New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-04-04
No Exoneration Possible.

he has been deceived as TO the lacts by
unscrupulous advisers. 1t is a pathetic
generation which "The Times has
framed.
at is clear" says our former neighbor
chat the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, the
reserve fleets and the torpedo and subma-
rinc flotllas as they exist to-day are IN
no sense ready for war. The evidence as
to this state Of affairs is conclusive. The
responsibility for the navys unreadiness
for WARRIOR it is not ready in any single
department-should be fixed. Are naval
officers responsible? Is the Secretary OF
the Navy responsible? Is Congress re-
sponsible? The question must be an
swered. The President and the people
have been deceived
This argument is an adaptation TO
American conditions of the theory-very
comfortable in this instance to the Presi-
dents defenders-that he, like the con-
ventional monarch, can do no wrong, be-
cause he is merely a fgurehead executing
the decisions of his constitutional advisers.
Such description of Mr.. Wilson's actlvi-
ties is. Of course. nonsensical; for there
have been few other Presidents who have
pushed as far as he has done the assump-
ton that the President is and ought to
be a national leader-a controlling IN
fuence not only in administration but IN
legislation as we'll
If Mr.. Wilson has been deceived about
the unpreparedness Of the navy 1t IS only
because he wanted to be deceived. He
has not been the unsuspectlng victim OF
an unscrupulous Secretary of the Navy or
of designing naval officers seeking to with
hold the truth from him. Secretary Dan
iels has never deceived anybody. There
has been no Iago-lke guile about him.
His anti-preparedness propensties and
manpuvres have been as clear as day.
Nor. apart from a little coterie of place
holders dependent directly on the Secre-
tary's favor. have the officers of the navy
ever attempted TO mislead the President.
For the last two years practically every
naval officer Of high standing VINO has
testified before the committees of Con
gress has admitted the navy's unrcadlness
>{sr war The newspapers and magazines
have tecnicd with articles showing how
defective our naval organization IS and
how far below the requirements OF war
service each and every branch Of the ser
vice has been. The charges of unpre-
paredness made have never been success
fully denied. They cannot be successfully
denied. All that the Navy Department
has been able to do has been to prosecute
officers like Admiral Fiske who have had
the courage 70 tell the unpalatable truth.
How could Congress, as "Thc Times
suggests. have played on the credulty OF
an innocent President? Congress receives
estimates from the Navy Department and
is supposed to be guided by the depart
ment's recommendations in making au-
thorizations and appropriations. To the
credit of the two houses it must be said
that since the European war began they
have been more alive TO the needs of naval
reorganization than the Secretary Of the
Navy and the President have been. They
voted a larger increase in ships than the
Secretary asked for and they would have
created the equivalent Of a General staff
for the navy last year if Mr.. Daniels had
not at the last moment persuaded the con-
ferrees on the naval appropriation bill that
creating such an expert body would be
derogatory 10 his own Importance and
dignity.
The Presidents military policy has not
been controlled in any way by his ad-
visers in the War and Navy departments.
Mr.. Daniels has accommodated himself to
what he thought the President wanted or
would stand for. When Congress met in
December, 1914, Mr.. Wilson delivered a
public lecture 10 those nervous and eX-
cited" persons who wanted the national
defence strengthened. Secretary CARR
son had urged that the mobile army in
Continental United States should be
doubled in size But Mr.. Wilson frowned
on any increase, and Congress accepted his
advice and rejected Mr.. Garrison's.
Secretary Daniels is one Of the ideal
lists, dear 70 Mr.. Wilson's heart, who has
triumphed on all occasions over the temp
tation 70 get nervous and excited" lie
has talked about international disarma-
ment and deprecated anything like real
military preparation. At the naval review
in this city in May, 1915, following the
Lusitania massacre, Mr. Wilson gave a
blanket Endorsement 70 the Secretary and
his policies. He went out Of the way %
emphasize the fact that Mr.. Daniels had
his confidence and was carrying out his
plans.
Last winter when the President himself
- suddenly became converted % prepared
ness for campaign purposes Mr.. Daniel.
underwent d similar conversion. lie ha,
always been for just the sort Of prepare
i'on which he uDdeJ2t9od tho Presiden;