ernment in 1921 a an order was made under which we commenced policing the oceans of the world, and our ships have been in Asiatic waters ever since. Now, you understand that secret treaties are a good deal like Homer's poems, they have to be handed down by word of mouth. I will ask you if you have been in the Navy Department long enough to be entrusted with the information that there was such an agreement as I have detailed in 1921 under Secretary Denby? Mr. EDISON. No; I do not think I could testify to that. Mr. SHANNON. You have not heard about it yet? Mr. SHANNON. I am telling it to you now, and you will get full information on it if you will read Mr. Young's book Powerful America. Now, I will say further that following the secret arrangement between the United States and Great Britain, England discarded her treaty with Japan. When the Japanese members of the subsequent Washington Conference went home the people of Japan met them and there came near being a lynching party, lynching their representatives because the Japanese people considered they had betrayed them in this conference. At the bottom of the conference, you understand, was the secret arrangement initiated in London and consummated in this country. Do you not believe that a large part of the distrust in America today, and a large part of the trouble in China and Japan, is due to that secret agreement? Now, if you doubt my knowledge of these things, again I refer you to Mr. Young's great. book, in which he tells the whole story. I will ask you this on my own authority: Do you believe that Mr. MOTT (interposing). Mr. Chairman, the witness has not answered the other question yet. Mr. MAAS. Mr. Chairman, may I be excused for a history class? [Laughter.] Mr. SHANNON. That is all right, brother. Mr. MAAS. I have heard this over and over. Mr. SHANNON. You are going to hear it again. The CHAIRMAN. Go ahead, Mr. Shannon. Mr. SHANNON. Now, I will ask you, if you please, if you believe in agreements made secretly between nations, the peoples of which nations know nothing about them? Mr. EDISON. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Mr. CHURCH. One more question, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, we are asked in this bill, or rather by way of an amendment, to authorize aircraft bombing and mines. Now, because I just learned that you were interested in bomb sights, I am anxious to get any further information from you by next Tuesday, when we go into executive meeting, on the matter of-on this socalled bomb mine that you have heard so much about, and the inventor of which is the man who has the judgment for $700,000 against the Government for similar bomb inventions. Now, will you benefit the committee by permitting an interview with that person and give us the benefit of your recommendations by next Tuesday? I am anxious to get all the practical information I can concerning this so-called air mine, and my proposition is that I ask that the chairman ask that person, Mr. Barlow, who is the person that has the judgment against the Government for $700,000, who is the person that is mentioned in the bill (S. J. Res. 156) that Mr. Maas mentioned a while ago-now will you, if the chairman or I ask that person to interview you between now and then, will you give us the benefit of such information as you can about the air mine that is being so much discussed? I understand that on Monday we will have testimony from certain other people. Glenn Martin is one, and we will have the benefit of that information before Tuesday. The CHAIRMAN. All right, Mr. Secretary, will you kindly comply with the Congressman's request? And, members of the committee, we will take a recess at this time. Mr. SHANNON. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman asked to be excused here a moment ago. There is nothing to prevent him stepping out at any time. Mr. MAAS. And you asked me to stay. Mr. SHANNON. I want to say to you that I was sent here by my people, and you asked this committee to adjourn yesterday because you were going to deliver a speech over the radio. You asked this committee to adjourn at 11:45 yesterday so you could be present at all meetings. I did not protest against that, but I do think it was unbecoming of you to do that. Mr. MAAS. Mr. Chairman, I do not think the gentleman from Illinois will object, but I think there ought to be stricken from the record your statement that the Assistant Secretary had some interest in bomb sights. The CHAIRMAN. Oh, he did not mean it that way. Mr. CHURCH. Certainly not. