SEARCH NEARLY FINISHED.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 19 July 1937, Page 5

SEARCH NEARLY FINISHED.

ITASCA RELEASED. AUCKLAND REPORT DENIED Received Sunday, 7.30 p.m, ~ WASHINGTON, July 17. The Navy Department has released the coastguard cutter Itasca from the search for Mrs. Earhart-Putnam and ordered it to Honolulu. A New York message states that 42 ’planes from-the Lexington took up the survey of 28,000 square miles along either side of the international line to a point 220 miles north of the equator to study equatorial winds and currents, leading to the closing phase of the search to the north. SEARCH TO END. Received Sunday, 9.20 p.m. HONOLULU, July 17. The Navy has announced that the search -for Mrs. Earhart Putnam would end probably to-morrow night. The Lexington’s ’planes so far have covered 90,000 square miles.

SEARCH MAY COST 3,500,000

DOLLARS. Received Sunday, 9.20 p.m, WASHINGTON, July 17. Representative Byron Scott, a member of the Naval Affairs Committee, has sent letters to the chiefs of the Navy, Coastguard and Air Commerce Bureau demanding information on the cost of the search for Mrs. Earhart Putnam. He said he was preparing legislation to prevent the use of Federal facilities in a search for fliers lost on “publicity flights.’ ’ Other representatives support Mr. Scott, including Mr. Ross Collins, who said: “It is time we decided that people wanting to undertake publicity stunts must do so at their own risk.’’ One estimate of the cost so far is 3,500,000 dollars.

NOT CREDITED IN AMERICA

NEW YORK, July 16.

The' Navy Department has no information about the locating of Mrs. Putnam’s machine and the rumour that a I’eport to that effect was picked up in New Zealand is not credited. MINISTER MAKINcTINQUIRIE S REGULATIONS BROKEN. WELLINGTON, Last Night. The Minister of Defence, Hon. F, Jones, is. not aware of the. source of the information on which the Auckland published report relating to signals has been based, and the Post and Telegraph Department has no confirmation of these messages. He is inquiring into the matter, because it would appear that some messages picked up from the air by a licensed radio listener have been published in contravention of the conditions of the receiving licenses. To show the danger of publishing mi confirmed reports of this nature, Mr. Jones mentioned what had occurred earlier in the search, when a message'alleged 1o be from the missing ’plane was later proved 1o be a dramatisation of the search efforts by wdiat is believed to have been a Continental broadcasting station.