checks were taken off the correspondence before it was delivered to our office. I frankly could not answer what specific periods, but- Mr. BROWNSON. Here is a group of checks written on the blanks of Duke Harrah, Inc., to the Treasurer of the United States, and dispensed in different places in accordance with this distribution that we have entered in the record. Here is another group from the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics. You said, when you were questioned before, that you had never seen any of those checks. There has been some other evidence that has come up in the meantime that indicates a witness thinks you did handle. some checks. Is your original testimony still that you at no time handled any of these checks? Mr. HEDDLESTON. It might have been possible for Mr. Pemberton to come into my office and leave a check there, or personally, yes, on which property was paid for. Mr. BROWNSON. The point I am also trying to establish there is that these checks, for instance, by far the larger bulk of them, are checks written on Duke Harrah, Inc., Niles, Mich., and have no reference to the Bunker Hill School, which is a public institution, or the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics, which is the institution which was purported to be founded for this training. Do you remember handling any of these Duke Harrah checks? Mr. HEDDLESTON. Not specifically; no. Mr. BROWNSON. Had you handled- Mr. HEDDLESTON. I have seen such checks; yes, sir. Mr. BROWNSON. You have seen those Duke Harrah checks? Mr. HEDDLESTON. Well, wait a minute, I have seen a check, perhaps, on a letter. Mr. BONNER. Do you want to let him look at them, Mr. Brownson? Mr. HEDDLESTON. I would not be able to identify any particular one. Mr. BROWNSON. The point I am trying to establish here is that in the earliest days we have a school which is supposed to be known as the Bunker Hill School, a public school at Bunker Hill, Ind. We find checks which are purported to be for equipment for use in a public school in Indiana, and written on the account of Duke Harrah at Niles, Mich. I am trying to establish that I think anybody handling the requisition and handling those checks would immediately be inclined to question the procedure because it would certainly be irregular for a man in Niles, Mich., to be writing out checks to pay for equipment that was destined to go to a public school in Indiana, would it not? Mr. HEDDLESTON. No, sir; it wouldn't. I do not want to just blankly refute you Mr. BROWNSON. Well, all right. Mr. HEDDLESTON. But there was absolutely no relation between who brought property and who paid for it. We got checks from Congressmen, Mr. Brownson, for property at certain schools; we got checks from public-spirited individuals. We got checks from chambers of commerce and Kiwanis Clubs. Mr. BROWNSON. I can understand that that might well happen in Bunker Hill, Ind. I might see in whoever's congressional district that might be, might handle the transaction for them. I can see where the chamber of commerce might handle it. But here is a dealer in aviation parts and scrap in Niles, Mich., writing out check to buy property that is going to go to a public school in Bunker Hill Ind., and which to me is stretching it pretty thin. Mr. HEDDLESTON. Well, actually it was never looked for and looked at in that light, Mr. Brownson. Mr. BROWNSON. I have a letter here written to you by Mr. C. C Harrah, vice president, Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics, Inc. I am not going to read the whole letter, but I would like to have it inserted. Mr. BONNER. It will be inserted in the record at this point. (The letter referred to marked "Exhibit 34" is as follows:) EXHIBIT 34 SEPTEMBER 5, 1947. Mr. R. A. HEDDLESTON, Educational Division, Office of Aircraft and Electronics Disposal, DEAR MR. HEDDLESTON: You will recall that, when I was in your office on August 21, I made reference to the matter that my visit to Washington was occasioned by a discussion with the Bureau of Yards and Docks of the Navy Departmen releative to the lease on various buildings for the Bunker Hill School of Areonautics, and that we were having some difficulty securing such lease. I thought it best to drop you a line at this time to refresh your memory and bring you up to date regarding our activities, as in all probability it will be necessary for us to ask your department in the near future for permission to move such equipment from the Bunker Hill Air Base as we have secured from War Assets. Briefly the situation is as follows: The village of Bunker Hill, Ind., took a lease on the Bunker Hill Air Base from the Navy Department at $1 per year: they in turn then entered into a sublease for the entire facility with the Bunker Hill Corp. A corporation composed of three men, one of which is a local farmer and manufacturer, Wayne C. Ladd: one the former Navy commander of the air base at time of decommission, Harry R. Curran, Jr.; and the writer, who became a part of the company in order to insure the acquisition and operation of the facility for the benefit of the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics. The Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics, a nonprofit corporation, selected certain buildings on the base as being suitable and desirable for school purposes and proceeded to move in equipment for the purpose of activating such school. Feeling that a true need existed in the Middle West for a large aeronautical school, well staffed, located on a large airport capable of accommodating transport airplanes, giving students instruction in the various phases involved in large transport aircraft, and