Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-08
STAND BY OFFICERS
Committee Members Will Sup
port Capps and Rogers.
ROW OVER MEYER PLAN
Dispute Over Naval Reorganization
Takes New Phase.
WITNESSES TO BE SHIELDED
Indignant Representatives Comment
on the Reported Disciplining Of
Opponents to Secretary's Views.
ROW OVER MEYER PLAN
WITNESSES TO BE SHIELDED

Neither Admiral Capps nor Admiral
Rogers will be fired while Congress is in
session.
This emphatic statement was made to-
day by an extremely prominent member
of the House committee on naval affairs.
There seems to be no doubt that the row
over the reorganization of the navy has
taken on considerable of political aspect,
and those members of Congress who op-
posed the Meyer plan of reorganization
say that one of the Roosevelt policies
is involved.
Needless to say, the prominent member
of the naval committee who made the re-
mark quoted above is violently opposed to
the Meyer plan, although he will not
come out in the open and say so. But
the fact that Secretary Meyer did not
allow Congress an opportunity to pass
upon the whole question before he or
dered the radical changes that he did is
one of the several reasons why at least
half of the members of the House COM
mittee on naval affairs do not look with
any favor upon the Meyer plan.
Trial of the Newberry Plan.
Rear Admiral Casper F. Goodrich, T..
S. n, retired, appeared before the House
naval affairs committee today. He told
the committee very frankly that he did
not believe the Newberry plan had been
given a fair show before 1t was wiped
off the plate by Secretary Meyer. He
insisted that this Newberry plan-which
was approved by President Roosevelt
February /. 19O91and ordered put in
force, would have saved the NAVY De-
partment from $5O0,oOO to 1000 900 eyery
year.
There has been a whole lot of oack
and forth motion in the navy of late with
reference to the various plans for re-
organization. For instance. as stated,
the Newberry plan was ordered put : 20
effect by President Roosevelt February
1, 1909; Secretary Meyer entered the
cabinet March 4; two weeks later a board
was appointed to revise the regulations:
March %, the Sperry board was ap-
pointed. which began the work of re.
organization; June ]. the Leutze board
was appointed to continue the reor aniza-
ton work; July /, the Newberr plan was
partially overturned; November 80. the
naval regulations We're revised and Da-
cember !, just week before Congr SIS
convened. the Meyer plan was put into
full effect.
Comment of Committeeman.
The member of the naval committee
quoted above to the effect that neither
Capps nor Rogers would be fired while
Congress was in session said further, in
commenting on the reported d.sci. lining
of these two officers because when they
were before the committee they openly
and earnestly opposed the Meyer plan of
reorganization, said:
The Secretary will find out that he is
not living in Russia Or in Siberia and
cannot chop off a subordinate head when
ever II pleases his whim to do So Does
he suppose that the government, which
trains naval officers from boyhood and
spends thousands of dollars to make him
valuable member of the staff or the
line. cannot ask question and get his
opinion? If Capps and Rogers had not
come up here in response to the summons
of the naval affairs committee they would
have been brought to the Capitol and
made to testify