Evening star., 1923-09-25
WATSON ASSUMES
BLAME FOR WRECK
Chief of lll-Fated Destroyer
Squadron ExonerateS His
Fellow Officers.
by the AssoeIstsd Press.

by the Associated Press.
SAN DIEGO. Calf. September 25,--
Lieut.. Commander Donald T. Hunter,
commanding officer of the u. s. s. Del
ply. which led destroyer squadron IL
on the rocks of Honda, Calf. Sep
tember s. was ready TO take the stand
at the opening OF today's session of
the naval court of inquiry investigat-
ing the disaster which cost seven
ships and the lives of twenty-three
enlisted men.
According to the testimony of Lieut.
Laurence r. Blodgett. navigation Of
ficer of the Delphy, he and Lieut..
Commander Hunter together made
the fatal decision 10 turn eastward at
O'Clock the night of the wreck, the
latter actually issuing the order for a
change OF course.
Watson Takes the Blame.
Capt. Edward H Watson. chief of
the Inflated eleventh squadron. told
the court yesterday. however, that he
had made the decision to turn east
ward, despite radio warnings that
they were too far north. and that
Lieut.. Commander Hunter had issued
the order to change course at 3
o'clock, in accordance with his in
structions. for which he assumed full
responsibility.
So anxious was Capt. Watson to
make clear that he made this critical
decision that he asked the court
ssenographer to read back his testi-
Inony so that there might be no
mistake in the record.
After Capt. Watson had made his
declaration of responsibility from the
witnesS stand, however, commendtng 2
highly the officers and men who face
death with him in the disaster and
taking all the blame for the decision
himself 1t appeared from questions
addressed to him by Rear Admiral
William V. Pratt, presiding member
Of the investigating body, that the
court was not satisfied to rest with
Capt. Watson's frank acknowledge
ment of responsibility.
Course OF Inquiry Undecided.
What course the examination OF
Lieut.. Commander Hunter would take
today. therefore. was expected to be
determined by conditions entirely
outside of Capt. Watson's frank ad-
missions that he himself mad de-
cided the fatal change of course;
that he had never yet ordered sound
ings taken in all his fourteen months
as chief of the eleventh squadron;
that he attached little weight to radio
signals warning him he was too far
north to turn into Santa Barbara
channel, and that he had mot taken
the Pains" to verify the propeller
revolutions count on which the dis
tance covered by his squadron was
estimated
Admiral Pratt of the investigatins
body asked Watson to state whether he
had ever objected to his division com.
manders asking independently for radio
compass bearings with which to check
their squadron commanders naviga
ton. or whether he had ever objected
to their taking Soundings for the pur-
pose Of making sure that the squadron
dagship was right in its dead reckoning
Had Never Objected, He Says.
To these questions Capt. Watson an
swered that he had not ever objected
to such Independent soundings or re-
quests FOR bearings. and that he did
not object to his division commanders
checking his navigation for errors or
reporting such errors to him if they
discovered them.
Under cross-examination by counsel
for the division commanders involved
Capt. Watson qualified his answer by
saying that soundings could not have
been taken while the squadron was
travelling at twenty knots; that a diyj-
sion commander would first have had tc
ask him for permission to slow down for
Here Admiral Pratt interrupted again:
But. as a aSmatter Of fact, were your
navigation facilities any better than
those OF your division commanders had
tney CHOSEN TO exercise little initia-
No" answered the witness.
DO you feel that you can assume
all or the responsibility that at times
must fall on the shoulders of your
DIVISION commanders. particularly
VesselS?'
Il have no desire to assume their