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Show DANIELS TURNS DPI GilTTEE Probe Into Navy's Conduct of War Exceeds Powers of Body, He Says WASHINGTON, May 21. Secretary Daniels today accused the senate subcommittee sub-committee investigating Rear Admiral Sims' charges against the navy department's de-partment's conduct of the war with having exceeded its powers in going outside the original controversy over naval war doctrines. The committee, Mr. Daniels told Chairman Halo, had given Admiral Sims an opportunity to make an "ostentatious" "os-tentatious" representation of his charges when it required him to produce pro-duce his letter of criticism to tho department.. First Months of War. The secretary appeared to undergo cross examination on his direct testimony, testi-mony, concluded yesterday. After Chairman Hale in a preliminary statement state-ment had stated that Admiral Sims' criticisms were impersonal and aimed at "responsible heads" and not at the navy as a whole, Mr. Daniels challenged chal-lenged the chairman to show by reading read-ing from tho letter that It referred, as Mi'. Hale had said, to the first few months of the war. In reply the chairman read from the Sims letter and testimony, but Mr. Daniels insisted that nothing had been read showing that Admiral Sims confined con-fined his charges to the first few months. "Will to Win." Secretary Daniols declared Admiral Sims has charged Admiral Benson, chief of naval operations, with the "will to win." Senator Hale replied that the charge was not directed at Benson, but at the man who had the final responsibility. "Who do you mean?" asked Secretary Secre-tary Daniols. "He referred Indirectly to the chief of naval operations and directly to tho secretary of tho navy," replied tho chairman. "And ln view of that, you still maintain main-tain that there wore 'no personalities' ln the Sims letter?" asked the secretary. secre-tary. "That wasn't a charge, it was a criticism," criti-cism," Mr. Halo said. If Admiral Sims thought, when ho left the United States, that Admiral Benson lacked "tho will to win" he should have so notified President Wilson, Wil-son, Mr. Daniols declared. |