Evening star., 1920-01-19
Naval Committee in
FAVOR of Full Navy
Investigation.
Admiral Sims Questioned
as to Recommendations
on Decorations.

| complete investigation of Rear Ad-
mirai Sims charges against the Navy
! Departments conduct of the war will
| be made by the subcommittee now in
quiring into the award of naval deco
ratlons as soon as it completes its
! present task. This decision was made
I today by the full Senate naval COM
fnlttee- A motion by Senator Pittman,
democrat. Nevada, to have a separate
subcommittee named to make an i'm
mediate investigation was defeated.
The motion to have the present sub
committee conduct the inquiry was
made by Senator Walsh, democrat.
Chairman Hale said the committee
could not complete it's investigation of
naval decorations in less than ten
days, and that the inquiry into Ad-
| miral Sims charges would not be un-
dertaken until the committee had
under consideration.
Ine inquiry into naval awards was
resumed after the meeting of the full
committee com dtts adjourned. Admiral Sims
which started Friday
Will Discuss Awards Only,
Chairman Hale, when the subcom-
mittee met. announced the result of
the full committee meeting and said
that no evidence bearing on any sub
1ect other than the award of naval
decorations would be heard. Senator
fittman. democrat, Nevada, admon-
ished Admiral Sims not to comment
on any subject except that under con-
Sideration.
Senator Pittman directed the exami-
nation of Admiral Sims He uues-
TONED the witness with regard to his
recommendations in the case of
number of officers under his command
ana the subsequent action of the
Navy Department. He called Admiral
Sims attention to a voluminous re-
port from the Navy Department show
ing that in number of cases charac-
terized by Admiral Sims as "particu-
lariy fragrant" and destructive to
Navy morale" the Knight board. and
not Secretary Daniels, disagreed with
the admiral Admiral Sims replied
that he had carefully followed his
recommendations through and that
his criticism was not Of the persons
VINO made the changes. but of the fact
that they had been changed.
Sinking Put In Record.
Declaring that 'fn order that there
might be no reflection on the record
OF commander d. w. Bagley, ca
pahie officer" Senator sPittman read
Of distinguished service medal to
capt: Satterlee, commanding the
coast guard cutter Tampa sunk in
the British channel in September,
l9lS. with a loss Of all hands He re-
when an officer who lost his ship
without injuring the enemy was
awarded the D. s. NJ" and compared
the circumstances to those surround
ing the loss of Commander Bagley's
ship. Secretary Daniels approved the
award to Capt. Satterlee and it was
made posthumously.
Replying to statement from SEN
ator P1ttman that there was no rec
ord at the Navy Department that Ad-
miral Sims had recommended Lieut..
Frank Bruce for a medal of honor
for heroism. Admiral Sims said that
the recommendation must have been
"mislaid" at the Navy Department
after he sent it in.
Following the reading by Senator
Pittman OF letter from Secretary
Daniels to Chairman Page outlining
his reasons for awarding medals to
the commanding officer of ships sunk
by the enemy, Admiral Sims said:
Those sentiments. il maintained,
would undermine any military or
ganization'
No recommendations the investieat-
ing committee might make regarding
award of decorations to officers not
heretofore rewarded would cause him
to change his own recommendations,
Admiral Sims said.
The committee is not conyersant
with the facts and could not change
my final opinion one iota," he said
No one who did not sweat blood dur
ing the war would be competent to
say who deserved medals"
Chairman Hale ended what threaten
with the statement that 'the commit
tee iss4ot here to award medals, but
to investigate the facts surrounding
awards already made"