Evening star., 1947-07-28
John W. Meyer,
HughesAide,to
Testify Thursday
Ex-WPB Official Tells
Senators of Kuiser's
'Funtustic' PIune Idea
picture on Page A-3.)

Counsel for the Senate War
Committee received
word today that John w. Meyer,
globe -trotting public relations
man for Howard Hughes, will be
on hand Thursday when he is
to be called in the committees
inquiry into the building of a
huge cargo flying boat for the
war effort.
Chairman Ferguson of the SUBJ
committee making the inquiry had
asked the State Department Satur-
day to cooperate in finding Mr..
Meyer, and learned that he had
passports to visit many parts of the
world.
AS the hearing opened today.
Merrill G. Meigs, former head Of
the aircraft division of the War
Production Board and first witness,
testified that Henry J. Kaiser's plan
for the airplane was completely
fantastic" and impractical The
plane, proposed as the means Of
outwitting German submarines in
the war, has been built, but has
not been flown.
Mr.. Meiggs said the plane was
authorized after his division had op-
posed it.
Had Testified on Expense Accounts.
At a closed preliminary inquiry
June 3, Mr.. Meyer laid before the
subcommittee various purported ex-
pense accounts of parties at which
he said high Government officials
were entertained.
Assurance that he would testify
reached Chairman Ferguson as the
curtain went up on the much-pub-
licized investigation into how con-
tracts were awarded to Mr.. Hughes
and Henry j. Kaiser, for SAC, ,000, 900
worth of planes, including the huge
flying boat and new type of photo
reconnaissance craft. The word came
through Francis Flanagan, of COM
mittee counsel.
The opening session did not live
up to advance billing for glamour.
The issuance of subpoenas for Hol-
lywood beauties gave his to reams
Of preliminary copy, in which 1t
was hinted the subcommittee would
inquire into parties attended by
many prominent personages.
Instead, the inquiry began with
a cold, methodical search by Sena-
tor Ferguson for full details on Mr..
Kaisers efforts to interest Wash.
ington in his flying-boat idea short
ly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Offered to Eat" Kaiser Planes.
Mr.. Meigs Is reported to have
kept a diary which he is said to
have consulted at earlier, secret
hearings. He is reported to have
said aircraft experts offered to
undertake to eat" all planes pro-
duced by Mr.. Kaiser.
Mr.. Meigs testified today that
Mr.. Kaiser, builder of wartime
surface vessels, had sold" the
public and some members of Con-
gress on his flying boat theories
for beating the submarine before
the plan ever got before the War
Production Board officially.
The democracies had lost a good
deal of surface shipping in the
German submarine war, Mr.. Meigs
explained, when Mr.. Kaiser ap-
peared on the scene with the
claim he could begin building big
cargo airplanes in 10 months.
Had you ever heard of big new
airplanes being developed in 10
months2" asked Senator Ferguson.
Was "Enticing" Idea.
mo, that was completely fantas-
tic,". Mr.. Meigs replied, "but mas
much as Mr.. Kaiser had fine back
ground and had put his case before
the public before it was put up to
us, we were designated to look
into it.
"Of course, it was a very enticing
idea," the witness continued. "It
made headlines"
Senator Ferguson asked If such
advance publicity about new war
equipment was customary. and Mr..
Meigs said 1t was not, that the Gov
ernment usually tried to keep such
proposals confidential.
Mr.. Meigs said Army and Navy
engineers decided Mr.. Kaisers plan
was "impracticable and impossible, y
but they wanted to give him every
consideration because he had sold
the public and some members Of
Congress on the idea"
Consulted With Kaiser.
While the military men turned 1t
down, Mr.. Meigs said, they asked
WPB to take Mr.. Kaiser into the
inner circle" and show him how
critical were the supplies of steel.
magnesium and technical skill that
would be diverted from other war
work by such a project.
Mr.. Meigs said he explained to
Mr.. Kaiser that experience indicated
1t would take an average of So
months, or more than four years,
to develop a new type Of aircraft,
and 48 months to develop new
aircraft engine.
The witness said his aircraft di-
vision also advised Donald M. Nell
| eoy, foryaer ct,iaf of WpR that tho