Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-04-18
Company's Attorney Could Not
Make Rep. liIIey Charge Naval
Officials With Ignorance
HE REFUSED TO FATHER IT.
Did Think IL Poor Policy to Have Five
Secretaries OF the Navy
In Five Years.

Was hington. April 17.-Represont-
ativs Lilley tCCnn.). under whose res
olution a special committee Of the
house has been investigating the Elec-
trio Boat company reiterated his
charges today before the committee
that the company has made excessive
profits on the contracts il has secured
from the United States government
and the most rigid cross-examnation
by members OF the committee. assist
ed by Martin Llttleton. attorney for
the electric company, failed TO make
him retract,
Mr.. Howard, Mr.. Stevens and Mr..
Olmsted manipulated the probe re-
lentlessy and vigorously. the latter
two especially trying to get the au-
thor of the charges to admit that the
secretaries and other officials of the
navy department were incompetents
and that they were fooled and duped
into entering into contracts with the
electric company.
Mr.. Stevens devoted more than an
hour to a remarkably earnest effort
TO have Mr.. I.illey charge the secre-
tary of the navy and his predecessors
within the last six on seven years the
chiefs of the navy bureaus, and naval
officials generally. in whose hands
are the construction of vessels and
the letting of warship contracts, with
gross ignorance inrfficiency and in
competency in that they were re-
sponslble for the awarding of con-
tracts to the Electric Boat company
which nettcd that concern, allcgedly.
more than $1,000, 900 of excessive pro-
u ot II,
Mr.. Lilley steadfastly refused to
father such charge. He maintained
that. to the contrary. he believed these
men were highly competent sin their
lines, and so far as their information
carried them" but he insisted that
they were not good business men. that
the bargains they made proved that,
and that TO none others than shrewd,
able business men should be entrusted
the letting of government contracts
An attempt by Mr.. Stevens to have
Mr. Liiley testify that ON the shout
dors of the president should be placed
the responsibility for the alleged IN
competency of navy officials elected
the reply that the policy which has
brought into office Ave secretaries of
tho navy in as many years is a poor
policy.
IN the course of his testimony rela-
tive to possible influences having TO
do with the awarding of contracts to
the Electric boat company, Mr.. Lilley
said he had reason to know there
has Teen q great deal Of nervousness
in the executive offices and the navy
and war departments" and that this
may have persuaded the government
officials that they should procure
submarines at any cost"
Regarding the production Of the
books of the Electrict company Mr..
Lilley said he thought they would
show that a very large sum of money
had been expended by this company
--"some such fund as the yellow dog
fund developed during the insurance
investigation in New York"
Mr.. Lilley claimed that II the Wit
ncsses had been called In the order
suggested by him, they would not have
had knowledge in advance of his in
formation, and 1t might have been
possible to bring out something in the
Officers of the Electric Boat company.
you mean by that to say that the
testimony that has been delivered has
been false testimony" asked Mr..
Howard.
II do not mean TO say anything
about 1t. | think they had a chance
to cut their cloth according to my
knowledge"
you think that the methods of the
examination have facilitated false
swearing on the part of the witnesses
in evading the charges?"
II think IL was unfortunate in my
disclosing my knowledge 20 them be-
fore they were summoned"