New-York tribune. [volume], March 30, 1920, Page 8, Image 8

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Submarines
Unprepared,
Declares Grant
Commander of Underwater
Craft Previous to War
Says Force Was Entire?
ly Inadequate in 1917
Appeals Were Ignored
Testifies That It Required
Two Years' Propaganda
to Get 800-Ton Boats
WASHINGTON, March 29.?Ameri?
can submarines and many second line
battleships were not in condition for
war service in April, 1917, Rear Ad?
miral A. W. Grant, then commanding
the submiivine force, to-day told
the Senate committee investigating
charges against the Navy Department's
conduct of the war. The submarines
were too small, of too short cruising
radius, mounted small guns and con?
tained poorly designed engines, the
officer testified. The battleships re?
quired complete overhauling to fit
them for service, ho said.
Admiral Grant commanded the sub?
marine force for two years prior to
the war and later commanded a battle?
ship force of the Atlantic fleet with
the rank of vice-admiral. He testified
that, beginning in 1915, he had urged
construction of 800-ton submersibles,
but received, no support in the depart?
ment, most of the opposition coming
from the general board. Later, he
said, the 800-ton boats were authorized
and built.
Entirely Inadequate, Charge
The navy's submarine force was en?
tirely inadequate to meet the demands
of war against Germany, Admiral
Grant said.
"It took nearly two years of propa?
ganda to get the Navy Department to
realize rV.c importance of building sub?
marines capable of combating the
800-ton German U-boats," the witness
declared.
Admiral Grant said that soon after
the United States entered the war he
was instructed to prepare and send
fifteen submarines abroad. He told
the department, he declared, that if
such an expedition arrived at the
Azores Islands safely the vessels would
have to be laid up for repairs practi
eally ail of the time, as they had been
since they were commissioned.
lour submarines of the "K" typo
finally started overseas, the admiral
said, although one had to be towed be?
cause neither engine would run. lie
read the log of the trip to show the
continued engine troubles and minor j
casualties that characterized the voy- i
age.
K-1 Was Disabled
When the submersibles reached the
Azores the K-1 was, entirely disabled,
the officer said, the E-2 was available
for limited service, the K-5 slightly
better off and the K-6 entirely ready
for duty. He added that pre-war plans
for the use of submarines contemplated
their operation ftom bases on the ?
American coast.
The department was slow to consent
to overhauls for the battleships of his |
force, although he had been instructed
that the ships were to be kept in c< n
dition for battle, Admiral Grant said.
Not one of his twenty-four vessels
would have remained afloat if it had
received a "serious underwater blow" ;
in August, 1917, he added, as none of I
them had completely water-tight bulk- j
heads at that time.
"If the German fleet had broken
through the British fleet in the sum?
mer of 1917, would your force have
been in condition to met the enemy?"
asked Chairman Hale.
Would Have Done Beat
"We would have gone out and done
the best we could, but it wouldn't have !
been much," was the officer's reply.
In reply to a question from Senator I
Trammell, Democrat, Florida, the wit?
ness said that the ships of his force
did co to sea and performed practically
the same duty during the war as the
newer vessels. He testified that he
"supposed" they were as effective as
the more modern ships "in this war."
Rear Admiral H. T. Mayo, commander
of the Atlantic fleet during the war, I
now a member of the Navy General
Board, will testify to-morrow.
Efforts to Controvert
Testimony of Fletcher
At Cross-Examination
?
WASHINGTON, March 29.?Efforts
to controvert testimony of Rear Ad?
miral Fletcher that his orders regard?
ing the convoy in which the transport
Antilles was sunk were disobeyed
marked the conclusion to-dny of the
officer's cross-examination by counsel
for Rear Admiral Sims before the naval
court investigating his removal from
the Brest command in October, 1917.
Admiral Fletcher would not admit
that because his specific order did not
enjoin Lieutenant Commander Free
I man, escort commander, to hold the
convoy together, it was "literally
obeyed" when the convoy proceeded In
two divisions. Commander Freeman
I violateu established practice, ho in
i sistcd.
Under cross-examination by his own
; counsel Admiral.-Fletcher said lack of
detinitc and dependable information as
to the arrival of troop convoys off the
coast of France had made it difficult
for his.escort forces to protect them
in unknown French waters. He cited
an instance where a convoy arrived
twelve hours before it was reported by
radio from London as due.
Captain Thomas P. MacGruder, Ad?
miral Fletcher's chief of staff at Brest,
arrived to-day from Pari? to appear
boforo the court as an interested party.
! Admiral Fletcher has charged that
I Captain MacGruder did not render him
j "loyal" support.
Senate Adopts Air Measure
Favors Transcontinental Mail
Route Between N. Y. and Coast
WASHINGTON, March 29.-4. com
j mittee amendment to the Postoffice ap
| propriation bill providing for a trans
? continental air mail route between New
: York and San Francisco via Chicago
; and Omaha, Neb., was adopted to-day
| by the Senate.?
