The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-07

the committee, but not made public by it, had been published in the newspapers. He said these matters were not proper evidence until they became part Of the public record.
 This course is understood to have been taken because of the action of MT Iilley ir making public certain documents lie had presented to the committee. Robert w Woolley, a Washington newspaper correspondent, became involved in con- troversy with Representative Lilley as to the accuracy of the statement made by MT. Wooliey on the stand regarding certain interviews he had wiSn MT. Lil- ley. A fiat contradiction was made by Mir Liiley and MT. Woo.ley as em- phatically maintained his position. Both gentlemen repeatedly took the stand i'll contradiction of each others testimony and MT. Woolleys remarks became so personal that the committee halted hin.
 VreeIand Testifies.
 Representative Edward B. Vreeland of New York testified that Representative Loud had told him that the Electric Boat company had employed quite promi- nent man in Louds district to act in their behalf as attorney and expressed annoyance that they should have em- ployed him.
 Robert G. Skerrett of New York, a naval engineer, lolu ol tic dlhcAchSS pS- tween foreign and American boats.
 If the same standard" he said, had been set for the Octpus in her trials that already had been reached abroad, hei superiority would not be so pronounced as it seemed on the face to be.
 Does that mean that the Octopus IS not the equal of foreign boats?P asked MT. Howard.
 That's the substance of it.
 rff.t t,I, ,,Ixr in wi nat ity exist?"
 Tn speed"
 Skerrett went with the Lake people in 1902, he said, and both prior and during that time had written number of arucles describing both the Holland and Lake Boats, as well as on other naval subjects. He had been engaged by the Lake com pany to go abroad and familiarize those
 interests with the merits of the Lake boat. He resigned because he had be come tired of living abroad. The article, he had written, he said, were paid Tor by the journals with the exception of ;lis Scientific American. No torpedo boat company, he said, had paid hi,n anything for these articles. Skerrett's Information. The source of information for some oi Mir Skerrett's articles was gone iato b. MT. Olmstead, and particularly the facts ls contained in the report on the naval ap propriaton bill, which was reported tc the House three days ago. At first tht witness said he had obtained this in. formation from the public press, bu' when informed that the report had no 1 been made public at the time he wrote the articles, he said that it had beer given him by Frederick Whitney of this city, an attorney formerly connected witl the Lake company and now his partner il a numbery of marine inventions. He sait he did not know where Wn.,ney got tn, information.
 The fact wss called to MT. Skerretts at tention that marked copies of Harper Weekly containing his articles had beer sent to members of the investigating com mittee, but he said he had no knowledg, as to who sent them.
 | Mir Littleton, attorney for the boa l company produced two pictorial post cards, containing cuts of the English typ ! of submarines with the printed state
 ment that they were the type being ad
 vanced by the Lake company. MT. Sker 1 rett said that he had had these card ] prepared at the request of MT. Simol 1 Lake of the Lake Boat company, am l that he mailed them to members Of Con | gress and Washington newspaper men. | Did you know that the date of mail 1 ing the first postcard was the date o | the introduction by MT. Lilley of his in 1 yestigation resolution?' asked MT. Olm | sted.
 | No, sir,' replied MT. Skerrett. "Whe | MT. Lake asked me to have those card
 printed he simply said, "When you hay | them ready, mail them.