Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-23
DANIELS ASKS FULL
REPORT ON NAVAL
HONORS AWARDED
Continued from First Page.)

rotary Daniels as a memorandum from
the Naval War College. of which he is
president, under date of December IL.
1t covers four closely typed pages con-
slstlng OF twenty-five numbered para
graphs.
Excerpts From Letter.
me department has been pleased
10 award me a distinguished service
nnedai as an expression of it's appre-
oidiloh OF the success Of the forces
under my command" Admiral Sims
says, but since, as explained above.
ana as stated in my letter of NOvem-
Der Z. 1919. the success of the forces
abroad was chiefly due to the loyal
and efficient services of the officers
recommended for distinction-'and to
them belongs the credit am neces-
sarily placed in position which rem
ders 1t Impossible for me to accept
this award under the conditions now
existing"
In the opening paragraph Admiral
Sims points out certain features OF
the lists of awards and asks consid-
Grafton of the awards as they concern
the officers under Admiral Sims COM
mand in the world war.
Fears Effect on Morale.
This becomes my duty" Admiral
tains number of instances of in
justice to distinguished officers, the
effect of which upon the morale Of
tho service cannot fail to be very
detrimental
The injustice lies not in the num-
Der of awards made, but in the fact
that the awards as issued to officers in
number OF instances are not in ac-
cord with the relative merit of the
services performed by them as indi-
Gated by my recommendations. Off
GERS who were recommended for the
highest awards appear on the list as
having been accorded lower awards
and vice versa.
This must necessarily result in
serious discomfort and a sense of
injustice, because there can neces
sarily be no better judge of the rela-
tive merits of the services of a num-
Der of officers than the responsible
commanding officer of the organiZa-
ton in which they are serving"
Admiral Sims describes how the
whole system of awards for merit in
time of war has been vitiated by the
outside influence" of the Navy Secre-
tary. or the nineteen officers of Ad-
miral Sims own staff recommended
for the distinguished service medal,
but six received this decoration.
Minor Omcers Awarded.
mot only were the recommended
tons not complied with" Admiral
Sims says "but-and this is the gist
of the matter-a number of officers in
the command whose services were
relatively of less Importance and
corded the highest award.
This situation is illustrated" says
Admiral Sims, by the award of the
distinguished service medal to con-
siderable number of officers in posi-
tons of very little responsibility.
while four of the nine rear admirais
under my command, whom l recon-
mended for distinguished service
medals in recognition of having borne
their heavy responsibilities with con-
spicuous success. were accorded the
lower award of the Navy cross.
These instances are so typical of
the conditions in this respect
throughout all branches of the COM
mand that further examples are un-
necessary. But 1 feel impelled to in
wife attention to a special class OF
awards which are the subject of such
severe condemnation and ridicule that
the effect upon the present and future
morale Of the service must neces-
sarily be deplorable in the last de-
gree, namely, the distinguished serv
Of the officers who were defeated in
action. or whose ships were sunk or
seriously damaged by enemy sub
marines.
No Distinction Recommended.
TN the case Of destroyers or other
vessels that were successfully at
tackled by German submarines, no
special distinctions were recommend
ed in my reports. These are typical
examples not only Of unsuccessful
actions, but Of failures to injure the
enemy. BY reason of the peculiar
nature of the submarine warfare. no
blame necessarily attaches to the
commanding officers of these vessels
for their failures, but on no account
should they receive a special award
for their lack of success.
even the assumption that subse-
ouent to their failures they handled
the situation well is. Of course, no
reason why they should be rewarded:
To do so is to reverse the policy OF
our navy and of all other navies, ana
TINS establish a precedent that might
we'll seriously undermine the fighting
efficiency Of the whole organization.