Show SIMS STARTED BAll ROLLING Naval Aide Responsible for Criticisms of the Big Warships V LOADED FOR THE INQUIRY SENATE COMMITTEE WOULD NOT LISTEN TO CHARGES C March larch 2 Commander William II TI Sims naval aide to President President dent Roosevelt Poosevelt by his own statement Is responsible for or the row over crit criticisms critIcisms of ot battleship construction At Al Atthe Atthe Althe the outset of or his testimony before the thc Benat committee on naval affairs today todar he gave the committee to understand it II could expect some sensations This was va done In a preliminary statement outlining outlinIng outlinIng ing what he had to do with naval crit criticisms criticisms critIcisms which he said began back in hi I 1895 and was confined to official chan chim channels ch n nels Much of my service has dealt with I these criticisms he said and contin continued tied ed I egan legan when whon I was 36 sears jears ears old I and now now I am nearly 50 I 1 put this in Ii I because I am persistently called a ayoung ayoung L young man I am older than Admiral I Capps who rho has referred to me as a ayoung ayoung II young man Squelched by Tillman Tiliman Continuing he lie said he ho would have to tc toKO togo go KO Into unpleasant facts such as charging chargIng chargIng ing officers or Inventors with having made misleading statements the secre secretion secretion secretion tion of official documents and the re refusal refusal refusal of superior officers to accept sug suggestions sugI r I of value I 7 The plan of Commander Sims to give the committee a sensation s was upset t Immediately by Senator Tillman who wh suggested that the witness be Instruct Instructed ed to confine contine his testimony to alleged I faulty construction and to say nothing at this time of criticisms made of ot per personnel personnel or Incomplete organization or oi r I other matters which are to be taken taker I I up later The commander asked that thai L he be permitted to continue his Ms state statement statement ment without Interruption and that the thi senators would not cross examine him I until he had concluded his statement in ir I II his own way His request was ig ignored Ignored nored I Witness Was Upset I When confined to criticisms of con construction Commander Sims protested that the procedure of the committee upset him You would upset the committee If It II t I you ou went wont into all of those things at this 51 time mid said Senator Tillman TilIman 4 Chairman Hale said the witness was wa not to a anything now about resist resistance ance anee of criticism by b naval officers as a that was a matter of ethics Dont you care to know if the de do department d has resisted criticism asked the commander Not from you ou was the reply This incident furnished an illustration I of subsequent proceedings during durin Com Corn Sims testimony He got ot away awa tram from the line of Inquiry again and andIn am l I In and members of the committee called caned him back sharply Criticism of Admirals The armor belt of all our battles battiest is too low Commander Sims stated state board boardl He charged that the state statements statements ments made by Rear Admirals Converse Convers and Capps were misleading If an ar admiral should hould go out of port without t full bunkers say on a cruise to the Pa Pacific and should meet an enemy say sayin in tn the Weft Indies he would be court said the commander There Then might be a heavy sea running and the th fleet not be able to use their guns puns for a t week Then the ships would need fuel tue I 1 f He H cal alc aI hat that the logs lo s of the ships of the th I battleship fleet should be secured se and these would show the water line of all the shins for us to get not for you ou to state said Chairman Hale Senator Tillman Tiliman then came to the res rescue rescue rescue cue of the witness the first friendly word he had received All the com corn commander commander mander Is trying to say Interjected Mr Tillman Tiliman Is that hat the log books will bear out his statements Commander Sims said aid that the French allow for extra and anticipated weights and that the Germans in designing ships figure on a normal line with full Cull bunkers He said that when the American fleet arrived at Rio de Jan Janeiro Janeiro eiro elro the water lines Jines of the Connecticut cut class were fully a foot toot and a halt half below normal Cross Examined by Capps At the conclusion of the criticisms of the water lines which were made in the most general terms Admiral Capps was given permission to cross examine the witness The admiral did this chiefly by raising direct dlf t issue with the witness He denied that the German constructors figure on full tull bunkers bunker In locating the water line that the logs of a ship are accurate evi evidence evidence evidence dence and nd defied the witness to show that vessels were overdraft a foot and anda a half upon arrival at Rio Admiral Capps Cappa asked the witness If he knew whether the double bottoms of the ships were full of water when they the arrived at Rio Commander Sims had no data in this regard so Admiral Capps Cappa declined to continue He com commented commented commented that It was obvious that the witness had no data on which to base his criticisms I should like to have the commit committee tee call Rear Admiral Goodrich and officers of this type to bear me out said Commander Sims Ill make specific allusion to that officer In a few tew moments said Ad Admiral Admiral Admiral miral Capps His tone Indicated that the specific allusion would not be ie complimentary and Chairman Hale hastened to say sa that it would not be necessary for either officer to express his own opinion Faulty Turret Construction The question Of f turret construction and the relative value of the direct and uninterrupted ammunition hoists were wore taken up then The commander gave a graphic description of the open turret with the direct hoists which depicted danger in such manner that Mr r Hale to remark The Th won wonder wonder der her to me Is that any man came out of there th re alive Commander Sims declared that the shutters in the direct hoists do not work properly and that when sacks of powder burst the grains of powder frequently get flown own to the handling room in the hold of the th ship He re referred referred referred to the explosion on the Georgia and said that twenty odd burning grains of powder had found their way Va down to the handling room Chairman Hale said he thought it had been established that only the In Th Interrupted interrupted or hoist would bo be bl used in ships shirl built hereafter The wit witness witness ness ook issue with the statement statements made by b other oth r officers such as Admirals Admirals als Capps and Converse that the change to the hoists is be being being ing lug made in the Interest of speed and not for or safety safet He expressed the be belief belief belief lief th it the direct hoist can be made madr safe He H thought also that there Is ia no broken hoist that would permit of such rapid firing as Is averaged by tim the th American ships with the direct hoist but that the danger now is great Accusations and Denials The by Admiral Capps resulted in more direct dire t and positive denials without bringing out anything of importance Gunnery was referred to Incidentally by br Senator Perkins and Senator Till Tillman Tillman Tillman man spoke of the record made at San Santiago tiago as modern glory Commander S Sims characterized the shooting by the American squadron as the most dis disgraceful disgraceful graceful exhibition of gunnery gunner that ever tok took place on the face of the globe Iobe He said that only 1 12 1 per percent percent percent cent of hits were averaged and 4 per percent percent perS cent was the best made by any an of S the big guns Our gunners could not shoot at t all lie he said The Spaniards were weke in a woeful condition said the S I 1 witness or they th y could have escaped easily Sims concluded his state statement statement statement ment it 12 at the suggestion of the tha th committee He remarked that I he had said hardly hard I anything of what he wanted to say Th Investigation will be he resumed to tomorrow morrow F |