The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-17
Sims SAYS FLEETS
HAD FOE IN A GRIP
Admiral Explains How Ger
!, many Never Could Have
Been Victor in War.
TELLS OF DEPTH BOMBS
Secret Of Invention Not Re-
/. vealed in Speech Helping
Loan Drive.
TELLS OF DEPTH BOMBS

submarines except the name of the in
terday. in speech delivered by Admiral
Sims at a luncheon of tho Bond Club,
held in the Bankers Club. following a
meeting called to arrange certain work
which the members of the club have I'M
dertaken in connection with the Victory
Loan.
Admiral Sims received q rousing well
2 come. He told how the American feet
had worked with the British, French
and italian fleets as IL all we're one OF a
single power. He explained how the
convoy system. next to the depth bomb,
had been the most important factor in
the defeat OF the German naval plans
described the listening device and told
OF the number of submarines sunk. He
paid warm tribute to American re-
serve naval officers and American mer-
chant seamen.
Al But he did not say who first thought
Of the depth bomb. All he would say
g Of the invention was:
; coe who invented the depth bomb He
said it did not una'e any difference who
invented II or when. because II that man
had not invented 1t just when he did,
somebody else would have done so in
side of Il week.
Applause for the Navy.
'T recognize" said Admiral Sims In
beginning his speech, that ,his recep-
tion is not to me personally but to the
activity OF the Navy abroad. When a
war is declared 1t Is too late to build
more ships or provide personnel. You
have been through a period OF great
danger. and you applaud not the man
at the top but the Navy itself.
I'm war upon the sea-and especially
IN submarine war--it is not always ne
scessary to tell you what takes place
Several things happened during the re-
cent war which made the American
-newspapermen green with envy beca,yse
they could not print the stories. But
they could not be printed because we
did not want the Germans to know what
our plans we're. want to say one
thing about the American reporter You
can tell him anything you want TO In
confidence and he will not publish it
until you tell him he may do so.
"In April, 1917. the Central Powers
were winning the war on the sea- They
were destroying from 100000 to 10000
tons of shipping each month. All Of the
German officers We captured said that
the war would be over by September or
October of that year. And they were
eight, as It would have been over had
we not devised some method Of checking
the submarine. The battle OF Jutland
was the only naval battle fought, and
hat
10 be pitched battle. 1t just happened,
and the Germans got away with a part
lof their force. after which they stayed
pn port. r
y Advocated Convoy system.
Although I met with some opposi-
ton, I was always an advocate of the
convoy system. The reason why the
system met opposition in the navy was
because most of the naval officers do not
know that merchant seamen are almost
always better seamen than they are.
The navy men said that these seamen
could not handle big conveys with no
lights, at night. in heavy weather. The
convoy system succeeded on account OF
the work of the destroyers. which kept
the submarines of the massed trans
ports. Each destroyer carried thirty or
forty depth bombs which did effective
work.
The listening devices, by means OF
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OF kitLeu eaoi' o'ner' AieoeeIiie'' may
wy 'na' tlete are -oo ue'''ah supiiia-
llhcs at the po''oi'i OF the sea
mara WORK lot Des'rosers.
1.-THE band OF water across the English
Channel, between Soapstone and Bou-
logne. across which millions Of tons OF
s,Ipnlies and hundreds of thousands OF
,nen Xvere ca Yried DURING Tho war uas