The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-07-19
FLAY DANIELS,
ROOSEVELT IN
NAVY SCANDAL
Former Secretary and Assist
ant Denounced In Senate
Report of Methods Used In
Investigation.
COUNTER STATEMENT.
(By Associated Press,

WAoHlNG lON, July IL. roiAOi
Secretary Daniels and former Assist
ant Secretary Roosevelt of the navy.
are denounced for the methods used
in investigating the war time scandal
among enlisted men at the Newport
training station, in the majority re-
port of senate subcommittee, made
public today.
The charges made by clergymen of
Providence, R. l., and the Providence
Journal, the report says, have been
proved to the satisfaction OF the COM
mittee," and the clergy and the Jour
nal says the report, deserve the
thanks of the people at large"
At the same time today Mr.. Roose-
welt issued a statement declaring that
Senators Ball of Delaware and Keyes
of New Hampshire, the two Republi-
cans who constitute the majority OF
the investigating committee, had is
sued their findings without giving him
hearing after promising to do so.
which Mr.. Roosevelt in his statement
contended shows a premeditated and
unfair purpose of seeking what they
mistakenly believe to be a partisan
political advantage"
Minority Report
Senator King, of Utah, the Demo
cratic member of the investigating
committee, will file a minority report
later. Most of the details of the New
port scandal. as it is disclosed in the
investigation, are of an unprintable
nature,
The crux of the majority report
charges is that with the knowledge of
Mr. Daniels and Mr.. Roosevelt, enlist
ed men of the navy were improperly
used as participants in immoral prac-
tices for the purpose of securing evil
dence on which to dismiss offenders
from the navy.
Mr.. Roosevelt under whose office
the investigating was conducted, is
held by the majority to be morally
responsible" for the orders.
The findings of naval court mar
tial which investigated the scandal are
introduced in the record for the first
time.
1t held the action of Mr. Roosevelt
unfortunate and i'll advised" Secre-
tary Daniels disproved the portion of
the findings which condemned the
method of investigation and on that
says:
Condemn Daniels
THE committee agrees that Frank
lin D. Roosevelts action was not only
unfortunate and i'll advised but most
reprehensible and Mr.. Daniels disap-
proval of this opinion of the court is
to be severely condemned"
Mr.. Roosevelt, in his statement.
said that at no time was the work of
Investigating supervised by his per
! sonally and that when in September
1919, he and the acting chief of the
bureau of navigation were informed
! that members of the investigating
squad had used highly improper and
revolving methods in getting evi
dence," immediate orders were sent
out that day ito stop it."
1.-THE insinuations that l must have
known, that | supervised the opera
tions, that / was morally responsible,
said Mr.. Roosevelt's statement, ARE
nowhere supported by the evidence
directly or indirectly"
| Majority Finding
| On that point. however. the major
| ity findings of the investigating com
mittee hold that Mr. Roosevelt was
present at conferences which determ
! ined the methods of the investigating
and that 'it is beyond the comprehen
sion of the committee how the meth
DDS to be used could have been entire
ly eliminated and forgotten at thu
conferences. ''If Mr.. Roosevelt die
not inform himself of the methods
used" the majority report says, "ht
was most derelict in his duty"