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Show SERIOUS CHARGES AGAINSTDANIELS DFCKER REVIVES DISPUTE IN ATTACK UPON SECRETARY OF NAVY. Commandant of Seventh Naval District Dis-trict Asserts That Testimony Before Be-fore Committee Was Deliberately Deliber-ately Misrepresented. Washington. Tin.) Siius-Piiiik'ls row over the navy's conduct of the wiir was revived on Juno 20 with the iub-lirHtion iub-lirHtion of n letter from Kear Admiral Benton (.'. Decker, commandant of the Seventh naval district. Florida, in which ho chuiire.s that Secretary Daniels in his testimony before the senate luvestigatinj; committee intentionally inten-tionally and deliberately misrepresented misrepresent-ed certain attacks of Kear Admirals Sims, Fuilam nnd Fislce. The letter, dated June 17 aud addressed ad-dressed to Chairman Hale of the committee, com-mittee, was published in the Army and Navy Register, a service magazine. Admiral Decker said he had also sent a copy of it to Secretary Daniels. Admiral Decker formerly was naval attache at Madrid, but was removed during the war. Secretary Daniels has stated that his removal followed representations from Ambassador Wil-lard Wil-lard to the state department that lie was eucroacliing on diplomatic functions func-tions in his activities there. The admiral declared in his letter that "from my personal knowledge of Mr. Daniels' character, I am led to believe be-lieve that whatever is cited In Ids statements to the discredit of the officers offi-cers is so perverted and twisted as to give the actual facts a false meaning." mean-ing." "In any Organization of the navy today," Admiral Decker continued, "the navy needs, and the best interests in-terests of the country demand, that there shall be placed in the navy department de-partment a naval officer big enough and broad enough and of sufficient ability to maintain the standards of the navy against the encroachments of the civilian secretaries, who seek to tnake of the navy a political organization." |