Arizona republican., 1908-04-18
.LILLEY TURNS ON COMMITTEE Why His Charges Have
 Fallen Flat
Electric Boat Companies
 Were Fixed In Advance
 to Meet the Charges.

Washington. April 17.-Representa- tive Lilley of Connecticut, under whose resolution a splendid committee of the house has been Investigating the Ele-- tric Boat company, reiterated his charges today before the committee that the company made excessive pro- fits on the contracts 1t secured from the United States government. The most rigid cross examination by mem bers of the committee. assisted by Mar tin w. Littleton. attorney for the cleo tric company. failed to make him re- tract
 Messrs. Howard, Stevens and Olm- sted manipulated the probe relentlessly and vigorously. The latter two espec- tally tried to get the author of the charges to admit that the secretaries and other officials of the navy depart ment were incompetents and that they were fooled and duped into entering into contract with the Electric Boat company.
 Stevens devoted more than half an hour to a remarkably earnest effort to have Lilley charge the secretary of the navy and his predecessors within the last six or seven years. and the chiefs of the navy bureau and naval offiercs generally. in whose hands was the construction of vessels and the letter ing of warship contracts, with a gross ignorance. inefficiency and incompe- tency." in that, they were responsible for the awarding of contracts to the Electric Boat company which netted the concern. allegedly. more than a million dollars of excessive profit at the governments cost
 Mir. Lilley steadfastly refused to father such a charge. He maintained that to the contrary, be believed these men highly competent, fin their lines so far as their information car ried them" but he insisted that they were not good business men and the poor bargains they made proved that to none others than shrewd able business men should be entrusted the letting of government contracts.
 An attempt by SteI ems to have Lilley testify that on the shoulders of the president should be placed the respon- sibility which brought into office five secretaries of the navy in as many years. a poor policy.
 In the course of his testimony rela- tive to possible influence having to do with the awarding of contracts to the Electric Boat company. Lilley said he had treason to know that there had been a great deal of nervousness in the executive offices of the navy and war departments" This may have per suaded the government officials that they should procure submarines at any cost
 Regarding the production of the books of +@o Electric company. Lilley said he thought they would show that very large sums of money had been expended by the company. some such fund as the yellow dog fund develop ed during the insurance investigation in New York"
 L-illey claimed that if the witnesses had been called in the order suggested by him. they woulI not have the knowledge in advance of his informa- ton and it might have been possible to bring out some thing against the of ficers of the Electric Boat company.
 You mean by that to say the testi- mony that has been deliveEed has been false testimony" asked Howard
 'I do not mean to say anything about it. I think they had a chance to cut their cloth according to my knOwl- edge"
 You think the methods of the ex- aminations have facilitated false swearing on the part of the witnesses in evading the charges?"
 T think it unfortunate in my dis closing any knowledge to them before they were summoned" was the reply