Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-10-19
NEWS AND REVIEWS
OF LATEST BOOKS

NNaN Dgipx!!TMAH TS gEA Fshs
~ rni'ed states Navy. retired. The Century
:. The account here presented Of his
~ record of rorty-ninc years of service
o In the United states navy by a man
who has done more for the develop
ment Of naval and military acronaut5cSS
q than any other man in the United
q states, and Of whom navy officers are
Z. Of one opinion in declaring that he has
;, done more 10 strengthen the navy than
'rlbution To naval literature whose
raluo cannot he ovcrc,stimatch In it's
latter portion this book has, some
straig III from the shoulder comments
., on the Secretary Of the Navy. the out
+. growth OF the authors defense Of his
reputation in the controversy with that
official over questions Of preparedness.
Z, eliminating In hrs resignation Of the
\ position OF aid for operations Of the
thing of d sensation in Washington.
These latter chapters are largely made
u up from extracts taken from the au-
(, ihors diary and constitute II vigorous
, defense OF his attitude for prepared
q ness measures IN readiness for
. with Germany. forcsccn TO be inevi,a-
F" bic. and "A vigorous indictment Of tho,
:. a!micss. vacillAting policy Of the See
re!ary Of the Navy, in which there is
!, 'arE PROOF to sustain his side in the
,. controversy Moreover, the proofs thus
authors statement that the success of
american naval operations in the war
I, IarG,ly resulted from tho subsequent
:. adoption by tho Secretary OF the Navy
p Of communications urged by tho for.
b mer when occupying the position Of
40 Of operations. bul which from
=. the time. In this connection. the au-
=, thor pertincn;ly quotes the following
,rihnte from speech delivered by
olonel Roosevelt At Il luncheon At
"hich he vas the honor guest. given
by thf American Defense Society al
word ci admiral T,iskc, and want not
20 hurt Admiral f'iskc more than he
has been hurt by his own courage and
!t: with the sol" exception Of General
Wood. the man who has suffered most
condition over three years ago. tie
admiral made the first big move far i'm
provinE the condition OF the navy by
MAS punished mcrcllcsSly because no
d!d tell the truth. Every American
= ives a ITeal and great d"bt 10 the ad
nrmhttvc service to the people OF IN"
II LnItcd states a, great personal cost /
an" rhS, "a" 20 haNc q chAn"c TO pay a
rsE =" leonard wood in his absence
Wh!i" IN" hook il mainly "A narrative
az exciting adventures ana amusing in
,ure OF the progress Of ntNlcs during
nc Iasi hnf-cen,urS., ana shows ,hr
lions in advancing it, /, j. further.
more record Of personal experience
NV" acnlcNcncnt, tcilinE rs - does now
one man served efficiently in an the
. gradeF Of cNactinE profession and
hllrd the highest position :,ttainablc in
tina, profession. and yot made more
valuable naval and military Inventions
man any other man IN history wrote
many !mnor,ant books and ESSAYS and
opposition 81 it's official head the ,r-
Canization by which IT, was prep.ycd
,or INC war and handled throughout
Ihc war. and without which It's sue.
cesStul preparation and handling
you'd have been 'Innossihie rha, Ad-
own position. 10 secure that orrsni
zation FOR the navy makes the record
m me more r"markablc. The books Of
du"inE tense public intcrcs, at tho
!iWS Ihat h1ys recently hecn forgotten,
The Naval ,cad,my in 1878 WhiIc
p.ars.ahmirhl IN command Of "a division
S.r We S ", A., fi.st he d.d the great
d, w OF Key West as h;,rbor FOR decp.
."HntaoId .essSie seryier which he rem
'sionai career. Later. Will. in com.
nand OF the second squadron. he TOOK
"a heh; IN uniform in an airpianc TO
satisfy himself a. to the availability
% Nircrait ior naval operations After
'ha' ne was the most nutspokcn and
i'nersistent advocate OF the deveiop
'htht or acron;Lutics N any army and
'".dNE' IN Iact, We are probably more
indebted TO Admiral FiSkc than 10 any
H.. ~ p'' H'l' lbE inc usefulness
which naval acronuuticS mas nov &C.
CURED. admiral Fishes last duty wns
as a'd Tor operations u position anal.
.'osouS 10 that Of chict OF STAFF Of INC
army. In ms earlier ycare Admiral
FISK NoyaEcd widely among ~.
even seas. and met many pcrsonacrs
and went through many interesting
experiences. His autob!ography j.; ;ha
record or a richly stored memory ana
tt' FiNld striking personality.
IN his preface TO the book Admiral
. ,tiskc says that "" fully realizes INA;
p, ne Is exposing himself to the ,.harrn
OF Decentralization by relating certain
incidents that occurred while h.. Ms
aid for operations and afterwards bui
that their relation became necessary
~ View OF the sccretary'S o!ficia! state
nents about him before the House
Naval Committee on Arril g. 1915 in
which that official stated that if the
new law had not prov idrd a chief q,
operations instead Of an aid for opera
lions he should have asked him
tFiske) 10 retire, because he was not
In harmony with the department.
added to the fact" the admiral con
tlnues. that after had so retired
and throughout the war the handling
Of the navy was satisfactory 10 the
country, have caused an imprcssion
more or less widespread that | had
been an obstruction TO progress Navy
officers knew that this is the exact
reverse OF the truth. and that was
not in harmony with the department.
because | continually urged certain
measures OF preparedness. They also