The daily morning oasis., 1919-10-12
ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMERICAN
NAVY IN GREAT WORLD WAR

WASHINGTON, ID. Cit is not of
ten that within the span of one day
Congress can furnish not only one of
the best nutshell arguments for the
League of Nations as insurance for a
permanent world peace, but also evi-
dence to make an Americans heart
beat faster through pride in his ma
tiOns achievements in. the conflict
to make further world upheavals i'm
possible. :, :. ....A........
Senator Harrison of Mississippi
furnished the first, and the eulogies
on the American navy, delivered while
the House Of Representatives was pas
sing the bill comforting the rank of
full admiral on. Rear Admirals Will
lam S. Sims and William S. Benson,
was the second
eff the Treaty of Peace, with the
League of Nations Covenant included
shall be adopted" said Senator Ha1ri-
son, "the merciless murder of men
will be mininized, the wanton destruc-
tion of property stopped, the heavy
burdens of enormous taxation light
enend, and the stability, peace and
happiness of the world made secure.
81 am strengthened in that convic-
tion when 1 recall that the total of
deaths of all nations in this war were
greater than all the deaths in all the
wars of the previous 100 years.
"The total battle deaths amounted
to z, 100000.
From 1893 to 1914 the battle deaths
amounted to 100000.
"The American battle losses in this
war were $4,000 killed and $4,000
wounded.
|The Russian battle losses We're 81
times greater, the German losses 80
times greater, the French % times
greater and British losses 18 times
greater than those of the United Sta
tes.
The direct cost of the war to the
United States up to the end of April,
1919, amounted to $21 ,50O,O00,00O.
"The figure is 20 times the pre-war
national debt. 1t would have paid the
entire cost of our government from
1791 up to the outbreak of the war.
"Our expenditure in this war was
sufficient to have carried on the Rev
olutionary war continuously for more
than 1000 years at the rate of ex-
penditure which that war actually in
volved.
'Fron April, 1917 to April, 1919,
the. war cost the United States more
than $1,000 an hour.
Treasury disbursements during
that period reached total of $23, ,500,-
100000.
'The pay of the ammy during the
war cost more than the combined
salaries of all the public schools
principals and teachers for a five
year period Immediately preceding
the war.
'"The total direct war cost amount
ed to around $1S6, 900, 600, 900.
at is to prevent the recurrence of
these incidents and these conditions
that a League of Nations is desired"
In passing the. bill confering the
highest naval rank upon Rear Admir-
ais Sims and Benson, Republican re-
representatives. took occasion to pay
tribute to this phase of President
Wilson's successful handling of
Americas part in winning the
World War.
"When we honor them (Benson
and Sims) we recognize the whole
navy, which has come out of this
war with the well deserved reputa-
of having shown itself the most COM
petent naval force in the world"
said Representative John A. Peters
of Maine, Republican.
In speaking of Admiral Benson's
work, Representative Peters gave
some intimate details of the placing
of a barrage across the North sea
from Scotland to Norway, an Amer
lean scheme that eventually stopped
the German submarines in futher at
temps to get into the Atlantic
through their favorite channel.
This barrage, he said, twas per-
haps the greatest naval material ac-
tivity of the whole war; it was the
boldest, most hazardous and best exc
cuted enterprise of the kind ever at
tempted-and it was successful"
"Sims is man of vision as well as
of action" continued the representa-
tive. "In 1910 after first-hand OBJ
servations abroad he submitted re-
port which declared that the Euro
pean war could not be delayed long
er than four years. He also said
that England and France would be
allies, and that Italy would subse-
quently join them. Inevitably Sims