El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-03-19

was the still exciting superiority in
numbers and efficiency Of the Ger
man destroyers that led Jellicoe L
make his much discussed turn away
from the German feet and sacrifice
10 prudence q chance Of destroying
the German navy, making the sub
marine war impossible by mining the
means OF exits from German harbors
opening SEQ miles Of German coast line
in the Baltic 10 invasion-in short,
winning the war. IN all human proba-
biIty. before the snow fell in 1915.
Why JeIlicOe turned to star
board Instead OF port, away from
Won Scheer Instead OF towards
him. he explains In his book. De-
ficiencies in range finders, de-
EtrOyerEs ammunition. stnr-shells,
had not been made good even yet
defeat meant the loss Of the en-
pire and the world, and pOHterity,
whatever It's verdict on his action.
can have only respect for an ad-
miral who had the moral courage
to take n decision that he knew
Would lay him open TO n charge
that he, like every other BrItiah
officer must hate worse than
death Even Jel1lcoe'E Interest
opponents admit the cnndOr and
diSarminE frankness OF bis e1pla-
nations.
A H. Pollen, the leading lay naval
critic Of Great Britain, has for years
been known TO be savagely opposed
10 the doctrines OF caution enforced
BY Jellicoe. but during the war Pol
lens lips were sealed Now that dis
cussion is free, Pollen contends that
Jel1coe lost al Jutlznd an opportunity
10 win the war a. a single blow. IN
London recently he said:
For obvious reasons Lord Jellicos
has not attempted TO tell the whole
truth To those who know him the rea-
sons are stiu more obvious why he
is not only telling all the truth he
can. but certainly nothing but truth
-as he sees It. His book takes the
battle OF Jutland out OF the region
OF partisan or personal controversy
and places Il where & belongs, In the
field OF scientific analysis.
Those who have written about this
battle before have drawn attention
TO the singular contrast presented by
lord JelllcOe's and admiral Beatty's
conduct. The latter seemed from the
beginning 10 be fighting for victory:
the former seemed TO be occupied
solely with the safety OF his fleet
Writers who said this were denounced
by lord Jelhcoe's admirers for draw
ing hasty conclusions from insuffi-
cient evidence.
Acknowledge Candor.
Lord Jelucoe amplifies and en-
phasizes the conclusions. and supplies
all the evidence that may be missing
de gives reasons. some strategical,
some technical. why in MS judgment
u was altogether wrong TO run the
FISK OF materially reducing the
strength Of the Grand fleet in a battle
with the Germans; why. in fact. he
did not intend TO fight II Il meant
taking serious risks. In his account
OF the action he shows how at every
this consideration guided his
every move He explains why on the
OF June I, he did not attempt
20 cut OF the Germans in their re-
,1s. 70 Heligoiand- Every principle
ln4L inspired his conduct, the circum-
stances In which each decision made
was come to. are set out with a sin
erlty and candOr never. ] suppose.
seen In any such work before.
Win an honesty equally transpar-
M. Iord Jellleoe sets out all the de-
-ects and weaknesses OF the British
Ieet II IS an almost unbelievable
catalogue or errors. They arose from
me incapacity OF the admiralty either
% anticipate OF prepare for the
I'M pest necessities Of war, and Il is
long and dismal list
-Ihe bases were not protected.
there were no mine-Iayerr and no
mineas far too few deEtroyern=
wretehed range-flnders. bad fire.
control; shells which, instead OF
bursting inside the ship after
ENnNAAaAAAnE AmE amor Mate.
cracked to pieces n by chance they
nit the ship the fragments falling
harmlessly into the sea. There
were no means OF controlling the
secondary armament at nIEhf. no
atur-Eheils 20 make this control
or value n Il had existed. Finally. T
our ships were pftifuITy under
armored against sheII-ffre. and
aitogether unprotected against
torpedOes.
Some Of US have said hard things
bout the admiralty and its fncana inv I
o prepare for war. Lord JeIlicoe ]
caves rs standing still II Is a ruth
ess Indictment almost an impeach-
lent- And this Is where the mans
candor IS so apparent. For p
uring the nine years preceding the
2 ar lord Jelllcoe served at the ad-
llralty Tor nearly six. and was a1v-avs
ne board's most eminent and authorf- I
alive adviser in everything that had
o do with the fighting design. fight
ng equipment and fighting reuufre-
lents OF the fleet
me book Qisarms criticism because
supersedes It. II ever a case fe
lade against lord Jellicoe Il Will he
lrd Jellicoe himself who proves ~
lie was governed from the first Nv
erIaln anLieties, and these comneIled
I'm 10 adopt certain PRINCIPLES Of
ction- He sets out all his anxietIes
II his principles. all his motives with
transparent sincerity" - Copyrfrht ]
4 ~: oy the Mcclure Newspaper Syn