An amendment by Senator Gay,
, Democrat, Louisiana, routing the trans
| continental mail by way of Philadel?
phia, Washington, Atlanta, New Or?
leans, Houston, Tex., and Los Angeles
was defeated on a point of order raised
by Chairman Townsend of the Tost
office Committee.
?-;-u
Seamen's Act Wage Demand
Upheld by Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, March 29.?The Su?
preme Court, in deciding appeals brought
; by British shipowners, to-day upheld
the constitutionality of the provisions
; of the La Follette seamen's act relating
to the payment of wages to seamen on
, demand.
? Federal Court decrees, holding that
the provisions apply to foreign seamen
on foreign vessels while in American
j ports, were, sustained by the court.
The appeals resulted from libel pro
i ceedings brought against the British
steamers Strathearn and the Westmeath
by foreign seamen to obtain part of
i their wages under the act upon arrival
i in American ports.
Vite $2,713,037 Trade Suit
TRENTON, N. J., March 29.?Charg
i ing unlawful restraint of interstate
: commerce the Shellon Electric Com
[ pany of Chicago to-day started suit
in the Federal Court here against the
Victor Talking Machine Company for
$2,713,037 damages. The company asks
51,000,000 damages for the alleged de?
struction of its business.
. It is charged that the Victor company
ordered all Victor dealers to cease
handling the turntable motors of the
Shellon company. As a result the com- !
plaint alleged thousands of orders '
were canceled and its business dropped
from more than 3,000 motors a month '
to leys than seventy-five.
Wessels Ordered Detained
. WASHINGTON, March 29.?Pending
determination of appeajs from dismis?
sal of habeas corpus proceedings, the
Supreme Court to-day ordered' the re?
tention in custody of the United States
marshal in New York of Herman Wes?
sels, charged with being a German !
spy.
The court also ordered the temporary i
postponement o*! naval court martial ;
proceedings again:;'. Wesscls, who con- |
tends the Navy Department has no ?
jurisdiction over him.
Six Arkansas Negroci Lose
Appeal in Riot Murder Cases ;
.",.?:? Dispatch to The Tribune
LITTLE i ' ", Ark., March 29. Six i
of t!i ?wclvo negroes convicted of mur- :
der jn connection with the negro in
surrection at Elaine last winter to- !
day were denied new trials by the :
Arkansas Supreme Court and they ?
probably will pay the death penalty in !
the electric chair.
The six others were granted new |
trials on the ground that the jury had !
erred in not specifying the degree of !
murder of which it found them guilty, i
The Governor will fix the date of the !
executions.
Ten Millions iu
Gold Enters Citv
a>
On Shabby Trucks
Precious Metal Sent From
England in Boxes Guard?
ed ?by Scores of Detectives
From Pier to Wall Street
Fivo somewhat shabby two-horse
drays drew up yesterday at Pier 61,
Hudson River, at Twenty-second
Street, and immediately Jack Ross and
, a gang of twelve other longshoremen
began to sink their balehooks into a
pile of small, solid looking wooden
boxes, metal bound and sealed with the
royal British arms, which had been
hoisted from the hold of the Lapland.
Although constructed of 1-inch
planks, the boxes were not much bigger
than those used for cigars, each being
about 8 inches wide, 14 inches long and
10 inches deep. Nevertheless, a single
box was all that any pair of longshore?
men cared to handle, and as they
strode to the trucks each pair leaned
noticeably outward, as do men who
bear a heavy weight.
They were transferring the ten tons
of gold which arrived Sunday from
England, and'were handling it just r.s
they would handle ten tons of phos?
phates from South America. At first
giance there was nothing in the scene
to indicate that gold by the ton was
being transferred from pier to trucks.
Groups of men who lounged here and
there unobtrusively, however, were
guards sent by J. P. Morgan & Co. and
Kuhn, Loch A Co., the consignee.?., and ,
each of them was keeping a keen eye
out for trouble and had a magazine ?
pistol where he could get ut it in a ?
hurry.
When the trucks were loaded, each |
with an insignificant pile of the small
boxes near the tailboard, two men
?swung UP into c.'ich truck and seated
themselves on the pile of boxes. Each
team strained at. its lond for a moment
and the $10,000,000 wagon train
rumbled off on its trek through a city
where, bandits abound.
Although the trucks seemed unpro- I
tccted save for the men who smoked |
cigarettes on the heaps of boxes, in |
reality the entire route from the pier
to Wall Street was under the strict
surveillance of armed men. Almost 200
private detectives wore posted along
the streets traversed by the shabby
looking trucks.
The trucks went, south on West
Street to Fourteenth, where they turned
east. At Fourth Avenue they swerved
to the south and went directly to Wall
Street. Eight, of. the boxes were for|
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and 333 for J. P. I
Morgan & Co. They wcro unloaded with
as little apparent concern as had at?
tended their handling on the pier.
"The very appearance of the trucks !
is the best possible? protection," said !
B, F. Relyen, of the firm of John F.
Barkley & Co., which transferred the
shipment. "No bright paint or fancy I
trimmings for this business."
---?
