The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-26
Big Row Started By RsuttrdahI Brings AIOut the OR-
 cia| Inquiry
TWO AOMIRALS GIVE
 THEIR TESTIMONY
Defense Made By the Naval Officers Makes Such an impression Upon the Committee That Apology Is
 Made For Calling Them.

Washington, February 25-The experts
 in naval construction, Rear Admiral Con
 verse, retired, president of the board of
 construction and Admiral capps. chief of
 the bureau of construction and repair,
 were before the Senate committee on
 naval affairs today in the investigation
 of charges against the navy. made by
 Henry Reuterdahl, in a recent magazine
 article. The charges were taken up in
 the order they appeared In the article.
 and at the conclusion of the extended
 refutations by Admiral Converse 1t was
 stated by Senator Perkins that the apoio-
 gies of the committee were due to the
 officers for having called them to answer
 such charges. Chairman Hale assented
 to this view, and no member took issue.
 This incident, at the conclusion of the
 first days proceedings, is thought to in- dicate that the inquiry will be short 1t
 has not been determined whether the
 committee will enter upon an investiga-
 tion of any subject except those em-
 braeed in the criticisms of battleship con- struction, but if other questions are taker.
 up 1t is certain no long continued discus
 sion will be permitted It Is likely that
 the entire inquiry will be concluded be-
 fore the naval appropriation bill Is taken
 up.
 The development of the principal in-
 terest in the testimony of Admiral Con-
 verse was that two of the charges made
 by MT. Reuterdahl were in language sim
 liar to that used by Lieutenant Com
 mander Sims. naval aide to the President, and lieutenant Commander Hiil, otspdnty . X with the general board of the navy. in ar tlcles which they prepared and submitted Ito indicate that those articles or state ments of these officers had been the in- spiration of the Reuterdahl attack upon the navy. Nevertheless. these officers are to be called before the committee in the near future. Secretary Metcalf also will be a witness. No decision has been
 reached as to what persons will be called as witnesses outside of officers of the navy. At the navy department during the day Leutenant Commander Hill submit
 ted to Secretary Metca1f his reply to the
 question addressed to him. and Lieuten-
 ant Commander Sims as to his knowl- tuSt Ul tue SOuTce or alleged
 to have been furnished writers who crit
 ieised the constructive features of the navy. Commander Hill declined to dis cuss his reply.
 Defense By Converse. Admiral Converse. supported by Ad-
 miral capps, was first called by the com mittee.
 
 welt as a defender of construction meth ods and material, because his experience had been such as to make him one of the highest authorities on these matters At the outset of his testimony he stated that he had filled every position on board ship and had served as chief of the bureau of equipment, ordnance and navigation. He told of visits to foreign ports as com 1 mander of the battleship Illinois and of inspections of ships made by the secre- tary of the British admiralty by Prince Henry of Prussia and Lord Brassey. an eminent naval authority of Great Britain, all of whom practically declared the Illi- nos to be faultless.
 MT. Hale called upon Admiral Converse to take up the Reuterdahl article and give his views of the charges contained there in The admiral characterized some of the charges as very unimportant' and some to be absolutely false" Senator Gallinger suggested that the admiral state who MT. Reuterdahl is
 The author of the article was described
 as an artist who had been employed by
 the navy department for time in design
 ing gun prize trophies. and it was stated
 that in that connection he had been with battleships on several oceans. undoubtedly he had opportunities for seeing and conversing with officers" said the admiral. that few in his position
 would have
 It was asserted Mir Reuterdahl had no education a naval officer. Do you have reason to think that some officer or officers of the navy may have
 inspired this attack?'' asked Senator Till man.
 Author of Attack. Admiral Converse said that he did
 not know of any officer who had sug-
 gested the attack. but explained that
 officers make reports on various sub
 jects at the request of the secretary of
 the navy. He said that two of these
 articles which he had seen had con , tained criticisms of construction in line
 with the article by Reuterdahl. He
 was directed to name these authors anJ said that one report made in 1908, nv then Lieutenant Commander Sims, now commander and naval aide to the Pres ident, had made reference to the char acteristics of the Mississippi and Idaho. which were to be built and another article had been written by Lieutenant Commander Hill in regard to the loca- tion of the armor belt. He said that , Reuterdahl had made criticisms of two features of construction in almost the identical terms employed in the arr ticles in question.
 Then I understand said Mir. Till man, with out knowing all the facts. MT. Reuterdahl may have gotten his