The sun., 1908-02-28
CRITICISM OF BATTLESHIPS
LIEUT.-COMMANDER HILLS RE-
PLY TO THE PRESIDENT.

Says AuAg NncNo are ooFADuA WrhbSts
In our WarShlps and He Has Called
the Departments Attention to Them.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 27.-One Of the naval
| officers who have been charged In newspaper
publications with having inspired the print
! ing Of articles criticising the construction
! Of warships, especially that OF Henry Reu-
terdahl, the marine artist and author, has
| givon a complete reply to the President
| through the Navy Department. This officer
is LieutenRnt-Com Frank X. Hill,
who, with Commander William 8. Sims,
! the expert inspector OF target practice,
! was by recent direction OF the President
called upon in writing to answer the asser-
| tion that they had inspired the publication
OF articles criticising the navy.
| Lieutenant-C Commander Hill in his reply
meets the issue squarely. While denying
the rumor that he was directly responsible
for the articles in question. he asserts with
much candOr that, in his opinion, there are
serious defects in the construction OF our
battleships; that he has called attention to
these matters in lectures which he has de-
! lived in the line Of duty as lecturer before
the Naval War College, and that he has
called his views and opinions to the atten-
| tion OF the Navy Department through the
medium OF Official reports. Mr.. Hill says
that the five principal points brought out
in tho Reuterdahl magazine article were
identical with those which he has named
| in his lectures before the War College and
which he has called to the attention Of the
! Navy Department and officers Of the navy on
| several occasions.
1t is made to appear from MIR. Hills report
| that that officers views are so well known
g.1k
writer like ReuterdahI learned Of them
and wrote an article on the subject. Even
| Chief Constructor Capps, who is most un-
! compromising in his denunication Of those
who have criticised the navy from a struo-
tural standpoint, admits freely that it is
not only the privilege but the duty Of every
naval officer to express his honest convic-
tions through private official channels,
in case he finds anything in the service to
crticise.
The opinion is, therefore, that Lieutenant
Commander Hill and Commander Sims
cannot be blamed by the President OF the
Navy Department II they have confined
their criticisms to the Department and
have not uttered them in public. Mr..
Hill, at least. denies that he has done moro
than call attention TO what he regards as
serious structural defects in naval ship
building through the medium OF his lee
lures before the War College and official
reports to his superior officers. II is ex-
pected that Commander Sims will take
the same stand.
Lieutenant C commander Hill and Lieu
tenant G Commander Carl T. VogelgeSang.
both Of whom have been named in a letter
to Senator Hale as officers who are able
to give him some information as to the
condition of our naval ships, are to be called
by the Senate committee 70 give testimony
As the course Of these officers in held to
have been perfectly proper from a service
standpoint they are in no sense on the de-
fensive. Commander Hills report takes
the ground that there are certain defects
in the armor belt OF our battleships, and
lie also enters into discussion Of the turret
question.
ADMIRAL MASON ON ANN UNITIoN HoIsTs
AND TURRET CONSTRUCTION.
Rear Admiral n. r. Mason. Chief Of
the Bureau OF Ordnance. was before the
Senate Committee on Naval Affairs this
morning for about thirty minutes. dur
garhinR the safety OF the ammunition
hoists and turret construction OF war
ships He defended the policy OF the
Department and declared that every pos
sible precaution had been taken TO pre-
vent -iiarebacks" and make the ammunition
hoists safe.
Replying to question from Senator
Tillman as to the criticism OF Henry Reu-
terdahl that there were no emergency
hosts as we're provided in foreign navies.
and that the work in the tJIrret would be
at "A standstill If for any reason the hoists
were to become disabled, Admiral Mason
admitted that there were no emergency
appliances and he considered 1t unfortunate.
but that there was no room in the turret TO
place them. The tIrTet construction and
device for hosting ammunition on Ameri-
can ships, Admiral Mason said. we're as
good as those Of any other nation.
DO you consider the emergency hoists
necessary" Mr.. Hale asked
mo, do not, Admiral Mason answered.
In regard to adoption by the construction
bureau Of the two stage hoists which have
the Delaware, North Dakota. South Caro-
lima and Michgan--the Admiral expressed
doubt as to whether they were safer
than the direct hoists. The second
stage amounted TO an ammunition store
ROOM and if an explosion should occur there
the damage would be greater than II the
ammunition we're in the open.
-Do you think the department has done
all IL can to secure safety Of ammunition
hoists?" asked Mr.. Hale.
II do" said the Admiral "We put in
the shutters and have installed the two
stage shifts in the newer construction.
We have new designs which We intend to
adopt az soon as we can get the money
from Congress and the Use Of the ships
long enough to make the alterations in the
turrets."
Senator Perkins inquired why the Depart
ment preferred the IL inch to the 10 inch
gun Admiral Mason explained that to
secure a l3 inch gun that would carry the
same force as a ~ inch gun would add eleven
tons to the weight TO be carried and secure
no better results The Department. he
said, had adopted the settled policy Of
discarding the l3 inch gun for the IL inch.
At the executive session that followed
the committee decided To summon Lieu
tenant { commanders Hill, VOgelgesang. Sims
and Commander Fiske. These officers are
alleged to have furnished some Of the in
formation upon which the Reuterdah ar
tice was based.