The Wilmington morning star., 1947-08-10
Hughes S nate Inquiry
Will Be Resumed Monday

the audience which Ferguson sew,
eral times before today has thrat-
tned to throw cut.
Before the committee quit for
the Gay - the hearing goes on
again Monday Hughes testified:
I. He certainly knows Of no
fraud or corruption" on anyone's
part in obtaining the contract for
the 200-ton flying boat.
2. Hatred" of army officers
prevented his getting orders for
other planes before the war. The
Army wouldn't touch planes he de-
signed with a 10-foot pole"
3. II appeared more than a CO.
incidence" that the Lockheed com
pany designed a twin-engiae in
terceptor plane, which became the
famous P-38 Lightning, after the
army compelled him to sit four
months on a similar design and
Lockheed hired engineers he had
to lay off.
4. The army turned down a pre-
air plane, with which he set new
world and cross-country speed rec-
ords, because Of its cantilever con-
struction-a type Hughes said is
used now in all planes. 1t took
the army and navy eight years,
he said, to equal MS planes per-
formance. but the japanese pat
termed their renowned Zero aft
er it.
5. The big cargo boat has been
structurally complete for months.
What is holding up the test is the
trouble with controls. Hughes said
the plane has passed the sic
where the controls ear be operat-
ed by manpower alone.
E.. The ship will not be tenor
mously Efficient or set any new
speed records.
Z. No one ever mas ''shown ne
any proof that the late President
Roosevelt "acted insincerely'' in
over-ruling underlings and order
ing completion of the plane.
As Hughes went through those
points and others, there was no
sign Of the missing, party-throW-
ing Meyer.
Ferguson said his subpoena
servers had failed to locate Mey-
er. Hughes refused yesterday to
try to hunt him up, telling Sergu-
son the chairman should have
asked all his questions when he
had Meyer on the stand before.
The chairman told reporters the
committee has been in touch with
former Col. Jams G. Hall, who
former oil. James G. Hall, who
followed Elliott Roosevelt to a po-
sition of authority in army photo
graphic Nuisance work.
The committee has expense ac-
counts of Meyer purporting to
show heavy entertainment of Hall
at hotels and night spots on both
coasts.
Serguson said Hall has been in
South America. The committee
wants to question him, he said,
as "a material witness"
With Hughes on the stand, Fer
guson inquired about officia Ire
ports of government officials that
engineers assigned to the flying
boat were working some of the
time or other Hughes projects.
Hughes said if that vas the
case, it was unintentional. He said
his company went to a lot of
trouble and expense to '%isolate"
the cargo plane project SO that
nothing would be charged to it in
correctly.
Hughes said that in addition to
his flying boat at least 81 planes
of different types were ordered by
the government before and during
the war and never VIZ complt-
d in time for the war.
Some he said havebeea finished
since and will be sold for com
mercial flying. And, he said, the
government paid for the cost of
developing them.
Il have researched all the other
large planes designed and built in
the last seven years." Hughes
said. "And 1 have discovered that
this flying boat will cost the gov
eminent less per pound, and has
taken less time per pound to COM