Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-06-02
importance Of Charge
AGAINST Johnson Seen
10 Van zandt Wording
Written in Advance
By Representative Before
Official Presentation
official Presentation
By David Laurence

OffICI0l PfeSentotlon
By David Laurence
Serious charges involving the
ethics of President Truman and
his Secretary of Defense. Louis
johnson, have been made by
Representative James z. Van
Zandt Of Pennsylvania.
Investigation Of these charges
has been ordered by the unani-
nous vote of the Republicans and
Democrats on the House Armed
Services Committee. The exact
wording Of Mr.. Van Zandt's
charges now becomes important.
He wrote them out In advance
and presented them ofacially to
the House OF Representatives. He
outlines the history of changes IN
aircraft contracts affecting Con-
solidated-Vultee Corp, Of which
Mr.. johnson was director and
Washington counsel until the
time he became Secretary Of De-
tense this year. The charges in
part are as follows:
Charges Specified.
"On September 10. 1913, 1t vas
announced that the B-36 contract
would not be cut back to 81 after
all, but that the entire o.. still
under contract. would be accept
ed. Later, SO Convair-Consoli-
dated Vultee-liners were pur-
chased and a $35. 200. 900 contract
for modified training planes was
executed with the same company.
In October, the production Of
Northrup B-49A Jet bombers was
transferred from that firm to
Consolidated Vultee. The same
month a Curtiss- Wright contract
for F-87 all-weather fighters was
Cancelled. A few weeks later. the
$4,000, 900 which was withdrawn
from the Curtiss contract was
transferred to Consolidated-Vul-
tee for trainers.
There have been repeated can
cellatiops early this year for
other types of planes. all a mat
ter Of record, to make additional
funds available for B-36s. The
cut-backs of other contracts in
volve $312, 000. 900. a great sum. The
cost of canceling the original
contracts Is being borne by the
taxpayer. They will total in the
neighborhood of 500. 900, 900. The
money withdrawn from the other
contracts will 60. for the most
part, to Floyd Odlum's Console
dated-Vultee Aircraft Corp.
more recently the B-54 con-
tract has been Cancelled and plans
are going forward for the purchase
of yet another SO B-36's. The Air
Force has also brought forth a
plan to modify the 70 B-36s al
ready on hand by the addition Of
jet engines, for which the B-36
was not designed. The cost Of
the modification Of the plane to
bring it more in line with aircraft
developments that have far out
paced its original design Is more
than $2,500,000 each, more than
all airplanes except the B-s6 cost
in the first place. Former Sec
rotary of Defense. the late Mr..
Forrestal. in learning Of Irregular
tiles in the handling Of this plan.
refused to approve 1t. A very short
time after Mr.. johnson was sworn
in to succeed Forrestal. he issued
orders, in great haste. to give the
additional $183 ,000, 900 contract to
the Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft
Corp, a firm from which he had
just resigned as director and
counsel a few weeks before.
Calls for Investigation.
ut is impossible for me at this
point to catalog the entire series
Of cancellations and recorders Of
Consolidated planes. But Congress
should here and now find out why
the B-36 was unacceptable in the
first half of 1913; why 1t became
acceptable in September and Oc-
tober, 1913; why contracts for other
types have repeatedly been cut
back to provide funds for still
more B-36s, and whether there
are plans for q uper-aircraft COM
hine to be headed by Secretary Of
Air Symington. and under the
thumb of Floyd Odlum.
There are well-founded re-
ports that Mr.. Odlum was very
active in assisting Mr.. Louis john
son to raise campaign funds for
the Democratic Party In Septem-
Der and October, l948, that this
comedies with the Improvement
in the status Of the Consolidated
Vultee Aircraft Corp. and with the
reputation of the product on which
its financial future was staked-
the B-36. II the aircraft industry
and Mr.. Odlum assisted in raising
$500. 900. or as some reports have
it, a staggering $1,000, 900. for the
Democratic campaign, the Con-
gress and the American people
should know about it."
Reproduction Rights Aeserved.)
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