New-York tribune. [volume], March 26, 1920, Page 4, Image 4

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Convoy Trailed
Troop Vessels,
Says Fletcher
Admiral Testifies Ships
Assigned Him Were So
Slow They Gave Little
Protection to Transports
faval Inquiry Opened
iptain Palmer Admits Offi?
cers Disobeyed Orders
of Daniels for Recruits
y ?Vem* Tfts rr*w?r? Washington Bur***
I WASHINGTON, March 25.?Two
por? naval officials to-day joined in
? attack on the administration ot
e Navy Department during the war.
? Admiral William C. B. Fletcher, tes?
tifying, at the opening session of the
?aval Court of Inquiry, convened at his
Request to inquire into the circum?
stances of his removal by Admiral
Sims from command of the United
States patrol squadron based on
France, declared that hhe vessels as?
signed to his command by the depart?
ment were so slow it was almost im?
possible for them to keep up with the
transports and munitions ships they
were supposed to convoy and protect.
I Captain Leigh C. Palmer, who served
during the war as chief of the Bureau
?f Navigation, told the Hale committee,
investigating on behalf of the Senate
the naval conduct of the war, that, in
his opinion, "the procrastination of
Secretary Daniels proved to bo the
initial handicap of the navy in the
war"
| Explaining his difficulties in protect?
ing American transports on their way
up and down the French coast, Admira!
Fletcher told the naval court that the
vessels assigned hint, instead of being
destroyers that could circle about their
convoys, were converted yachts and
fishing smacks, for the most part.
Poor Protection for Transports
f "I recall on one occasion," Admiral
fletcher toJd the court, "that the Al?
cedo, wheih was one of the largest of
the vessels I had, was so much slower
than the vessels she was helping to
escort that to keep abreast of them she
had to follow a straight course while
they were zig-zagging."
S Fletcher was removed from his com?
mand by Admiral Sims, following the
linking of an American transport by ?\
?erman submarine, Sims alleging that
the patrol commander had disobeyed
instructions- Admiral Sims, who has
previously been testifying before tin ?
Senate committee, was present during
the testimony of Admiral Fletcher, and j
Was represented by Captain Twining,
Who was his chief of staff during the]
W&r, and by Judge Advocate General
Russell McLean. Admiral Fletcher
Was represented * by Judge Advocate
paptain Bennett, and by two civilian
attorneys.
j Friends of Admiral Sims, alleging
that the Fletcher inquiry was encour?
aged by Secretary Daniels as a "smoke
?creen"~ against the Senate investiga
ion, colled attention to-day to the fact
that Mr. Daniels had repeatedly denied
Admiral Fletcher's appeal for a naval
investigation of his grievance, and only
allowed it after Admiral Sims had fired
his broadside of charges against the
Secretary and the department.
| Owing to the slowness of the pro?
cedure of a naval court, the main issue
between the two admirals, the circum?
stances surrounding the loss of the An?
tilles, had not been reached when the
fourt adjourned this afternoon.
. Says Daniels Blocked Enlistments
- Backing up the testimony given be?
fore tho Hale committee yesterday by
Captain Harris Laning, a war-time as?
sistant in the oftice of Chief of Naval
Operations, Captain Palmer told the
committee to-day that Secretary. Dan?
iels appeared unable bet?re the actual
?utbreak of hostilities to appreciate the
need of enlisting and training addition?
al men to man the ships of the navy in
preparation for the conflict.
! "Kven after the war started," Captain
Palmer testified, "he U?ed to say, 'Wi
have too many reserves now.' "
! On the eve of America's entry into
the conflict, he said, the Secretary, in
face of the strenuous efforts of the Bu
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reau of Navigation to recruit naval re?
serves, ordered such enrolment stopped.
"Did you stop?" inquired Chairman
Hale. ,
"No," the witness replied, "we needed
the men and we went right ?head."
? The witness said that he had talked
with Secretary Daniels about this cir?
cumstance the other day, "but that
he didn't remember anything about
that."