hoping to develop various services that would attract these large transport aircraft to the Bunker Hill Air Base in order to permit the students to have first-hand knowledge and experience of the ramifications of the actual and practical work on such aircraft. As the air base was leased for the use of an airport and for aeronautical purposes such a plan met with the full approval of the aviation commission of the city of Bunker Hill and the full board of the Bunker Hill Corp. The Bunker Hill Corp. even went so far at the outset to facilitate the school by paying such freight bills as arose and balancing monthly with the school, thereby relieving them of small clerical responsibilities until such time as they were staffed to handle same at this point. As time went on and some 1,400 to 1,500 acres of farm land were leased at substantial rentals, and industries in distress for manufacturing and storage space began to bid for and rent the buildings at rates in excess of those that could be afforded by an aeronautical school, the enthusiasm of certain members of the Bunker Hill Corp. over an aeronautical school as a tenant began to wane. As soon as it was possible for the officers of the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics to determine at what date sufficient equipment could be assembled and it would be possible to open the school, negotiations for formal lease of the buildings were started. Thereafter ensued a series of delays; changes in terms and various small, petty, and obstructive annoyances became more and more numerous until finally matters have reached an impasse wherein the controlling members of the Bunker Hill Corp. openly and publicly declared that they have no intention of effecting a lease with the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics. All of which forces the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics into one of two positions: (1) move to another location, (2) continue a costly dispute until such time as the Navy steps in to affect a settlement which in all probability would not be too permanently satisfactory, or would it be conducive to a smooth operation of the school in the future due to the dispute having lost its fundamental identity and having resolved into a clash of personalities. Therefore, the directors have decided that the proper thing to do is to locate elsewhere under conditions controlled by less avaricious parties. A number of sites have received preliminary investigation the last few weeks and at the present time Mr. Howard Pemberton and Mr. Reginald Heath are making a detailed inspection of the facilities offered by Freeman Field at Seymour, Ind. At such time as a definite decision is reached as to the whereabouts the school will be reestablished, your formal permission for moving the education material that we have acquired from your office will be requested. Should your office be interested in the various details of the case, the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics made a detailed presentation of facts incorporated in two volumes to the Navy Department, Bureau of Yards and Docks, and this should be in their files. No copies are available at the present time due to our file copy being in the hands of our attorneys who are evaluating the amount of damages and type of action to take against the Bunker Hill Corp., who some 30 days or more ago filed an eviction suit against the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics. You will pardon the length of this letter but, due to the fact that the situation is somewhat complicated due to the peculiar complexities of the leasing situation and further confused by the writer being secretary and treasurer of the Bunker Hill Corp., as well as executive vice president of the Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics, it seemed best to write you at this length. Should there be any points that I have not made clear, or any factual references that you might desire, do not hesitate to call upon me. Should you have any suggestions to offer us we would be pleased to give same our full consideration. If the opportunity arises for yourself or any members of your division to be in this vicinity, we would be very pleased to be honored by a call from you. We beg to remain, Very truly yours, BUNKER HILL SCHOOL OF AERONAUTICS, INC., Mr. BROWNSON. Did you receive this letter, do vou remember? Just look at it briefly. Mr. HEDDLESTON. I have a letter, Mr. Brownson, that is either the same or similar to this one. As I recall, it was dated in August. I hesitate to say that I received this letter because it is typed on the back page. Mr. BROWNSON. Well, that is not the original; that is the retained file copy of the letter, typed on both sides of the tissue. Mr. HEDDLESTON. The substance of the letter is similar to one that I received as a result of my first meeting with Mr. Harrah. He came down here in August of 1947 and told us some of the circumstances in this letter, about the difficulty with the lease, and the fact that they would have to more, and because of this thing in the agreement which required them to get prior approval, he said, "I wanted to drop in here and meet you and tell you of the circumstances and to see if you would interpose any objection to our moving the property down to the town of"-this other place in Indiana"Seymour." Mr. BROWNSON. What did you tell him? Mr. HEDDLESTON. I told him that we were folding up very fast, and that by the time he would have some conclusive answer to it, that we would no longer be around, but that if he would go back to his home or to his hotel or wherever he wished, and would write essentially those