The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-11
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

 his hind legs and yelps at the way the English admiralty is carrying on it's plan to keep the German fleet bottled up, sweep clean the seas. and fight the 1 submarines.
 Now, it's the fashion in some quarters. when nothing else can be said against England ill the interest of the pro-Ger- mans who are very much more power ful in molding public sentiment in Amer ica than ehey get credit for, to indict Britain on account of her sea policy. more especially in it's development in this great war. Count Bernstof was one of the most valiant pleaders for the rights of neutral ships, and naturally so. as 1t meant food and munitions for the fatherland.
 There had been systematic Prussian propaganda in the United States, open and above board, before this country declared war against the Kaiser, and now under cover, but more dangerous, to poison the minds of the public against
 
 an enemy of America as is Germany. The pro-Germans never miss a chance to preach against Great Britain as country which is only guided by it's egotism and it's interests, while dilating upon her uhexampled arrogance and in science I confess that awhile back fell for it, but the more I studied the situation the more convinced I was that the world owed England a debt of grat- itude, as it was the readiness and fitness of the English fleet when Germany ran amuck that saved Europe from a shame ful and speedy defeat and humiliating peace.
 It is a well known fact to those who have gone deep into the Monroe doc Urine that the idea was originated in England, and that her navy made or helped it to be more than a mere bold policy formulated on paper. It's about time for us to recognize this, and the further fact that British sea power in saving Europe also meant that it saved us from having later to fight Germany to preserve the Monroe doctrine in South America, if not on our own shores. So let's quit making faces at our English cousins across the sea for the amusement of Hans and Fritz and the balance Of the Won Tirpitz gang who ruthlessly sank the Lusitania and laughed over it.
 There is great danger that popular clamor, and particularly so in a republic, will force the military arm of the gov ernment to undertake projects which they deem unwise or foolhardy. It isn't only the case in democracies, for in quite recent times the war office and the ad- miralty in England had more than once caused the problem of forcing the pas sage of the Dardanelles to be carefully studied. In 1904, 10 years before the ef- fort was made, Lord Fisher satisfied himself that even with military coop eration the operation was mighty haz- ardous. In 1906 the general staff at the war office coincided, "bearing in mind that the risk involved is much to be deprecated"
 
 In September, 1914, MT Churchill, as first lord of the admiralty, ordered with Lord Kitchener, that two naval and two military officers should work out a plan for seizing the Gallipol peninsula (with Greek army) in order to admit a British fleet to the Sea of Marmora A day or two later he received a military memQrandum saying: An attack upon the Gallipoli peninsula from the sea side (outside tho straits) is likely to prove an extremely difficult operation In December, 1914, the secretary of the war council circulated to the council mem orandum, in which it was suggested that there was a deadlock in the western the atre of war, and that Germany could best be struck by blow directed in the first instance against Turkey. There were two schools in the council, one wanting everything centered in the west and the other for making @ demonstra- tion in the east. The question was also mixed up in home and foreign politics.
 
 There is no need to go into the awful slaughter of Australians and other picked troops, and of the terrible blow to Eng fish pride, or recite the marvellous with drawal of the troops when the expedl- tion was abandoned. These things are all matters of history and were recorde1 in the press but the report of the find- ings of the commission to look into the dicact ctar da publicity. I read it with breathless sn- terest and glad I am that I did so. for the facts brought out convinced me that the direction of naval and military forces cannot be safely left to a committee ot political leaders, however distinguished, adequate guarantee that before they make a decision they will have had be- fore them an analysis based upon sound theory of war, naval or military. There were some lessons and exposures that will stand for long time against some men high in England's public life. but I cant give them here. If inter- ested, get the report and read and study it.
 am writing this to try and show that it's folly for a civilian to attempt to di- rect a great fleet without sending it to destruction, unless he gets the best ad- vice from practical sea fighters.
 Lord Nelson was some naval fighter. He was a past master in daring, brother to our own Paul Jones; but here