The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-12-23
SERVICE
MEDAL
REFUSED
Admiral Sims Will Not Accept
Decoration Unless Others
are Given Similar
Honor.
FAvoR1TIsM IS CHARGED
Secretary of Navy DanIeIs Accused Of
Not Being Fair In His Recon-
mendations Of
Heroes.
FAvoRITIsM IS CHARGED

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service ]
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 23.-Congres-
sional Investigations of charges that
Secretary Daniels has shown favorit-
ism In awarding distinguished service
medals by disregarding recommends
! tions of high naval officers are under
way today.
The immediate cause of the investi-
cation is the refusal of Admiral Sims
| to accept medal from the secretary.
, because of Daniels alleged awarding
lof hOnOrs- to men who, in Sims Optn.
(, ion, do not deserve them.
Secretary Daniels stated he had re-
ceived from Sims a letter OF protest
this morning in which he refused to
accept the medal and one from Sen
fxtor Page, Vermont, chairman OF the
naval anairs committee. asking com
| plete details Of the awarding Of the
service medals.
| Representative Lufkin. Massachu-
setts, also gave notice today that as
soon as congress reconvenes, he will
introduce resolution asking Daniels
for report on the awarding OF naval
medals. He promised that the house
naval affairs committee will go to the
bottom of the dispute.
| The department has been pleased
to award me distinguished service
medal as an expression of its appre-
citation of the success OF the forces
under my command" Admiral Sims
| is understood to have written, "but
| since the success Of the forces abroad
was chiefly due to the loyal and eff
cient service of the officers recon-
mended for distinction-'and to them
| belongs the credit am necessarily
lplaced in position which renders it
| impossible for me to accept this
award under the conditions now ex-
isting
This becomes my duty because this
list (the one finally issued by Dan
: iels for war decorations) contains a
number Of instances of injustice to
distinguished officers, the effect of
which upon the morale of service can
not fail to be very detrimental.
"The injustice lies not in the num-
/, Der of awards made but in the fact
that the awards as issued to officers In
a number of instances are not in ac.
cord with the relative merit of the
services performed by them as indi-
Gated by my recommendations" Sims
letter continued. Officers who were
recommended for the highest awards
appear on the list as having been ac-
corded lower awards and vice versa"
In response to Chairman Pages re-
quest, Daniels is preparing a state.
lnent containing information showing
all recommendations for awards by
admirals, captains and other COM
manding officers, the action OF the
naval war board upon all such recon-
mendations and its complete report,
| the action taken by Daniels.
| "As soon as this data Is ready"
Daniels said, "it will be sent to Chair
man Page and given to the public"
| Lufkin in statement charged Dan
| iels with arbitrary action and said
Sims charges demand that real facts
! be known.
"My resolution will call for the
recommendations made by Admiral
Sims and the other fleet commanders
! in the cases Of the officers in their
| Jurisdiction entitled to recommends.
! ton, he said 1t will likewise call for
full report on the findings and recom'
mendations of the board Of which Ad-
miral knight was chairman, convened
at the instance of Secretary Daniels
to consider the cases. In the third
place the resolution will ask for the
changes in the recommendations
made by the secretary himself and
the reason for this arbitrary action
4 on his part.
"As a member of the naval com
mittee intensely Interested in efh
cheney and morale of the navy hope
that this whole agitation was the re.
suit of disappointments in the case OF
one or two officers who had failed OF
/ recognition, coupled with the desire
! of certain newspapers, to stir UP
trouble. / am convinced. however
that the matter is more far reaching
than this. When an oficer OF tne
i ICortin,aad on maze