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Secretary, we thank you very much, and the committee will take a recess until 10 o'clock Monday morning, at which time Mr. Glenn Martin will be here, and I hope all of the members of the committee will attend. (Whereupon, at 1:25 p. m., the committee adjourned until 10 a. m., Monday, February 28, 1938.) ESTABLISH THE COMPOSITION OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1938 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Carl Vinson (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. Let the committee come to order. This is a continuation of the hearing on H. R. 9218, and we have with us this morning Mr. Glenn L. Martin. STATEMENT OF GLENN L. MARTIN, PRESIDENT OF THE GLENN L. MARTIN CO., BALTIMORE, MD. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Martin, will please give your full name, address, and occupation to the reporter? Mr. MARTIN. Glenn L. Martin, Baltimore, Md., manufacturer of airplanes. The CHAIRMAN. Was the wonderful flight to South America and return recently made by the Army accomplished with planes manufactured by you? Mr. MARTIN. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Did you state the name of your company? Mr. MARTIN. I am president of the Glenn L. Martin Co., which is a corporation engaged in the manufacture of airplanes. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Church, a member of the committee, indicated that he had some questions he would like to ask you, and, if it is satisfactory to the members of the committee, I will ask Mr. Church to propound such questions as he desires at this point. Mr. CHURCH. Mr. Martin, I telephoned you asking you to come to this hearing, and you stated that you would refuse to come unless you were subpenaed. Will you please explain to the committee why you have come. I would like to have you state why you have come, after you had refused to come without a subpena. Mr. MARTIN. I did not have a statement that I cared to make. I did not wish to present any data at this time, but when I was invited by the chairman to come over, or when he asked me to come, I said I would come and would answer such questions as he felt were important. Mr. CHURCH. You were the designer and builder of the China Clipper and her sister ships, were you not? Mr. MARTIN. We designed the China Clipper, the Hawaiian Clipper, and the Philippine Clipper, the three 52,000-pound ships now flying across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to the Orient. Mr. CHURCH. They are the airships that are performing with remarkable regularity scheduled service across the Pacific, all three of them, for the last 2 years? Mr. MARTIN. For 22 years they have been flying in scheduled service across the Pacific Ocean. Mr. CHURCH. Will you give us a brief description of those modern air clippers? That is the name of them, I believe. Mr. MARTIN. Yes, sir. Mr. CHURCH. Please give us a statement of their work with reference to the mail and passenger service. Mr. MARTIN. Those ships weigh 52,000 pounds. They have a total of 4,000 horsepower. Of this gross weight of 52,000 pounds, 27,000 pounds is disposable load. That load can be divided up between crew, gasoline, or cargo. They can carry that load with a range of 4,600 miles, or over a shorter distance they can carry a considerably increased load of passengers, mail, and express. They have flown over 1,500,000 miles on the Pacific Ocean airway and are considered 100percent successful. Mr. CHURCH. How many miles have they flown? Mr. MARTIN. Over 1,500,000 miles on schedule across the Pacific, and they are considered successful. Mr. CHURCH. I understand that you have recently built a greater flying boat than the China Clipper for the Russian Government. I understand that it is much larger than the China Clipper. Will you briefly explain that or give us a description of it? Mr. MARTIN. The boat delivered to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has a gross weight of 63,000 pounds. It has a fuel capacity for a range of over 5,000 miles. That ship is capable of carrying 26 passengers across the Atlantic Ocean, nonstop, with more than 4,000 pounds of mail and express, and carries a crew of 10. It has comfortable staterooms for the passengers; it has a galley and accommodations for the crew as well. Mr. CHURCH. When you say 63,000 pounds gross weight, does that include the weight of the ship itself? Mr. MARTIN. The ship itself, under that particular design, weighs 31,000 pounds, and carries a disposable load of 32,000 pounds, so that the weight of the ship itself is 31,000 pounds. Mr. CHURCH. So the 63,000 gross weight includes the weight of the ship itself? Mr. MARTIN. The 63,000 pounds includes the 31,000 pounds weight of the ship and the 32,000 pounds capacity which may be used for crew, gasoline, and cargo. Mr. CHURCH. Do you mind telling the committee the price they paid you for that clipper or flying boat? Mr. MARTIN. We received over $1,050,000 for the plane, with the right to reproduce it. Mr. CHURCH. Who would have the right to reproduce it? Mr. MARTIN. They would have the right to reproduce it for their own use, but not for sale to any other country. Mr. CHURCH. Who would do the reproducing? |