The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-23

that the navy was unprcpareh for war.
The communication was sent to the
Senate in response TO the Lodge resolu-
tary Daniels to submit a letter from the
Navy General Board, dated August 3,
1914. and n communication from Rear
Almiral Fiske. dated November 2. 1914.
Representative Britten asked Mr. Daniels
,o produce them during the iattcr's ex-
animation before the House Naval Com
mitice and the Secretary refused
Search at the Navy Department i'ae now
called to disclose the letter from the
General Board.
''lt this country avoids war during
tnc next five years IT viii be accom-
plished onl, by a happy combination Of
high diplomatic skill and rare good for
tune" was the Admirals solemn opinion
formally expressed to the Secretary of
the Navy.
ADMIRAL Fiskc's Letter.
Rear Admiral Fiskc stated tina; the
navy was then short le,soo men. The
ships hc said, were we'll organized and
pretty well drilled" The Navy De-
partmcnt itself ne characterized AS
neither organized nor drilled in "A mill
'tfN way. ne VI Sc'itNdTN
Daniels to give serious heed TO this
warning is expected to be discussed cx-
tensivciy In Congress. The letter follows ::
Prom .\ide for operations.
To secretary of the Nav!
subject: The naNy's unprepa edness
tor war
~ I, beg leave respectfully. bui ur-
gently. to request the attention of the
Secretary to the fact tina; the United
:, fnT
- 1t is ;ruc that the United states
does not expect TO get into war IN the
near future and Is not preparing for war.
II l. true that nothing Couid Lee more
urNiSc than for the country or tho navy
itself to become nervous about the con-
ditiun II war into which most of the
civilized world has been plunged. II Is
true that there l. no cause for excite
mvit. and II = also true that even the
most timid person can give no specih'
ieason for anticipating war with any
given country at any given tine.
20 II - also true, however. That the
mere absence of actual certainty of COM
ing war is no reason 70? neglectlng prep
aratlon Some persons assume that a
disposition TO make preparation evidences
"A state of alarm in the mind OF the per-
sou who proposed 10 make preparation
Yet such an assumption - ent'rei! li"e-
icsl Wise men and wise nations Sno~
their wisdom in no better wa! IMAM .!
taking wise PRECAUTIONS against possible
dangers The prevalence OF smallpox
induces wise people to guard their fani-
lies against II by vaccination. They 40
no, expect to bc attacked by smallpox
bu, nevertheless they think n wise 1"
take precautions against IL.
~. Uut. as an %d''scr.
=. Because of the position which !
have occupied for more thdn !''' 'L"
"A half as senior adviser TO the Sc,F'.n'!
OF the Navy IL ua- been my dutH 10 Neep
myself Informed a. far as l nave "''"
able OF the conditions "f the various I'D, =,
tins in relation 20 war, the crcc,s OF
IA, cauditiou upon US, the strength or
ON, navy compared with other hdNltN
and tn. degree of probability OF our be-
ing dragged into war A..
- The present condition AL over thc
world is one OF general upheaNai. Inc
stat, Of unstable equilibrium "hich 'h'
great Powers u'aintained ioI many
wears with great skill and care has been
at last upset. coniIlct - soIhi on
y.ry few results of which can be fore
told. one thing probably can be fore
told hy,reyer--l mean that II can be
foretold that the conflict will be violent
and also Will he lcng, involving o'h"t
countries than those now taking part ana
followed even after the war az preS' NJ
outlined has been ended oy a series "'
NOR. or less violent rcadJustinents OF
boundaries. insua: possessions, treaties
and agreements OF every KIND
80 surely he would be an optim!si
"a bo would expect that "A state Of general
peace will come in less than iive years.
During the next five years We must ex-
pect a great number Of causes OF dis
agreement between this country and
other countries and periods of tension
between this Government and others
periods like that preceding the Spanish
war needing only casualty IKE the
blowing up of the Maine to precipitate
conflict.
Dnugcr for the United states.
-, In my opinion as your professional
adviser and in the opinion of every naval
officer with whom | have talked tine
limited States IL in danger Of being
drawn into war aud will continue to be
In danger for several years. And when
I say war I do not mean war Of the
kind that we had with Span, but war
with a great Power. carried on in the
same ruthless spirit and IN the same
wholesale manner as that which per
yades the fighting In Europe now. II l.
true that | cannot specify the country
With Nnltn war Is iIuSl DfoDd H'i 'ii'
time nor the cause. But my studies OF
wars in the past and my observations of
conditions AZ the present time convince
me that II this country avoids war dur
ing the next five years 1t VIII be accom-
plished only by a happy combination "f
high diplomatic skill and rare good for
tune.
IS. Would it be wise to base all our
hopes of national safety on such frail
foundation" Would ii be wise to close
our eyes to the dangers that confront
MS? Would IL not be wiser to look the
dangers clearly in the face and take rea-
sonable precaution TO avert them
-. Comparing our navy with the ma
yies which we may have to meet in war
find that our navy is unprepared In
three ways;
Insu nlcient Personnel.
30. First, it has an insufficient num-
her Of officers and enlisted men. Tho
number OF officers cannot be increased
that is, the number OF suitable officers,
because II takes four years 10 gel u in,i-
shipman through the academy and sew
craI years afterward to train him. hut
the number Of enlisted men can he in
creased. and very quickly. 1t has been
said that In time Of war We could add tO
our enlisted personnel from the naval re-
serve and the navai militia. To my
mind this is a visionary notion, with no
basis OF fact to rest upon. We have
been working to get a nuval reserve and
naval militia for more than thirty
years. scores Of expedients have been