I am sure that many of us have heard about Howard Hughes. The movie, “The Aviator” gives a great understanding of the life of this millionaire. The movie briefly hits on the Brewster Senate Hearings of 1947. Let’s take a look at those hearings a bit closer.
The Hearings were set up by the Senate to take a look at and evaluate outstanding War contracts at the end of World War II. The investigating committee chairman was Senator Owen Brewster. People on the Hughes side considered Brewster as a shyster that worked very closely with Juan Trippe. Trippe was the President of Pan American Airways.
At the time, Hughes owned Trans World Airlines (TWA). The two airlines were in constant battle to see which would be the number one carrier in America. In an attempt to break TWA, Brewster had Howard Hughes appear before the committee to try and dis credit him in a number of ways. He assailed his character, his government contracts, his projects, including the Hercules, and the way that he done business. No one in modern time had taken on the Senate like Hughes did. He even had the hearings recorded, which has since become rare footage of Hughes genus.
Hughes used his movie making experience, public opinion, and the media to his advantage during the hearings. There was no doubt that Hughes had had bad contracts with the US government. Some of the contracts he was never able to fulfill. His methods for obtaining those contracts was even questionable but, not against the law at that time,
When Hughes arrived in Washington DC., he went to stay at the Carlton Hotel. He found that his rooms were tapped with a microphone in the heating ducts. Hughes went off and said many things about Brewster which can’t be said in public.
Brewster claimed that Hughes Hercules would never fly. Hughes claimed that if it didn’t he would leave the country forever. On November 2, 1947, Hughes flew the Hercules to a height of 70 feet off the water. When the hearings resumed later that month, Brewster was a no show. The hearings came to an end.
The movie, “The Aviator” gave Brewster a bad image. I am sure that a lot of the things in the movie were true. However, there was another side to Own Brewster.
In his earlier years, he fought for the people instead of special interests for corporations. As a Republican, he also named a Democrat as a member of the State Supreme Court. Even though the movie showed that Brewster used improper methods to obtain evidence, it is one that he always fought against.
In 1954, Joesph McCarthy nominated Brewster to take the place of Roy Cohn. Cohn had been the chairman of position of Chief Counsel. Strong opposition by the Democrats had the nomination withdrawn.
Then in 1960, Brewster became the lead player in Vice President’s Richard Nixon’s attempt to orchestrate the downfall of Fidel Castro in Cuba. When Kennedy was elected President, Brewster was out. There has been a lot of speculation as to what Brewster would have been to the Nixon Administration, if the election had went Nixon’s way.
On Christmas Day of 1961, Brewster died unexpectedly from cancer. Howard Hughes a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in 1939, died on April 5, 1976. Both men had tried to serve their country well.
sources; Bioguide of Congress
www.wikipedia.org