Pound of Butler Costs Day's Pay
BERLIN, March 11.--A day's pay for
a skilled mechanic is not sufficient to
buy a pound of butter at prices pre-j
vailing hero despite the fact that large
industrial plants are gradually adjust?
ing their wage scales to the mounting
cost of living. The pay in the metal
trades now averages about four marks
an hour, and is generally granted with?
out opposition by the employers.
John Spin1'
joined the staff of The Martin
V. Kelley Co. on March 15th,
1920, with headquarters at
the New York office. Mr.
Splain will act as account ex?
ecutive, to which duties he
? brings a wide experience
in the planning and opera?
tion of sales and advertising
campaigns.
The
Martin V, Kelley Company
Advertising
Toledo New York Chicago
Pictorial Review C
TifiE
enence o.
The Pictorial Review
Company of New York
is using 36 Dictaphones
in its Circulation and
Pattern Department.
The results, in time and
money saved, have con?
vinced this company
that The Dictaphone
solves the problem of
the busy publishing
house; viz., greater
speed, accuracy, and
economy in handling
correspondence.
Whether your office
is large or small, we
are ready to install
Dictaphones in your
office, on your work.
R-r. 0. S. Pat. Off. and Foreign Ooantries
"The Shortest Route to the Mail-Chute**
Western Union Telegraph Company, J. H. Well
ever, Vice-President in charge of Commercial Depart?
ment, say?: "The Dictaphone is in extensive use in
pur various departments and is giving [:ood satisfac?
tion. After The Dictaphone was tried out experi?
mentally in the first instance, a short experience
showed it to be a time-and-money saver. Our use of
The Dictaphone has grown steadily."
Minneapolis, St. Paul & Saulte Ste. Marie Rail?
way, Minneapolis, A. E. Hodson, Freight Claim Agent.
says : "We have been using Dictaphones in this office
lor about eight years and they have given us excellent
results, and we would hardly now be able to do
?without them.
Hamilton Brown Shoe Company, St. Louis,Mo., says:
"We find the 29 Dictaphones used in our various de?
partments absolutely necessary in handling the large
volume of correspondence. The Dictaphone is a time
saver of the first order. That it saves us money, we
know, for our dictators can turn out at least 30% more
letters than formerly."
Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., Hartford,
Conn.? A. V. Cornell, Supervisor Audit Department at
Chicago, says: "The 14 Dictaphones in our Claim
Audit Department at Chicago speed up letter produc?
tion. They make it possible for our executives and
their assistants to dictate every detail of an important
subject while it is fresh in their minds. For after-office
houts dictating, The Dictaphone is indispensable."
Phone or tirite for convincing demonstration in yoar office, on yoar work
THE DICTAPHONE, PhoneWorth 7250?Call at 280 Broadway, NewYork
Branch Office? also located in th? foMowing cities
Newark, N. J. Albany, N. Y.
There Is bat one DfHa phone, trade-marked ''The Dictaphone," made and merchandised by the Columbia Graphophone Co
?Wtya
S?_&
"?^m-^?IA-I?^2?^
MONROE
CLOTHES
??f Spring
AH Woc5
AH Wear
Guaranteed
ALL WAYS
w^^^^^^x^ GEE' ITS A great anc? glori*
r -^^^^^^^^ ous feeling to be able to
'^^^?^^^ again step out unhamp
^^^^^ ered by the weight of a
heavy ulster.
BUT HEED GOOD advice and don't take
a chance on Spring's fickle wsather?
don't go around without a topcoat.
YOU TAKE NO chances when you buy a
Monroe Topcoat?all wool, of course?silk
sewn, of course?silk lined, too, if you
wish, and, so many of them for you to
select from that it's only a matter of which
one best pleases you?and the price?
well, just about 30% less than the same
high-grade topcoats are to be had else?
where.
MONROE SUITS FOR Spring (the largest
showing we've ever had) embrace all the
newest Spring fabrics from the >est for?
eign and American mills?delicate hairline
stripes, semi-invisible checks and all the
other new tasteful fabric ideas that make
this season notable for attractive patterns,
here for you in models most becoming.
COME UP! SEE how remarkably attractive
Monroe Clothes are, aside from the worth?
while cash saving you effect when ;ou. buy
them.
?direct from tfye maker
?via our low rent Upstairs Shops
?rfrom America's Largest Clothiers
SiaitSo Topcoats,, ?
Limited
Se?ec??oinis at
?25, $309 $35
MANHATTAN
42nd Street, cor. Broadway
50 E. 42nd " " Madison
Nassau " " Frankfort
5 Cortlandt " " Broadway
14th St. opp Academy of Music
34th Street, cor. Broadway
59th " at Col. Circle
125th " ccr. 7th Ave.
Chrystie S treet at Canal
No Charge for
Alterations
OPENEVENlNns
America's Largest Clothier?
BRONX
Bergen Ave. at 149th St
BROOKLYN
Court and Montague Street?
587 Fulton at Flaibush
Newark??51 Market Street
Jersey City?Newark Av. & Bay
Paterson ? 220 Main Street
Yonkers ? Getty Square
Satisfaction
Guaranteed
tt?-^\_d_J^_^?i_?_rl_?_
M?wraf/e>//teNcwf?rV