Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-01-10
Fighting Bob and Rear Adj
miral Kenney Making Ser
ious Charges.
TRIVIAL INCIDENT STARTED 1T
"Bob's" Order for a New Uniform
Turned Down by the Paymaster Gen.
eraI and Charges of Disrespect to SUI
perior officer Are Preterred-Evans
May Be Rebuked.

Washington, Jan. 10.-It is not often
that rear admirals of the navy get into
a serious row, but charges and counter
charges have recently been filed at the
department involving Fighting Bob"
Evans, in command of the Asiatic fleet,
and Rear Admiral Kenney, the pay
master general of the navy. Fighting
Bob" provoked the difficulty and filed
the first charges. 1t is a curious fact,
too, that since he has been on the ASH
attic station, he has been liberal in the
matter of court-martial and attacks on
his brother officers.
The present difficulty between these
two distinguished sea dogs arises out of
most trivial incident, but the matter
has, none the less, become official, and
now that it is about to be made public,
there is a possibility that 1t may not be
settled without court-marual, altho
the president and the secretary hope
that it can be adjusted without further
official proceedings.
Some time ago an order was issued
making numerous changes in the uni
forms of the service, and thereupon
Rear Admiral Evans filed a requisition
for a large quantity of the new ma
terial. This request went In the usual
way to the paymaster general, and was
disallowed by him, an explanation be-
ing made that a large amount of the old
material was on hand, and must be con-
sumed in the interest of economy before
the new material could be issued.
eFfghting Bob" was deeply injured by
this action, and he at once fled charges
against Paymaster General Kenney on
the ground that his brother admiral
had been guilty of disrespect to an off,
Ger, and also had been, in effect, disre-
spectful to the secretary of the navy
by questioning the wisdom Of general
order issued by him.
The charges We're referred to the bu-
reau of navigation, which at once found
that Paymaster General Kenney had
been entirely correct in his action.
which had been dictated by proper
desire to save money to the government
Not satisfied with this vindicadon,
however, Paymaster General Kenney
filed formal charges against Rear Adj
miral Evans on the ground that Fight
ing Bob" had violated the regulations
by failing to furnish the paymaster
general with copy Of the charges filed
with the secretary Of the navy, so that
those charges became a secret accusa-
ton. There has been a great mass of
correspondence on the subject and the
two rear admirals have written some
tart letters.
Since he has been on the Asiatic sta
ton Fighting Bob" has conference.-the
ed several officers and made charges
against others on frivolous grounds,
and it is believed at the department
that Mr.. Moody will take the matter in
hand himself and will notify Admiral
Evans that the department does not APP
prove Of his readiness to charge his
brother officers with violation of the
regulations. So long as his charges
were directed against his subdordi-
mates the department could not readily
interfere. but now that dispute has
arisen between two rear admirals the
secretary will probably feel at liberty
lon the general principles, to put
stop to the system of making petty
charges which was inaugurated in the
department along about the time of the
Scrley trial