The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-19
BOTH DENOUNCED FOR
IMMORAL PRACTICES
AMONG ENLISTED men
Most Details of Newport
Affair of "Unprint-
able Nature.

washington, July 19-Formert
Secretary Daniels and former As
sistant Secretary Roosevelt of the
navy, are denounced for the meth
DDS used in investigating the war
time scandal among enlisted mon
a. the Newport Training station inD
the majority report of a senate SUBJ
committee, made public today.
Clergy Charges Proved.
The charges made by clergymen
of Newport, r. l., and the Provi-,
dence Journal, the report says.
have been proved to the satisfae-t
tion of the committee" and both the
clergy and the Journal, the report
says, deserve the thanks of the
people at large
At the same time today Mr.. Roosd-t
velt issued a statement declaring
that Senators Ball of Delaware AMI
keyes of New Hampshire, the twoi
Republicans who constitute the ma
jority of the investigating commit,
tee, had issued their findings with
out giving him hearing after
promising to do so. which Mr..
Roosevelt, in his statement, CON-
tended shows a premeditated and
unfair purpose of seeking what they
mistakenly believe to be a partisan
political advantage"
Senator King, of Utah, the Demo-
cratic member of the investigating
committee, will file a minority re-
port later.
Roosevelt @MOrally Responsible
Most of the details of the New
| port scandal, as it is disclosed in
the investigation, are of unprinta-
| BILE nature. The crux OF the ma
jority report charges is that. with
the knowledge of Mr.. Daniels and
Mr.. Roosevelt, enlisted men Of the
navy were improperly used as par
Elephants in immoral practices for
! the purpose of securing evidence
! on which to dismiss offenders from
| the navy
Mr.. Roosevelt, under whose Of
| fee the investigation was conduct
| ed, was held by the majority to be
morally responsible" for the or
ders The findings of a naval court
martial which investigated the
scandal are introduced in the rec
ord for the fourth time II held
the action of Mr. Roosevelt ''unf0r-
tunate and iIl-advised." Secretary
Daniels disapproyed the portion OF
the findings which condemned the
method of investigation. and on
that point the committee report to-
day says:
Action ~M0st Reprehensible."
THE committee agrees that
Franklin D. Roosevelt's action was
not only unfortunate and ill-ad
vised,' but most reprehensible, and
Mr.. Daniels disapproval of this
court is to be severely condemned.
Mr.. Roosevelt, in his statement.
said that at no time was the work
of investigating supervised by him
self personally, 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 high
ly improper and revolving methods
in getting evidence" immediate or.
ders were sent out that day to
stop it,"
eThe insinuations that I must
have known. that l supervised the
operations, that I was morally re-
sDonsible," Mr.. Rooseve1t's state
ment said. "are nowhere supported
by the evidence, directly or Indirect
ly"
On that point. however, the ma
iority findings of the investigating
committee hold that Mr.. Roosevelt
was present at conferences which
determined the methods Of the IN
vestfgation and that sit Ia beyond
the comprehension of the commit,
tee how the methods to be used
could have been entirely eliminated
and forgotten at the conferences
Not AOfficiaIiy7 Informed.
II Mr.. Roosevelt did not inform
himself of the methods used, the
majority report says, he was most
,derelict in his duty"
at is probably true" the major
ity report says, "as contended by
both Secretary Daniels and Assist
ant Secretary Roosevelt that they
were not Officially" informed re-
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