Evening star., 1947-11-08


by Gen. Meyers for large loan to
buy bonds, or that Hughes COM
pany official said Mr.. Hughes would
lend money to Gen. Meyers.
Timed in Early 1914.
These assertions or denials re-
ferred to time in early 1914 when
Gen. Meyers was repeatedly active
in urging Air Force approval OF a
war plane contract with Mr.. Hughes
Senator Ferguson announced that
the original plan to hear Mr..
Hughes this morning would have
to be changed because Mr.. Slack
requested the subcommittee to call
the following witnesses:
1t. Gen. Barney Giles, former Air
Force chief, Col. Richard Fabian,
AAF representative at the Hughes
plant during the war, John Parkin-
son of the National Advisory Com
mittee on Aviation, ]. B. Alexander,
Glen Odekirk. and John Jerman,
Hughes Co. employees, Col. William
Irvine of the Air Force, and Col.
E. A. Peterman and Edward
Schwartz, who served on the AAF
evaluation board that allowed the
Hughes concern $l,900,000 on a
So, 900 900 claim for development
costs" of model for the photo re-
connaissance plane.
May Make Any Statement.
Subcommittee staff officials said
each of these witnesses would be
given an oppurtunity to make any
statement they wished and might
or might not be questioned there
after.
One Of the high lights of Gen.
Meyers testimony was his ad-
mission that early this year he
tried to borrow $4,000 from Mr..
Hughes. He denied he ever tried
to get money or the promise Of a
postwar job from Mr.. Hughes dur
ing the war.
The request to Mr.. Hughes about
six months ago, Gen. Meyers told
the subcommittee, was in the form
of an Investment" opportunity for
the multi-millionaire manufacturer
and film producer. Gen. Meyers said
he and a friend had planned to go
into a small business in Los Angeles
and asked Mr. Hughes for $50,000
loan for this purpose. Mr.. Hughes
refused the request, he added,
Gen. Meyers also disclosed that
last November, after he had retired
from the Army, he visited Califor-
mia and all his expenses that might
have totaled more than So 900" were
paid by Mr.. Hughes.
But Gen. Meyers denied he re-
ceived gratuities of any kind from
Mr.. Hughes during the war, except
that he and his wife were "gra-
ciously entertained" at dinner by Mr..
Hughes on their visit to California
in April, 1914.
Offered Postwar Job.
Earlier yesterday Gen. Meyers
testified Mr.. Hughes offered him
postwar position in April, 1914 and
told him he could write his own
ticket" as to salary. O
A far different version of the re-
ported job offer was read to the sub
committee from a transcript of tes-
timony given in executive session
last month by Neil Mccarthy, a for
mer Hughes company vice president.
Gen. Meyers described the Mccarthy
testimony as "the most distorted
thing I ever heard in my life"
- zK1To rthu AEr
Hughes told him in 1914 that he and
Gen. Meyers had discussed postwar
employment" and that Gen. Meyers
wanted down payment then
Mr.. Mccarthy said he advised Mr..
Hughes and later told Gen. Meyers
in Washington that the Hughes
company believed it would be
wrong" to pay Gen. Meyers any
money while he was in the Army
and while the company was doing
business with the Government.
II am not positive but my recol-
lection is that the amount he de-
sired was $50,000," Mr.. Mccarthy
stated. Gen. Meyers didn't seem
to think there was anything wrong
with it. I told him thought other
wise and that some time after the
war somebody might look into it
and perhaps distort it to make it
look wrong"
Gen. Meyers, according to the
Mccarthy testimony, later asked for
a $4,000 loan so he could buy Lib
erty bonds" and was quite upset
that Mr.. Hughes wouldn't do it."
Ludicrous," Says Meyers"
After the Mccarthy testimony
was read. Gen. Meyers returned to
the stand to say: 1T is ludicrous.
absolutely ridiculous, to think that
I in any way, shape or FORM. tried
to solicit one nickel or dime from
Mr.. Hughes"
Gen. Meyers added that he
might have mentioned" his intend
ed bond transaction to Mr.. Nc
Carthy but that it was "just con-
versation" and that he made no
request for Hughes funds. Mr.. Nc
Carthy, on the contrary, "reiterat-
ed" the Hughes offer of a postwar
job, he declared.
Before the job offer question came
up at the hearing, Gen Meyers testi-
fed that President Roosevelt, Jesse
Jones and Harry Hopkins were in
terested in giving a photo reconnais-
sance plane contract to Howard
Hughes. He said Mr.. Hopkins had
said it was an outrage" that the
Air Force had not developed such a
plane and had asked him If he had
ever heard Of the Hughes project.
1T was obvious from the tenor of
the conversation" he said, that Mr.