Evening star., 1947-11-07
Roosevelt Led
HughesBacking,
Inquiry Is Told
Plane Maker Himself
Arrives to Appear
Before Committee
By the Associated Press

A former Air Force general
testified today that in 1943 Presi-
dent Roosevelt, Jesse Jones and
other powerful friends" of How
ard Hughes were interested in a
wartime contract for Mr.. Hughes.
Bennett E. Meyers, retired major
general, gave this testimony before
a Senate War Investigating Sub
committee as he identified re-
corded telephone conversation of
October 81, 1943, with Robert
Lovett.
AS sthe inquiry went ahead, Mr..
Hughes himself was getting some
rest at a downtown hotel after an
all-night flight from his California
home. The millionaire plane builder
may take the stand later in the
day.
Mr.. Lovett, who was an Assistant
Secretary of War in 1943, now is
Undersecretary of State. Mr.. Hughes
at the time held a contract to build
a huge flying boat and was atempt-
ing to get a contract to build 100
Gid photo reconnaissance planes.
Phone Talk Repeated.
Gen. Meyers, then deputy chief
in aircraft procurement, read this
telephone conversation into the
committee record:
Lovett-Because this is one of
those borderline cases that can be
embarrassing if we get into, for ex-
ample he has got very powerful
friends here in Washington.
"Meyers-Yes, sir, Jesse Jones and
the President and every one else
seems to be in it,
Chairman Ferguson broke in on
Gen. Meyers and asked him to re-
read this again. Gen. Meyers did.
Had you known that Jesse Jones
was in this matter?" Sen. Ferguson
asked.
"Just by hearsay," Gen. Meyers
replied.
Jesse Jones, who was chairman of
the Reconstruction Finance Corp,
has figured in previous testimony in
connection with the Hughes con-
tracts.
Felt Uneasy i'm 1943.
The same telephone conversation
Gen. Meyers read indicated he had
told Mr.. Lovett that the flying boat
contract had been cancelled, but
that he was in error on that point.
The retired general told Sen.
Ferguson that Mr.. Hughes at the
time had told him the flying boat
contract had been cancelled, but
that that was wrong.
Gen. Meyers said earlier that in
1943 he felt the huge war plane
contract for Mr.. Hughes "had an
odor" and he warned then that it
might draw congressional criti-
cfsm'
Gen. Meyers testified that on Oc-
tober 9, 1943, he told Gen. H. H.
Arnold, then head of the air forces,
that:
l. The Hughes aircraft company
was not qualified to build photo re-
connaissance planes.
2. The contract for 100 of these
planes might at later date draw
congressional criticism"
"You were quite sure the contract
had an odor?" asked Senator Fer
guson.
Gen. Meyers replied: IT was quite
sure it had an odor."
Order to Sign Described.
Albert j. Browning, a former
wartime procurement officer, previ-
ously had said that top-level off,
cials directed him to sign $70,-
274,666 contract with Hughes for
the Fills.
Mr.. Browning, former brigadier
general now vice president of the
Ford Motor Co., said Robert P. Pat
-terson, then Undersecretary of War
and later head of the department
directed him to sign after he had
delayed action from April %, 1914
to August l of that year.
He said Gen. Meyers was very
insistent" that the Hughes company
get the plane contract.
The contract was for 100 photo
(See HUGHES, Page A-5D