced in time to do any good"
On Sept. 8, 1943, General Arnold verbally"
directed that 100 of these ships be bought from
Hughes. The aluminium shortage had passed
and the wooden construction had been aban-
doned in favor of metal.
The contract with Hughes was terminated
last September without the delivery OF a sim
gle ship. The Army still expects to take two,
however, for experiments. The 100 ships were
to have cost $48, DOC, 900 plus a maximum fee
of 4 per cent. Thus abort sec, 900, 900 Of public
money was committed to Hughes projects
which produced nothing
Elliott Roosevelt returned from Europe in
the autumn of 1943 and served TOR a period at
the War Department as chief OF the reconnals-
ance branch. He was head man and it was
during this time that General Arnold gave
his verbal order for the 10 Hughes planes. For
a number OF reasons, technical and industrial,
Maj. Zen o. P. Echols had opposed the adop-
ton of this plane to the e2d, but was over
ruled.
Setting forth his position, General Arnold
wrote that money was never a first considera-
ton when American lives and American VIC
tory were at stake
J. leL COIllIdClS " any t11AlS WAASA oASASO
a probability of speeding victory. I would be
the last to claim that this process was econom-
ical in dollars. In fact, I have never claim
| ed that war is economical"
When Elliott Roosevelt, then a colonel in
the Army Air Corps, returned from England
on Nov. IS. 1914, the Associated Press story
said that John E. Meyers, public relations
Representative for Howard Hughes was his
Ihost in New York where Elliott in those days
generally stopped. a: the Waldorf on his visits
to town. Hughes also goes to the Waldorf and
maintains an apartment there.
HE Elliott) was a guest OF Mr.. Myers at a
party at the sGl Morocco night club last night
the A. P. said. "Mr. Meyer said Col. Roose-
welt would 60 to Washington late today"
Less than a month later, on Dec. 8, when
Elliott married Miss Faye Emerson at Grand
Canyon National Parl-, Ariz., the press &C
counts said Meyer again was at his side to
give the bride away and that Jack Frye, the
president of TWA, the big airline, was best
man. Howard Hughe3 owns the controlling in
terest in TWA.
Last December, Pan-American Always, gen
orally regarded as the pioneer in trans-Atlan-
tic navigation, petitioned the Civil Aeronautics
Board to modify routes which had been allot-
ted to itself, TWA and American Airlines.
Pan-Anerican's petition said the routes as
signed would give TWA and American a mo-
nopoly of Americ an-flag air service to Italy and
the Soviet Union and to most OF France and
Germany.
.~u. ..1- ~. hoard IN rec0nsider whether