New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-16
COURT MARTIAL
FOR ADM. LITTLE
Retired Navy Officer 10
Be Tried for Careless
Inspection.
DUE TO TROUBLES
ON SUBMARINE k-2
Secretary Calls Action Against
officer After Retirement
Somewhat Radical.

Wellington. oct 10. Secretary Dan
ID. or8ercd to-day the trial by court
-.., = Rear Admiral William y
rs,rc retired. on Charges involving
~c.-.,. and CARELESS methods IN the
,.r3sc. Of his duties while inspector Of
machinery ct the Fore River snip
berainr Company, Quincy Mass IN
connection with the construction Of the
submarine L. s. s. K-2."
Tho court Will meet at the Boston
navy yard next Monday and viii De
.om,oscd Of Rear Admira.s Flske'
Helm Parks. wor,hingtOn, Gleaves and
Dunn. and Paymaster General COVE
vi.b Lieutenant Commander A. W.
Jobpston Sc Judge advocate.
"The action Of the department in TINS
e...r saws the statement issued by
eooro.srv Daniels, "of ordering the
trial by general court martial Of an
oec,r who has been retired after at
,.i,ine the highest naval rank on
charges relating to duties performed
rrior 20 retirement is somewhat raol-
al o,6 arrests attention. It cen be
accounted for only as an evidence Oh
81 do,artraent's determination that
Tho inspection Of ships under eonstrue-
,;or for the navy shall be conducted
,,;,b tho greatest care and thorough
ness"
The K-2 was accepted in January
1914 and troubles with her storage bat
teries have developed since that TIME
Navv officials said to-day that defective
installation rather than design mad
cspsed short circuiting. The boat was
contracted for by the Electric BOAT
Conranv and constructed by the FORE
River plant 49,, ,.sso,s nc
a. .l..sr the SecTetary'3 statement
continues "has been the SUBJECT OF
cio,e INVESTIGATION by the Navy De-
t.,.-ert As a result OF TINS inves-
-v.+f.r the department has oeen Iea
An h,lc-e that the Inspection or He
X while building az the Fore RIVER
Sbirbuilding Company was not CON
ducted with sufficient care and thof,
ou~bnc.s. and. accordingly, has ordered
Rc9r Admira, Little, who was respoh-
eible for insuecti0n OF this vessel, 70 De
tried by court martial.
Nr. Daniels said that he haG re-
ceiyed letter from Rear AGmlra! -
tie saving that ne had been assured oy
tho builders that any fault WIN 'hS
hatteric- Of the X when deVeIoPeJI
after her acceptance would De iec'''e1
bv tic company 40 It's own EXPENSE anu
had recommended her acceptance Oh
that basis.
Quincy, Mass, oct. 15.-The an
roupcement chat Rear Admiral William
y Little was 10 be court martialled for
alleged neglect and carelessness in In
specting submarine K-2 caused sur
prise among officials Of the Fore River
Sh;rbuildinc Company, where the hull
Of Inc submarine was constructed inc
10 was launched in 1913 and turned
over to the government IN January
1914. l.
OTcials Of the company said to-day
that they had never heard OF any de-
fects in The vessels construction. Rear
Admiral Little left the yard year ago
J. \. Powell, president of the Fore
River Shipbuildng Corporation, made
the following statement tonight:
The storage battery on the NJ was
installed under the supervision OF the
manufacturers representatives. Inc
battery troubles which have been eX-
perienced were due 10 causes which
have only recently been thoroughly un-
derstood. and 10 has required the most
uainstaking search TO discover the rea-
sons for the grounds in storage bat
teries. which can now be prevented.
while the K-2 was delivered 70 the
government nearly two years ago, and
some months before the present man
aeement took over operation Of the
plant, Admiral Little remained on duty
AS engineering inspector at the Fore
River Shipbuilding Corporation and the
Electric Boat Company until January
I. last, when he retired az the age OF
sixty-two years. My personal knowl-
edge Of Admiral Titles close atten.
tion 90 duty and the high standard OF
performance that he uniformly exsctec
leads me to believe that these court mar
tial proceedings are founded on mis-
understanding that will be speedily
cleared up before the court"