Newspaper Page Text
the JEFFERSONIAN
Vol. 111. No. 17.
Poor Trades Made by the Naby Tor ‘Boats
Washing-ton, April 18. —While Expert Car
valho was testifying today, regarding the
anonymous letters which have been written in
connection with the submarine boat legisla
tion, Representative Lilley gave out a state
ment denying all knowledge of the authorship
of those letters.
Representative Lilley, of Connecticut, under
whose resolution a special committee of house
has been investigating the Electric Boat Co.,
reiterated his charges yesterday before the
committee that the company has made excess
ive profits on the contracts it lias secured from
the United States government and most rigid
cross-examination by members of the commit
tee, assisted by Martin Littleton, attorney for
the Electric company, failed to make him re
tract.
Mr. Howell, Mr. Stevens and Mr. Olm
stead manipulated the probe relentlessly and
vigorously, the latter two especially, trying to
get the author of the charges to admit that
the secretaries and other officials of the navy
department were incompetents and that they
were fooled and duped into entering into con
tracts with the Electric company.
Mr. Stevens devoted more than an hour to
a remarkably earnest effort to have Mr. Lil
ley charge the secretary of the navy and his
predecessors within the last six or seven
years, the chiefs of the navy bureaus and
naval officers generally, in whose hands are
the construction of vessels and the letting of
warship contracts, with “gross ignorance, in
efficiency and incompetence” in that they
were responsible for the awarding of con
tracts to the Electric company which netted
that concern, allegedly, more than $1,000,000
of excessive profit at the government’s cost.
Officials Not Implicated.
Mr. Lilley steadfastly refused to father such
a charge. He maintained that to the contrary
he believed these men were highly competent,
“in their line and so far as their informa
tion carried them,” but he insisted that they
were not good business men, that the poor
bargains they made proved that, and that to
none others than shrewd, able business men
should be entrusted the letting of government
contracts.
An attempt by Mr. Stevens to have Mr.
Lilley testify that on the shoulders of the
president should be placed the responsibility
for the alleged incompetence of navy officials
elicited the reply that the policy which has
brought into office five secretaries of the navy
in as many years is a poor policy.
“Officials Nervous.”
In the course of his testimony relative to
possible influence having to do with the award
ing of contracts to the Electric Boat com-
A Weekly Paper Edited by THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON.
Atlanta, Ga., Thursday, April 23, 1908.
pany, Mr. Lilley said he had “reason to
know there has been a, good deal of nervous
ness in the executive offices and the navy and
war departments,” and that this may have
persuaded the government officials “ that they
should procure submarines at any cost.”
Mr. Lilley assured the committee that no
person connected with the Lake company had
the slightest intimation from him that he in
tended to introduce his resolution. After the
resolution was introduced, he said, he thought
it would assist the committee if he secured
information from every available source, and
he welcomed any suggestions from Mr, Neff
or Mr. Thurston.
In reply to a question by Mr. Howard as to
how much information Mr. Lilley’ possessed
at the time he brought his charges, and how r
much additional information he expected to
get from the Lake Boat company in order to
prove them, Mr. Lilley replied:
Had Sufficient Evidence.
“I did not expect to get anything at"the
time from the Lake Boat company; I thought
I had sufficient evidence or could procure suf
ficient evidence myself to substantiate these
charges. ’ ’
Mr. Howard: “At the very outset the
charges themselves were drawn by the attor
ney for the Lake Boat company.”
Mr. Lilley: “A great many of the charges
were suggested by me. Senator Thurston put
them into shape.”
Mr. Lilley said he thought the books of
the Electric company would show that a very
large sum of money had been expended by
this company—“some such fund as the ‘yel
low dog’ fund developed dining the insurance
investigation in New York.”
Mr. Lilley claimed that if the witnesses
had been called in the order suggested, they
would not have had knowledge in advance of
his information, and it might have been possi
ble to bring out something from the officers
of the Electric Boat company.
“You mean by that to say that the testi
-mony that has been delivered has been false
testimony?” asked Mr. Howard.
“I do not mean to say anything about it.
I think they had a chance to cut their cloth
according to ray knowledge,”
False Swearing?
“You think that the methods of examina
tion have facilitated false swearing on the
part of witnesses in evading the charges?”
“I think it was -unfortunate in my disclos
ing my knowledge to them before they were
summoned.”
Mr. Howard asked Mr. Lilley whether it is
the-policy of the Lake company to inaugurate
investigations. “Without conceding that you
could become an unconscious agent of the
company, have you any knowledge that it has
been for several years the policy of the Lake
Boat company to bring about this investiga
tion ? ’ ’
“I know there has been a feeling among
the Lake Boat company that they have not
had a square deal here,” was the reply.
“Are you friendly to the Lake Boat peo
ple?” asked Mr. Howard.
“I am friendly to every human being,” re
sponded Mr. Lilley. “I have no personal
feeling against the Electric Boat people, not
withstanding the fact that I have been told
some of the officers of the company have said
Hobson and myself are blackmailers. ’ ’
No Corruption Charged.
Before the committee adjourned for the day
Mr. Lilley, in reply to Chairman Boutell, said
that he did not charge corruption on the part
of any official of the navy department in the
matter of this alleged excessive profit.
“Then,” said Mr. Boutell, “w T e are perfect
ly in accord now that you are still convinced
that there has been a million-dollar excessive
profit, notwithstanding the testimony of Ad
miral Cappe and Secretary Metcalf, but that
you think it is due to the practical business
inefficiency of the officials of the navy depart
ment?”
“Practical business inefficiency and lack of
competition—solely to that,” responded Mr.
Lilley.
“So far as the duties of the committee is
concerned in investigating the corruption
charge, they are at an end, are thev not?”
“Yes.”
The committee has been endeavoring to
trace the authorship of the two anonymous
letters that have been read during the inves
tigation. On Wednesday the clerk of the
committee was sent to the Washington office
of the Lake company to obtain samples of
the type of the writing machines there, and
today Benjamin Webster, secretary to Mr.
Lilley, was handed a number of bills that have
been introduced by Mr. Lilley. These bills
were typewritten by Mr. Webster, and he so
stated to the committee. Mr. Webster also
identified the resolution introduced by Mr.
Lilley asking for the investigation, and said
he bad written it on a typewriter in Mr.
Lilley’s office. —Atlanta Journal.
The cackling of a goose aroused the sentinels
and saved Rome from the Gauls.
“Sobriety, Honesty, and Determination is
the best capital a young man can possess.”
A cinder on the eye ball will conquer Na
poleon.
Five Cents.