The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-03-20

Lllley. probing. 1t was said
that Lilley would be placed somewhat
on the defensive by being required to
prove his charges on penalty of being
censured. Two men not in congress
who We're implicated in the charges
have brought libel suits against Lilley.
Sims Supports Warship Critics.
The senate committee on naval af-
fairs struck what might be called
''pay dirt in its investigation of the
charges published against the bureaus
responsible for the construction of the
navy when Commander w. H. Sims.
naval aid to the president, was called
to the witness. chair. Sims is the
officer who was thought to have in
spired the article in McClure's by Art
list Reuterdahl, and Sims frankly told
the committee at the outset that he
was "the cause of all this trouble"
The committee, however. headed off
his general statement and confined him
to particular questions of construction.
Sims said that for twelve years in his
official capacity he had been pointing
out the b!unders of the navy depart
ment and contradicted the impression
given out that he was either q young
or an inexperienced officer. He frank
ly accused Rear Admiral Converse and
Chief Constructor Capps with having
made misleading and inadvertently
false statements in the defense of the
navy and virtually repeated the state
ments Of Reuterdahl as to the rejec-
ton of criticism, the lowness of the
armor belt. and so On. In the course
Of his statement Sims asserted that the
craftsmanship of the American gun
ners in the Spanish war was 1.-The most
disgraceful exhibition of i%nefticiency
that eve took place." At the battle of
Santiago the percentage Of hits was
less than four. He insisted that the
armOr belt on all our battleships is too
low and that European constructors al
low for full coal bunkers and long
voyage conditions in fixing the height
of their belts. The logs of the Pacific
fleet would show that when the ships
arrived at Rio their belts were a foot
and a half under water. Admiral
Capps. who was allowed to cross eX-
anime Sims, doubted the truth of this
statement.
Pleas For Woman Suffrage.
Before the senate committee on wo-
man suffrage and the house committee
on the judiciary representatives of the
National Woman Suffrage association
made their annual pleas. The Rev.
Anna Shaw, president of the associa-
ton; Mrs. Belva- Lockwood, who once
ran for president. and Mrs. Fannie Fer
nails addressed the senate committee. In
the house committee, besides Mrs. Gait.
Mrs. Upton and other we'll known wo-
men orators, Senator Owen of Okla
homa Joined in the speaking. This
was an unusual feature of the hearing.
the senator advocating universal suf-
frage and saying that only the saloon
element kept the suffrage clause out of
the new Oklahoma constitution. He
drew attention to the fact that in suf-
frage states the percentage of women
convicts is very small. Wyoming hav-
ing not n woman so confined. Most
of the speakers laid great stress on the
opposition of the liquor interests, i'm
plying that the woman vote would be
for temperance reform.
Aldrich Losing Ground.
Following the report of the Fowler
currency bill from the committee, to
the house last week. interest in that
measure as a rallying point of the adj
v~ersaries of the Aldrich bill greatly
Increased. Senator McCumber of North
Dakota Joined the Republican process
sion of d~isanection by saying that he
did not like the Aldrich measure, al
though he would probably have to vote
for it as the only thing offered by his
party in the senate. Both Senator
Smith Of Michigan and Senator Bever-
idge had criticised the bond feature of
the bill. Aldrich said he could not tx
q date for the vote until Senator La
aAA