The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1920-05-21
DANIELS SAYS HIS
NAME WAS FORGED
Declares the Document Display
ed by Sims Bogus
SAYS AN APOLOGY IS DUE HIM
Secretary Charges That The Admiral
Withdrew Destroyer Escort From
First Convoy AS Soon AS 1t
Arrived Abroad.

shington.-Charges that a cable
gram produced before the Senate
Naval Investigating Committee during
the testimony of Rear Admiral Sims
bore forged signature were made by
Secretary Daniels. He referred to a
message which Admiral Sims had pre-
sented as part of his criticism of the
Navy Department and which purport-
ed to have been signed by the Secre-
tary.
Somewhere somebody was guilty
of signing my name to an official dis
patch which the original, here pro-
duced, shows l never signed" Mr..
Daniels told the committee, cor of
altering a dispatch by erasing the
real signature and substituting Dan
iels.'"
The concluding paragraph of the
cablepram read:
"In regard to conveys I consider
that American vessels having armed
guards are safer when sailing inde-
pendently."
Mr.. Daniels testified that immedi-
ately upon reading the Admiral's tes-
timony he knew he never sent such
a cablegram and he started an in
vestigation.
'I knew" he said, "that If my name
appeared on such a telegram it would
be because somebody had forged my
name to it."
The Secretary said he finally found
the original dispatch in the British
Embassy, through which it had been
sent, and the name signed to it was
A. F. Carter, "by directions of the
chief of naval operations
The statement that it was signed
Daniels is untrue, said the Secre-
tary. "No such telegram signed
Daniels was ever sent to Admiral
Sims. In his testimony he reiterated
over and over again that this dispatch
made him about ready to jump over
board and that 1t was signed with
my name, conveying the impression
that the civilian secretary Of the navy
had personally passed upon the ques-
tion of a particular method to pro
tect shipping and was resisting the
adoption of the convoy system.
knew l never entertained the opinion
stated in the dispatch he displayed y
Admiral Sims should produce the
person who changed the signature
Mr. Daniels declared, adding that the
Admiral owed "an apology to me and
to the country for the impression un
dertaken to be made by his testimony
based upon false signature"
Much of the secretary's testimony
was developed to the controversy over
conveying troop ships. He insisted
that Admiral Sims had not agreed with
the departments views as to the nee
essity for protecting transports and
told the committee he had found il
necessary to remind Admiral Sims sew
eral times during the war that the
first duty of American destroyers
abroad was to protect these vessels.
The AdmiraPs course regarding the
protection of troop ships caused the
department much anxiety" the sec
retary declared, and finally he blunt
ly' told Sims that everything was
secondary to the safeguarding of yes
sells carrying American soldiers.
Mr.. Daniels charged that Admiral
Sims withdrew the destroyer escort
from the first convoy as soon as il
arrived abroad, leaving the transports
no protection for the return voyage
Admiral Gleaves, in charge Of the
convoy system, doubted the authen
ticity of Admiral Sims order directing
the destroyer force to proceed tc
Queenstown and made an investiga
ton both through the American EN-
bassy at Paris and the Navy Depart
ment. Admiral Sims, he said, finally
was instructed to protect the ships
when they left France.