Cord at the Stick (Cont'd)

Absently turning his hams, as if for toasting, toward an imitation fireplace in his Waldorf-Astoria apartment one night last week, Errett Lobban Cord told a newsman: "I've been called a bull in a China closet. That's because I'm impatient. I'm willing to listen to good reasons but after about three discussions I want it done."

It had taken a good many more than three discussions, but several important changes that Motormaker Cord wanted made in Aviation Corp. had been settled last week when he left the Manhattan battlefront once again for his headquarters in Chicago:

P: La Motte Turck Cohu, whom Cord cordially hated, was out of the joint presidency of Avco and Avco's operating company, American Airways.

P: The offices of board chairman and vice chairman and the entire executive committee with its five subcommittees, formerly dominated by the Harriman-Lehman regime of Avco management, were abolished.

P: A program was under way to increase the potency of American Airways, and to emasculate the hitherto dominant holding company, Avco, until the latter becomes merely advisory in function.

P: The presidencies of the two were separated; and Mr. Cord had the satisfaction of making "his man," Major Lester Draper Seymour, president of American Airways, heading a directorate of five, of whom four are Cord men.

P: To succeed President Cohu. Avco directors chose Richard Farnsworth Hoyt, by no means a "Cord man," but one with whom Cord had pleasant dealings in purchasing Banker Hoyt's half-interest in Transamerican Airlines.

P: Neither Cord nor his loyal aide Lucius B. Manning took high office in the new setup. By remaining in the background they will have a better chance to conciliate union labor which, through the Airline Pilots' Association, deeply resents Cord's past policies on pilots' pay.

New Chiefs. Like all three of his Avco predecessors (Graham Grosvenor. Frederic Coburn, La Motte Cohu) "Dick" Hoyt, 44. small and compact, is a Manhattan and Long Island socialite. A partner in Hayden, Stone & Co. (his first wife was the daughter of the late Partner Galen Stone), he has been closely associated with aviation financing since before the boom. With Clement Melville Keys he engineered the momentous merger of the Curtiss and Wright interests into potent Curtiss-Wright Corp. His first venture in air transport was in 1926, a $5,000 investment in a concern called Florida Airways. On the inaugural day one of its three planes, about to take off, had to swerve to avoid running down a gawper. It crashed into the two other ships, demolished all three. But the abortive company was one of several which later went into the structure of Pan American Airways, of which Banker Hoyt was onetime chairman, is now a director.

Banker Hoyt is a director of more than 60 corporations. An office which he hugely enjoys is his chairmanship of Madison Square Garden Corp. He lives on swank Lloyd's Neck, L. I. with his second wife, the former Mrs. Nelson Doubleday. One of his ambitions is to fly better than his daughter Eleanor, 20, who last year married youthful Alexis du Pont Jr. Racing speedboats used to be his chief hobby. Since 1926 he has competed in the Gold Cup class with two white craft named Imp. In 1929 he won the Gold Challenge Cup; in 1930 made a record for the fastest 30-mi. heat in that class (61.5 m.p.h.). Also in 1930 he was awarded the medal of the Regatta Circuit Riders' Club for having done most for motorboating. Racer Hoyt has a reputation among his opponents as a daring driver, a "grand sport." His mechanic says: "There are only two positions on his throttle: tight closed and wide open."

Major Lester Draper ("Bing") Seymour is the man E. L. Cord wanted in place of La Motte Cohu last spring. At that time Cord was not strong enough to have Seymour elected. But he did succeed in having President Cohu's undated resignation placed in care of Avco Board Chairman William Averell Harriman, just in case. For several weeks matters went smoothly, and one day -- the story goes -- when Cord, Cohu & Harriman were riding in a taxicab, Cord asked Banker Harriman for the resignation, tore it up. When hostilities reopened, he bitterly regretted his impulse.

Short, thick-necked, addicted to pipes and vivid neckties. Major Seymour is the first dyed-in-wool operations man to pre side over American Airways. He served with the Army Air Corps overseas, re turned to become consulting engineer to the Chief of Army Air Service. Shortly after National Air Transport was organized in 1926, and before it began service, "Bing" Seymour joined its ranks. He remained with it until a few months ago when he resigned as vice president in charge of operations (of United Airlines, which" had absorbed NAT). To him went much credit for early airmail pioneering. He will doubtless make his headquarters in St. Louis, operating centre of American Airways.

Other Avco news of the week:

E. L. Cord bought the little-known Martz Airlines, operating direct between New York and Buffalo. This adds a valuable New York channel to the Transamer-ican Airlines (Buffalo-Chicago) which he lately bought. Both systems will be offered to Avco at cost.

Reported and denied: That Cord is negotiating for purchase of Northwest Airways, a potent airmail system which flies from Chicago as far northwest as Duluth, Bismarck, N. Dak.. Winnipeg. Avco already owns 22 1/2% of Northwest stock. A like amount is said to be owned by Transcontinental & Western Air, the remaining 55% by Minneapolis bankers.

Avco's statement for the third quarter: $309,000 loss, compared to $188,000 loss for the same period last year. Loss for the nine months: $2,875,000, compared to $917,000 last year.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.