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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Bluefield, W. Va., Saturday Morning, October 31, 1925.
NUMBER COMBAT PLANES SHRINKS
Has Dwindled in Last Few Weeks From Fifteen to Twelve, According to Congress' Aerial Expert
Washington, Oct. 31.-The number of army planes fit for combat use has dwindled even in the last few weeks from fifteen down to twelve.
The navy air force is slightly better equipped, but falls far short of what it should be.
And all this because of selfishness, greed and general unfitness of the men now in control of America's aviation.
These are the views of A. M. Fisher, chief investigator and statistician of the special congressional air service investigation committee and recognized as one of the country's leading authorities on aviation affairs.
His opinions are based not only on his own experience and research, but also upon his preliminary examination of every witness to testify in the probe.
Beside criticising present operation of the air service, Fisher predicts a congressional survey to eliminate waste in both army and navy and thus save funds for aviation development.
He also foresees the creation of a minister of defense in charge of the three departments- Army, Navy and Air Service.
He says:
"America's air services are getting far from the best because the men able to furnish it, the pioneers of aviation- men of ideas and capabilities- have been frozen and crowded out of the industry.
"The men in control play a cutthroat game. They are afraid of competition and therefore fear the men with new ideas. Naturally, they do not produce the best results for the government.
"As a result, the army has very inferior planes. Only 12 are fit for combat use and the life of each of these under battle conditions would be but two weeks.
"Neither Admiral Eberle nor General Patrick is to blame for this condition. The admiral is kept too busy signing papers to acquaint himself with the situation, while all the information received by the general reaches him through military channels- which means it is wholly biased.
"The Mitchell case is extremely important. It is a test to determine whether a witness who is in the government service can tell what he believes to be the truth before an investigating committee and not be punished for it."
A. M. FISHER air service investigator for congress, who tells of dwindling number of planes fit for combat.
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[[photograph credit - NEA]]