Evening star., 1925-02-15
CONTINUED from First Page.)


w. Lewis. director of the national
advisory committee for aeronautics.
and James V. Martin. an aircraft
manufacturer.
The committee adopted a resolution,
Mr.. Perkins said, which would not
permit witnesses to change their tes-
timony given under oath Permis-
sion in several cases had been grant
ed in the past and at times, he said,
the entire meaning had been changed.
Hereafter if any witnesses desire to
revise their testimony they must ap-
! pear in open session and give the
corrections on the stand. the resolu-
tion declared.
Testimony to Continue.
The committee voted down the pro-
posal of Mr. Perkins to close the
taking of testimony Wednesday, de-
Claring there were matters of such
great Importance yet to be consid-
cred that the work should not be
halted now. Further, 1t was said, If
the testimony was closed within the
next few days it would be physically
impossible to study the volumes of
testimony now at hand and make a
report to the Congress, which ad-
will be made to obtain permission to
report at the opening of the Decem-
her session and in the meantime the
committee will meet daily with the
view to preparing its report, Mr.
Perkins said.
The most important witness at
yesterdays open session was Rear
Admiral Shoemaker, who appeared to
refute testimony given Friday by
rol - Coha Hnr
ice Reserves, of this city, that he had
caused a report on the 1928 bombing
exercises designed for the public over
Gen. Pershing's signature to be CEN
sored. The admiral read correspond
ence between the Secretary OF war
and the Secretary of the Navy to snow
that he was a guest aboard the St
Mihiel. the observing ship at the
bombing of the American battleships
Virginia and New Jersey by Army
airplanes, and had no official connec-
ton with the tests.
Denies Conversation Reported.
The conversation credited to him
by Col. Schauffler, who claims he over
heard the admirars comment to
Junior naval officer after reading the
statement submitted to him for his
approval was: Its true, every bit
of it. My God! We can't let this
get out. it would ruin the Navy. We've
got to change it rms quotatlon
was read by Admiral Shoemaker, who
denied, under oath, having used that
language in the exact words or any
other words that could be construed
into the expression given by Col.
Schauff1er. His aides had been ques-
toned on the matter, and they denied
hearing any conversation along the
line referred to, Admiral Shoemaker
said. The gentleman" crediting him
with that statement, Admiral Shoe
maker said must have been drawing
on his imagination or dreaming
AS he recalled the incident of the
censored statement" Admiral Shoe
maker said he was approached by
two naval officers and one Army
officer with the paper for his approval
He said he had no idea the report
would be submitted to him, as he was
only a guest and had nothing to do
with the bombing. 1T was a matter
of courtesy on the part of Gen.
Pershing."
Denies Statement Changed.
I'm my opinion, the statement did
not entirely state the case," continued
the witness, who added it might have
wrong influence on public opinion
form" The paper was not changed
in any detail. but Admiral Shoe
maker said he added two paragraphs
to the effect that the water-tight
integrity had been partially destroyed
before the ships were submitted for
bombing through the removal of
water-tight doors, piping, etc, in dis
mantling. THE tests would not,
hope, be considered as conclusive evil
dence that any similar airplane bombs
could sink modern battleships," Ad-
miral Shoemaker said he wrote and
closed with the statement that the
tests do show that airplane bombs
can do damage and that the Army
Air Service personnel can bomb ac-
curately.
The admiral read report from
the commandant of the Norfolk Navy
Yard on the dismantling of the Vir-
ginia and New Jersey before they
were turned over for the tests which
showed the vessels did not possess
water-tight integrity. TT would
have been impossible to have had
water-tight integrity without the ex-
penditure of great sums of money"
said the witness. With this fact in
mind the admiral said he had dis
cussed the bombing with others on
the ships in which he declared he
did not see why the battleshipS should
not be sunk.
Discounts Direct Hit.
Information which he said he OBJ
tanned from ordnance experts and
which gave the impression that 1t
had been CLEANED from the ordnance
tests against. the battleship WASH
ington. was given to the committee
by Admiral Shoemaker. He emphat-
lcaliy declared 1T is the opinion of
these and other experts that four
1000 pound bombs are necessary be-
fore a ship is put out of action. Be-
fore a battleship can be sunk the
bombs would have to drop within