Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-04-08

GIVES COMMITTEE QUITEA SURPRISE
Submarine Investigators SHIFT From
Submerged Vessels to the Navy Dc,
partmens ltaclf-skerrest Says His
Conduct Was Not niahonorable;
Only IndIscrcet-To go Deeper.
tny AssoeInted preEnl

WASHINGTON. -. c., April : -
lhe navy department ana not In,
Electric Boat Company was virtual,
under Investigation today by the spec
'ai committee inqnirlng into charges
!; ~" eFF"' asa;ns; that company by
REPRESENTATIVE l.illey.
The question az 10 whether ma
company had used illlegitimate means
10 promote legislation in its favor w,.
forgotten IN the admissions made nv
."o witness TO the effect that he haa
secured extracts of reports made to
'he navy department. supposed 10 he
confidential. - w
lne witness was Robert G. Skerrett.
OF New York. formerly empolyed IN
me navy department. and NJ ono lime
,he european representative of the
Lake Torpedo Boat Company. He
stated frankly that while in the en-
p'oy OF the Lake company he receiv-
ed ANONYMOUSLY extracts from rcpor,.;
MADE to the navy department ana tnat
ne used these extracts In technical
articles prepared for publication n
magazines
o"tsuohed rs TO the source. lie no
pied that he did not know from whom
,hey- came and that he had accentc',
mem as correct and used them In bis
'" u" h''
The. climax OF Mr. skerrett's tes.t-
r"ony came when he was asked by
Boutcll IL he did not con. |
'ider his action in publishing infor-
ha'ion which the United States ROY
,rnment regarded MS secret WINS
mighty mshonorable?"
MS reply was: mo, think is wos
ndiscreet."
1t is The evident intention OF the
committee to follow up this new lins
u evidence ana IL possible discover
lie leak in the navy department
skcrrett on the Rack.
II is doubtful If a witness before \
congressional committee was ever mn,
hfough a more searching examinatin,,
han Mr.. Skerrett.
me iirSt report to which reference
as made was one prepared by Lieu.
'hant Nelson. L. S. ~. who conducf
a series of trials of the Holland
'at al Narragansett, in 1904.
While abroad Mr.. Skerrett wrota nm
I'ic'e on submarines in which ne
noted from Lieutenant Nelson's re- +
ut
Where did YOU get that part?
'ked Mr.. Stephens. II
- 40 not remember Before lett
ashinston Went to my friends in =
e navy department and said: If n
ere Is anything YOU can give out AT NJ
y time, of interest. send it along. CT
ley knew that was writing on, CT
val topics" II
MI Skerrctt said that from time 10 al
ne while he was in Berlin. he re- ~ !,
wed typewriter extracts from va =,
'us naval reports. These extracts o,
me 10 him In plain envelopes ana re
ere was no writing on them 10 in tn
,ate who had sent them.
ne mad no idea from whom they RI
q come. They were forwarded 10 as
from Washington, through the OF
ce of the Lake company in Bridge III III
It. - - slt
IN article the witness had written s,l
'cerning certain details of the Hol- inj
q bont was next taken up. at
III. Littleton, through the commit of
; pressed the witness as to where SCI
got his information. an an
skerrett Conveniently Foreets. b m
lr- skerrett said 1t had been given m,
a foreign officer. Pressed by Mr.. sig
phens to give the name of this an,
'er Mr.. Skerrett said that his Ga
nory was faulty in stating that he Bu
met him in London As a matter uti
ACT he had received the informs o ne
while conversing with naval Of cd
us at The Hague. He said that +"
was there In the interests of the pro
g Boat Company, and while dis dec
ing submarines with the general 7
'tFuctor of the Dutch navy. whose got
e he did not remember, and with luz, Tue
tenant Commander Rounuin ouc -,