,"Just the same," Captain Palmer
added, "he did order me to atop then,
and on several other occasions." ,
When war was declared, th? wit?
ness said, the navy was short 7,000
i-regular and* reserve ?nlisted men and
Jrabout 2,500'officers of its peace-time re?
quirements, and that at least 20,000 ad?
ditional men and many more officers
were required for the destroyers alone
as soon as hostilities began. Congress,
he declared, was not to blame, as it
gave the department everything it
asked for. Later, he added, the Secre?
tary showed great eagerness in stimu?
lating the recruiting work.
e-_______
Searchers Get Clue
To Boy's Kidnaper;
Man Seen, Eseapes
Wealthy Lexington Father
Ready to Pay $25,000
Ransom Willingly if
Son Is Spared, He Says
??pre'rJ P!'va!eh to Thfi Tribune
LEXINGTON, Ky., March 25.?The
search for Paul Little, eleven-year-old
son of E. R. Littie, Lexington million?
aire, who was kidnaped yesterday and
held for $25,000 ransom, was continu?
ing to-night. Only one. clew to th.
child's whereabouts had been unearthed
i after a day's search.
The boy disappeared with an uniden?
tified white man who had promised th?
boy, according to his playmates, a dol?
lar if he would deliver a box of candy
This afternoon "three messenger boyf
saw a man in a side street answering
the description of the man sought. Twc
of the boys had talked with the suspeel
about the time of the kidnaping yester
? day, when he entered a local telegra'p.
office and asked to have a note deliv
ered to Mr. Little, father of the miss
ing boy. When the boys saw hin
again to-day ho spied them and hurriec
away in an automobile. The boys go;
the number of the machine and hav<
reported it to the police.
Mr. Little reiterated to-day that h<
would pay the ransom willingly, wit!,
out question and without making ar
effort to prosecute th'? kidnaper ff hi
would return the child safely. A noti
received by Little last nicht said ttia
the boy would be killed immediately
un'?s0? the ransom demanded was forth
com ?'i?.',
The "ontents of the note, althougl
guarded by the family, was said to hav?
included a statement that the write.
l?a?l twice leveled a gun on the clde:
Little and tried to kill him, but hi?
heart bad failed him. The noto al
luded to personal grievances, it is un
derstood, but Little said to-day tha
he had no enemies and could not thin]
who had kidnaped the child.
The police believe that more thai
one man accomplished the kidnaping
Missionary Killed in China
Defending Women From Mol
PEKING, March 25.?-The death o
J. R. Menzies, a Presbyterian mission
ary of Toronto, Ontario, who was kille
by robbers at Hwaikingfu (liona
Province) occurred while he was d(
fending the women's quarters in th
mission from an attack by a larg
band.
Menzies, answering calls for helj
grappled with one of the robbers, wh
was attempting to force an entra?e?
Whereupon the others fired a voile;
killing the missionary and the robbe
Doctors Pronounce
Gen. Wood Mentally
And Physically Fit
Sister of the Late Colonel
Roosevelt Makes Public
Letters of Physicians
? on Candidate's Condition
Mrs. Douglas Robinson, sister of the
late Colonel Roosevelt, took occasion
yesterday at a Leonard Wood meeting
at her home, 0 East Sixty-third Street,
to clear the air of rumors concerning
General Wood's health. She had col?
lected the best evidence obtainable to
show that any reports reflecting on Gen?
eral Wood's mental vigor were baseless
and presented it in the most convincing
manner.
First-hand medical statements were
read by Dr. Alexander Lambert, who
gave also his own opinion of General
Wood's physical and mental soundness,
to show that the operation which ap?
parently was the basis of the rumors
was performed to remedy a physical
disability and was successful. Dr.
Lambert wrote to Dr. Harvey Cushing,
of Boston, who performed the opera?
tion, for his facts, and informed Dr.
Cushing that ho wanted a statement
that could be used in General Wood's
political campaign if he chose.
The operation was performed about
ten years ago, and before reading Dr.
Cushing's account of it Dr. Lambert
described the circumstances, saying
that, while General Wood was in Cuba
he struck his head against the knob of
a chandelier in rising suddenly from
his seat at a desk. Ho did not regard
the injury as serious, but later a cyst
developed, which affected the brain
cells on the right side which control
the motor activities of the left side of
the body. Dr. Cushing's statement fol?
lows:
"At the operation a cyst was re?
moved from the foot center of the right
hemisphere. It had been there many
years. It was a perfectly benign tu?
mor and he has since had no symptoms
i whatsoever? The stiffness and awk?
wardness of the left foot, which were
j there before the operation, will be
permanent. His mentality, however,
was not affected in the slightest, and,
so far as any one can tell his physi?
cal condition, he if> in absolutely pcr
test health and enjoys such health as
few of us have ever enjoyed. He is
the most vigorous and sound human
: icing, physically and mentally, that
i ever saw."
Mills Defiiies_ Platform
Predicts Government Owner?
ship of Roads Wiil Be Opposed
PROVIDENCE, March 25.?Ogden L.