circumstances to me in a letter, that I would turn them over to the appropriate people who would continue in the agency, and I would say, by and large, with that one qualification this is probably the letter, although I doubt about the date. Mr. BROWNSON. He says here-and this is the paragraph I wanted to read in the record-this letter is dated September 5, 1947, written to Mr. R. A. Heddleston, Director, War Assets Administration Educational Division, Office of Aircraft and Electronics Disposal, and it is signed by C. C. Harrah, vice president, Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics, Inc. The second paragraph of this letter says: I thought it best to drop you a line at this time to refresh your memory and bring you up to date regarding our activities, as in all probability it will be necessary for us to ask your Department in the near future for permission to move such equipment from the Bunker Hill Air Base as we have secured from War Assets. Did he write that subsequent letter that he mentions here to you? Mr. HEDDLESTON. A letter after that? Mr. BROWNSON. Yes. He says that he is just refreshing your memory now, and then he goes on to outline the difficulties that they are having with the Bunker Hill Corp., and he talks about the personality difficulties involved, and then he says that he thinks it is going to be necessary for him to write you in the near future to ask you for permission to move the equipment. Did he write? Mr. HEDDLESTON. Not subsequent to that; no sir. Mr. BROWNSON. He did not write you? Mr. HEDDLESTON. Wait a minute, here is a letter which I presume is the same one. This is a copy, and here again it is on two sheets. "You will recall that when I was in your office on August 21" Mr. BROWNSON. Yes; that is the same letter. Mr. HEDDLESTON. Yes; that is the same letter. Here is a cover sheet on September 16, in which I referred it to Mr. Carey, who was then my boss, and who would continue there. Mr. BROWNSON. In other words, this was the last knowledge that you had Mr. HEDDLESTON. That is right, sir. Mr. BROWNSON (continuing). Of this possibility of a request to transfer the equipment. You did not personally in your official capacity with War Assets ever authorize the transfer of the equipment from Bunker Hill, Ind., to Seymour, Ind.? Mr. HEDDLESTON. No, sir. Mr. BROWNSON. That is all I have from the witness. There is one other point that I would like to make. I have been checking over some of this testimony, and I think that before we completely abandon these hearings, we should hear from Mr. Curran. He is the one principal so far from whom we have not heard. Mr. BONNER. Was he a member of the Bunker Hill Corp.? Mr. BROWNSON. Yes he was a member of the Bunker Hill, and he was the commander of the Bunker Hill Base at the time it was under United States Navy control. He is the one for whom stock was held in his name in Chicago by a secretary in his father's firm. Mr. BONNER. He was in the corporation? Mr. BROWNSON. Yes; he was in a corporation, but originally, while he was still in the United States Navy, his stock was held in the name of his father's secretary in Chicago. Mr. DONOHUE. In the Bunker Hill Corp.? Mr. BROWNSON. In the Bunker Hill Corp. I am equally interested in the disposition of this land in this base, together with the surplus, because in essence, this is surplus, too, and I think there are two facets here to this problem. Mr. BONNER. Didn't the commander make a statement in some letter in the form of an affidavit? Well, anyway we will discuss that later. Mr. BROWNSON. I do not remember, Mr. Chairman, if he did. Mr. Lantaff? Mr. LANTAFF. Does the file maintained on the Bunker Hill School or Bunker Hill School of Aeronautics reflect what property has been acquired by the institution? Mr. HEDDLESTON. The regular school folder would indicate that, yes. Mr. LANTAFF. Wherever they had purchased it would be eventually reflected in the folder as to what surplus property they had acquired, is that correct? Mr. HEDDLESTON. With this qualification, Mr. Lantaff: Shipments in surplus were highly irregular. The depots were closing up, the military personnel wanted to get home, and that sort of thing, and very often an order that was sent to a particular depot for shipment to any school, what they ordered and what they got might not bear very much resemblance to each other; do you see what I mean? Mr. LANTAFF. But, generally, that was the policy to notify your office as to what surplus property was being acquired by Bunker Hill School anywhere in the country? Mr. HEDDLESTON. Oh, yes. We knew what we sold them so far as paper work, and then up to that point of inactivation, our files would reveal a pretty good record of copies of bills of lading where the consignee would sign or rather make alterations back from the freight bills, you see. Mr. LANTAFF. Now, did anybody ever reveal that file to Mr. HEDLDESTON. To determine what got there and what didn't? Mr. LANTAFF. What they were acquiring. Mr. HEDDLESTON. Yes. That was under continued surveillance, maybe not for the purpose that you are leading up to, Mr. Lantaff, but for practical purposes; that is, if they didn't get a certain item, and if it was a sizable item with respect to cost, we would attempt to get it from another source close by, and make good on it. In other words Mr. LANTAFF. What I was getting at, of course, was whether or not on review of this file anyone could have been alerted to the fact that this equipment which was being acquired was only partially that which would be used for a school, but would have been very ideal from the standpoint of a junk dealer in acquiring parts for subsequent sales. |