Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-11-19
DANIELS REBUKES
COURT MARITAL
Acquittal Of Lieut.. Oak, of the San
Diego, Causes Storm.
ORIGINAL VERDICT REVOKED.
But Court Refuses to Blame Senior
0fficer---Duty of Senior Engineer
Officer to Keep Informed.

Officer to Keep Informed.
Josephus Daniels, the Secretary OF
the Navy announced the administra-
tons disapproval of the verdiets rem
dered by . naval general court-mar-
tial acquitting three officers of the
Navy, who were recently tried az the
Mare Island navy yard on charges OF
culpable negligence and inefficiency
in the performance of duty, which re-
suited in an explosion of boilers on
the armored cruiser san Diego dur
ing the past winter.
in announcing the departments dis
approval of the verdict, Secretary
Daniels issued q statement. which is
looked upon in naval circles as Sc
we're rebuke for the members of the
court.
The explosion, which wrecked five
boilers. occurred while the San Diego
was making a full power run In the
Gulf of California on January 21. 1915.
and caused the death of nine men.
Admiral Thomas 3. Howard recon-
mended the court-martial of certain Of
ficers whom he regarded as responsi-
bic for the accident.
The officers tried and acquitted by
the court were Lieut. Kinchen l.. Hill,
a South Carolinian; Lieut.. Edison c.
Oak, who was appointed from Maine.
and Chief Machinist Thomas ODon-
nell, who was appointed from New
York. The court acquitted all three
men. The Navy Department returned
the record for revision.
Upon revision, the court revoked its
finding and acquittal and found Lieu
tenant Hill guilty, but in revising its
verdict the court adhered to its aeauit-
tai of Lieutenant Oak. But in view of
the acquittal of Lieutenant Oak. the de-
partment, while approving the revised
finding which convicted Lieutenant
Hill. remitted the sentence against him
on the ground that a junior officer
should not carry the entire onus for
the explosion, when Lieutenant Oak,
the senior officer, was acquitted. Chief
Machinist O'Donnell was was found not
guilty.
The court which acquitted Lieuten-
ant Oak was headed by Capt John NJ.
Ellicott, u. S. Navy, a retired officer,
who was appointed from the State of
Maryland. and whose home is at st.
Inigoes. Md. The other members of
the court were Lieut. Commanders
Lloyd L. Shapely and Zene E. Briggs.
Major John F. McGill, of the Marine
Gnrnc gnd 1 I ~
Secretary Daniels said he was unable
to state which of these officers voted
for acquittal
Il am unable" said the Secretary.
ITO state how any member voted. in
view of the oath required by law which
prohibits each member from divulging
his vote unless required TO do so by
due process of law. cannot. however
believe that the acquittal of Lieutenant
Oak represents the opinion of more
than bare majority of the members.
In the absence Of positive proof to the
contrary I am unwilling to believe that
the ideals Of duty and responsibility
of all the members of the court are
so low as to exonerate Lieutenant Oak
OF neglect of duty"
In his announcement of the depart
ment's disapproval of the findings. the
Secretary asserted that by its acquit-
tai the court held, in effect, either that
it was not incumbent upon Lieutenant
Oak to take the initiative and keep
himself informed of conditions which
he knew at least twenty-five minutes
before the explosion were abnormal. or
that he was justified in gambling with
human life and government property
under his charge"
Secretary Daniels asserted that the
Department is unable to discover what
motives induced the court TO enter its
finding Of acquittal OF Lieutenant Oak
and announced the departments be-
lief that the verdict was "entirely in
conflict with the evidence adduced."
Lieutenant Oak, the senior engi-
neer officer of the San Diego, on this
full power run. was tried on a charge
of culpable negligence and ineffcienev
in performance of duty. The specifca-
tions alleged that Lieutenant Oak while
present at his station during the run.
was aware of the shortage of water in
the boilers, failed to take any action to
remedy the shortage, and that he ac-
cepted and lent "his moral support to
his juniors in accepting unwarranted
risk which a reasonable. prudent engi-
neer would not have been warranted
in accepting"
The Navy Department has informed
the general court martial which tried
Lieutenant Oak, that their action has
resulted in serious miscarriage Of
justice which, if countenanced, would
tend to internally lower the standard Of
discipline and efficiency in the naval
service