Mills jr., of New York, chairman of the
National Republican Platform Commit?
tee, addressing the Women's Republi?
can Club here to-night, predicted that
the party's platform would oppose gov?
ernment ownership or operation of the
railroads and favor a Federal budget
system and a tariff "that will guaran?
tee toAmerican interests most-favored- ?
nation treatment in the markets of the j
world."
He added that he hoped to see in?
cluded a declaration favoring the estab?
lishment of national and district indus- |
trial commission for the settlement of !
disputes and the prevention of strikes. ,
Mr. Mills condemned President Wil- :
son's attitude toward the Senate on the
peace treaty and criticized the league
of nations plan as defective.
Wood's Backers Assailed
Indiana Paper Charges Use of
Money in?GeneraPs Behalf
Special Dispatch to The Tribune
INDIANAPOLIS, March 25.?"The In
diana Daily Times," Independent. Demo?
cratic, charged to-day that the phrase:
"Get the nomination at any cost!" had
been passed down the line in the or
ganization of General Leonard Wood's
campaign for the Presidency.
"His Indiana managers, at least, have
taken those who are financing the cam?
paign at their word," the now-paper
says. It charges that testimonials for
Woo'd have been paid for at $2.50 each,
and continues:
"William Procter and other? In his
class are drawing heavily on their bank
accounts. What do Mr. Procter and the
numerous other wealthy backers of the
general expect to get out of ItT They
are not In the habit of spending their
money if they do not believe a success?
ful expenditure will bring a return on
the investment."
' e i'_
Cox Lays Treaty Defeat
To Senate Conspiracy
CHICAGO, March 25.?Speaking to?
night before the Iroquols Club, a Demo?
cratic organization, on the subject of
"Good Faith in Government," Governor
James M. Cox, of Ohio, Democratic can?
didate for the Presidential nomination,
charged defeat of the peace treaty to a
Senatorial partisan* conspiracy and ad?
vocated junking "most of our institu?
tions devoted to war."
The Governor also deprecated alleged
hysteria over so-called Bolshevism and
urged protection against running to any
extreme. He advocated repeal of the ex?
cess profits tax and abolition of Federal
inheritance taxes and in their stead the
levying of a small tax on the volume of
business done. Such a tax, he declared,
"would neither tend to create excessive
prices nor be burdensome matter of
collecting."
Discussing the Senate's failure to
ratify the peace treaty, Governor Cox
said "upon that body will descend either
condemnation or approval because its
responsibility cannot easily he denied."
The excess profits tax, which he advo?
cated be repealed, wbb declared to be "a
considerable factor in the high cost of
living."
Approximately half of the $?4,000,000,
000 required to operate the government,
ho said, could be obtained from a tax of
from 1 to 1% per cent on the volume of
business done by any concern. Such a
tax, he said, "would be neither cause nor
alibi for excess prices."
Hoover Aid Make? Denial
Louis Straus, secretary to Herbert C.
Hoover, denied last night at a meeting
of the 17th Congressional District Re?
publican Club, at the Hotel Majestic,
that Mr. Hoover ever had made applica?
tion to become a British subject.
In response to a question put by a
woman at the meeting, Mr. Straus said
reports to that effect had been circu?
lated and he had received a cabled re?
ply to a query put to~the British Home
Office saying there was no record of
any such application.
The meeting was called to inform en?
rolled Republicans that unless they
voted at the primaries for tho desig?
nated candidates for delegates and al?
ternates to the national convention
they would be Casting their ballots for
persons who were not pledged to Mr.
Hoover.
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Dislikes Being Lectured
"I am here for sentence, and would
appreciate not getting lectured," was
the reply made yesterday by Jesse
Walker, nineteen-year-old murderer,
when he was asked by Justice Fawcett,
in the Brooklyn Supreme Court,
whether he had anything to say before
sentence was passed on him.
Walker, who Is from Evanston, III?,
had been convicted of taking part last
winter in a store robbery, in which the |
proprietor was shot and killed. He ad- ?
mittf-d being in the gang, but insisted ?
he had not fired the shot.
Justice Fawcett sentenced Walker to |
die in the week of April 26. !
Britain Make? Ship Claim
WASHINGTON, March 25.?Consul
General Skinner at London r_*_~_
to-day to the Department of cS^
that representations have alreadrl!2_
made by the British to the An?*
government through the Brltishi?8
Istry of Shipping relate? to a J?2*
for losses caused by the retentir 5
the Imperator and other fome/nJ.
man ships "after the comp_eti_?.A??
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unitea estates services in wWuk, __*?
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