Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-10-15
SIMS
HAS BIRTHDAY
COMMANDER OF UNITED STATES
NAVAL FORCES III EUROPEAN WA
TERS IN HIS 60Th YEAR TODAY.

WASHINGTON, ID. C., oct. l5.-Nicc.
Admiral William =. SIMS. u. -. NJ. who l.
commanding the United States naval
forces IN European water, enters upon his
,ixiicth year today. although Il II not
likely that hc viii make much IF = ccle-
bratioa NJ the anniversary. The officer
who I'D the very beginning OF the war with
Germany was selected for the most inn
portant command in the United States
navy. l. = native 81 Canada. which does not
make him les persona srata among the
British naval officers with whom hc \, now
"a closely associated.
1t has been said uf Admiral Sims that
lac comes nearer taking the place of the.
late Alfred +. Mahan ia the United States.
navy than any man who has appeared
since the great naval historian. Admiral
SINS IN u man ot marked intelligence. I'm
naly-t VT naval strategy. whose opinions
NAVE been watched with interest and ~
~pcct by naval officials Of variou, coun-
tries. and whose advice has been welcomed
with unusual cordially III England because.
of hi~ publicly declared admiration for the
British naval reco-d in the war. and hIr.
consistent championship of Aneip-.Amcrl
can fraternity. ii war and in peace.
Admiral sims Ivy announced one 1T the
finds MI cx-Pre~idcnt Roosevelt. Colonel
lioo-evclt'- attention VA. attracted ~ in
ci~ive criticism of American target prac-
iice methods which came from Sims. then
y lieutenant. This was IN the autumn oi
1902. Improvements III American target
practice scores wcr made almost at once.
with sins a~ director uf TIN, work. Mean
while he conferred often with British cN-
pert- ia .unnery and ordnance. From the
first he was III avowed enemy of German
methods. Once IN London he proclaimed
IN 4 speech that III Germany and England
ever went to war. the American navy would
le found With the British forct-. This.
caused immediate diplomatic comphca-
tlou~ and u was necessary at that time toI
reprimaud Sims fur h- too frank utter
aucc-.
Admiral sims ha- had considerable I'm
pcrence M the field of diplomacy a~ well
a, ia active naval a~fafir-. some YEAR
ago IVY served a~ naval attachr W the
American cmha--ic- in Paris aud ST.
Petersburg. From 1907 ~ 1909 III was
naval aide m the president. In the latter.
year he was assigned % command the bat
lc-hip Minnesota 81 the Atlantic fleet.
which ship ivy commanded for over two.
.ygar-. lie then went M the Naval War.
'u.lcgC ND Newport tar " tw0-ycar course
nd during the -erond year of hi- course
a. q member ~ the staff nj the war coli
eye.
After Tire completion VI this course. ~
was made commander VT the torpedo flo
tilla of the Atlantic fleet. and commanded
that ~flntIlla Tor TWO and p half wears. I'm
1915 hc was assigned to command the new
drcadnaught Nevada. = year later a. was
made w ~idput of the Naval War College
and commandment oI thc second district.
Shortly before .hc entry of thc United
States iriu the war. Admiral Sm- wa-
sent abroad by Secretary Daniels AN ,pc-
cial representative and observer. After
the outbreak wy thc war. sins held con
ference with British and French naval
o"fficial- a- M thc hc-t methods ui coop