The Washington herald., 1920-03-23
SIMS REVEALS
BENSON'S TALK.
Latter's Warning Not to Be
Catspaw to England
Cited by Witness.
By FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

ny FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
1t was Rear Admiral william s.
Benson, recently appointed chair
man of the Shipping Board by Presi-
dent Wilson. who told Admiral Sims
that I'VE would as soon fight the
British as the Germans"
Admiral Benson, then chief Of
naval operations. admonished Sims
to that effect on two days in sue
cession at the Navy Department in
April. 1917. Six months later, in
Sims ONCE in Paris, Benson re-
peated that portion of his original
statement which warned Sims mot
to let the British pull the wool over
your eyes, as we are not pulling
their chestnuts out of the fire."
Sims declared that both of Ben
sons statements in Washington
were made in the presence OF other
officers.
Senatorial Sparks Fly.
After Sims had made the eagerly
awaited disclosure, at the insistence
of Senator Hale. the chairman, the
admiral was subjected to a scorch-
ing cross-examination on the Navy
Departments behalf by Senator
Key Pittman, Democrat, of Nevada.
The cross-examination caused the
sparks to fly time after time. At
one moment II brought Senator Hale
and Senator Pittman into q violent
clash over questions of procedure.
Pittman finally snarling that he
would "pay no attention" to re-
proofs from the chairman.
War Management Hit.
Admiral Sims refused to be brow
beaten by Senator Pittman's line of
Questioning, but at it's end plainly
nettled at the unabashed intent of
the cross-examiner's tactics, Sims
blurted out:
"All 1 know. Senator, Is this -
that we naval officers have made UP
our minds that we will not go into
the next war IL 1t Is going to be
conducted under the same condi-
tions as the late oner The admirars
frank outburst caused the hearing
room, which was filled with navy
folk, mostly women, to break into
approving applause.
Secretary Daniels defending
counsel aimed at convicting Sims
of three cardinal misdemeanors -
first. of breach Of discipline in re-
vealing official instructions; second,
of furthering British propaganda to
bring about subordinating of Gen,
III nsNN
mand, and, third. of advocating that
American soldiers be used as ship
yard laborers.
Senator Pittman produced docu-
ments extracted from Sims conf
Dental correspondence with the
Navy Department in the attempt to
bring the admiral to book. The
first was a letter which Sims wrote
officer in the war zone, Admiral Sir
Lewis Bayly, commanding at
Queenstown.
The other documents were a dis
patch from Sims to Secretary Dan
iels on November Is, 1917. and a pri-
vate memorandum sent to Sims for
purposes of information by the late
Ambassador Page in London in jan
uary, 1918.
Meets All Dimculties.
Sims had little difficulty in ex-
planning the purport of all three
documents, with the aid of which
Senator Pittman had manifestly
hoped to accomplish the admirafs
discontinue.
Neither did Senator Pittman get
very far with the admission dragged
from Sims that the Admiral had
shown his letter of January Z to
Secretary Daniels, containing revela-
tions now under inquiry, to Henry
P. Dawson, of ]. p. Morgan & Com
pany, and chairman of the Ameri-
can Red Cross. Sims confessed that
while spending the night at Mr..
Davison's house in New York. about
the middle of January, he had let
his host read the letter to Daniels.
Il admit that was an indiscretion
on my part" said Sims, with sailor
like bluntness.