Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-10-29
DEFENDS GUNNERY
OF u. S. WARSHIPS
Capt. Niblack Attacks Representa-.
tive Gardner's Statements As
to the Michigan.
REFUSES TO BE MADE GOAT"
Says if Legislators Had to Go to Firins
Line There Would be Less 0ratory.
PART 4

made "the goat in an attempt to dis
credit somebody else. Capt Albert p.
| Niblack. commanding the battleship
Michigan, star hitter of the Atlantic
deet, has made an open reply to the
charges of the inefficiency of the Mich
igan in her battle practice
1 Captain Niblack cites figures i'm re-
| ply to statements of Representative
Gardiner. and points out to the pub
| lie some of the difficlties which the
| naval gunners run into in battle prac-
| tice He remarks that few will reap
1 the result of the folly of neglect in
| preparation for war by government Of
| ficials more surely than naval officers
and says that IF there was an equally
automatic method OF putting the legis-
| lative branch of the government on
the firing line in case of trouble. there
would be less oratory and more loos-
ening up"
Captain Niblack says that while he
| has high personal respect for Mr. Gard
| iners' good intentions. he has none for
his methods. He says the representa-
tive has been misled and has misled
others. He declares he informed the
representative that he was riding for
a fall" Captain Niblack's letter is as
! follows:
81 once knew an inventor who said
that he hated to go out on the street
because he saw so many things he
could improve. The Michigan has re-
Gently been the storm center of one of
Representative A. p Gardeners laud-
able uplift movements in national pre-
paredness. but. unfortunately for him.
the current mortifying gossip and
alarming record of this ship turns out
to have been a figment of his imagina-
ton, and this horrible example in de-
generacy in naval gunnery has been
awarded the battle efficiency pennant
as having the best combined score in
gunnery and engineering efficiency OF
all the ships in the battleship class for
the past year.
THAT it cannot be said that the pen
nant was awarded the ship just to dis
appoint him, or that the scores were
doctored, or that she won because
other ships were poorer, statement
of facts will clear the air. and convict
Mr.. Gardiner in fearlessness in hand
ling firearms.
After the feet target practice last
spring mortifying gossip informed Mr..
Gardiner that the Michigan made only
five hits out of twentyseven shots with
twelve-inch guns, so to improve mat
ters he wrote me a letter to that effect
and asked me if it was true. AS he
mentioned divisional practice, l. in
good faith, stated that he was mista-
ken, as the Michigan's hits were in two
figures, but l was not permitted TO say
exactly,as the matter was confidential,
June %. in spite of this, he wrote an
open letter TO the Secretary of the
Navy, published broadcast. attacking
naval gunnery and selecting this ship
as a horrible example, stating that
whereas in 1911 she had made nineteen
hits out of twenty-seven shots. in the
current year Q915) she made only five
hits out of twenty-seven shots.
Not wishing to be drawn into con-
troversy. ] wrote the Secretary OF the
Navy a letter. and told him that Mr..
Gardiner had made this accusation to
me in writing and had unqualifedly
denied it, so Mr.. Daniels, August 3,
| publicly denied his statement Mr..
| Gardiner wrote me that it was day in
! dividual practice he had alluded to,
| and | at once replied that the Mich
l igan's hits on that practice were even
greater than at divisional practice, and
that this ship had. in fact, won the
competition and done better than any
other ship afioat
II deprecated his mixing my busi-
ness with his business,and in so many
words told him he was riding for a
fall He replied on August II. and in
| timated that the figures | was dealing
| in had been doctored by the Navy De-
! partment. or, as he expressed it, re
| viewed and that's he was going to eX-
pose the process by publishing all the
Il scores. so on August 13 he gave a long
/ letter to the press. Among other things
| he said:
when | wrote June % | had no fig
ures available except those of the
| Michigan Since then have acquired
the figures of the individual spring
| practice of the rest of the fleet. and
realize that many a battleship has n
l worse record that the Michigan
"As Mr.. Gardeners letter was long,
and his charges specific, | want TO
clinch things by saying that no one
| ever reported. signaled or decided that
the Michigan made five hits on this or
any other practice, and the number of
| hits awarded by observers at the time
| signaled and unchanged by the Navy
Department, was the winning number.
so the nsinuation of constructive hits
| can be dismissed.
Il have high personal respect for Mr
Gardeners good intentions. and none
l for his methods. He has been misled.
and has misled others .and.as a public
| duty in these critical times. necessar-
| riIy at some length, ! will try and illu-
! inmate the subject, which worries him.
| by a plain statement of facts.
! There has never been time in the
| history of the navy when more time
1 and earnest attention is given to target
| practice and preparation for it. AS
! target practice is progressive and
| harder each year, it is difficult to COM
| pare the results of one year with those
| of another, the conditions and rules OF
! firing being different