The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-09-28

/ was stationed at Newport as presi-
dent of the Naval War college, and
there I received a message from the
navy department summoning me I'M
mediately to Washington. The form
in watch that something extraordinary
was Impending. The orders read to
come as lInostentatiously as possible;
10 keen my movements secret; and TO
this end was not TO appear at the
navy department. but to telephone
headquarters upon arrival. 1t took only
few minutes to explain why ! had
been sent for. III seemed probable tnal
we should soon be at war with Ger
many. Ambassador Page had caoied
that under the existing circumstances
the American navy should be represent
ed in England by an officer OF higher
ran9 than any of those who were sta
toned there at that time. The de-
partment. therefore. wished me to
leave Immediately and to get in touch
with the British admiralty, and learn
how we could best and most quickly
cooperate in the naval war. Since we
were still technically. at peace with
Germany Mr.. Daniels insisted that
there should be no publicity about my
movements. I was still to remain os-.
tensibIy $ head of the War college,
and, in order that no suspicious should
he aroused my wife and family were
still TO occupy the official residence
OF it's president. I was TO. sail on
merchant vessel. travelling under an as
sumed name, to wear civilian clothes
and to take no uniform. On reaching
the other side I was to get Immediate
w in contact with the British navy.
and 10 send 10 Washington detailed
reports on existing conditions.
Two days after this meeting in Wash
ington two commonplace looking gen
tlemen, in civilian clothes, secretly
boarded the American steamship New
York. They appeared upon the pas
4enger list as V. j. Richardson and ;.
w. Davidson. A day or two out an
enterprising steward. having noticed
that the initials on the pajamas OF one
OF these passengers differed from those
Of the name under which he was sail
ing. reported him TO the captain as a
ksuspicious character. The captain, how
Nver had a quiet laugh over this dis
covery for he knew that Mr.. David
son was admiral Sims. Of the
United States navy. and that his COM
panion with the several sets of con-
flicting initials was Commander j. V.
Babcocs. he Admiral's aide.
The voyage itself was uneventful but
a good deal OF history was made in the
short time that we spent upon the
ocean. Two days before the ship
reached England President Wilson had
gone before congress and asked for the
declarations of state of war with Ger
many. That a state of war existed be-
came apparent as we approached Liv-
erpool, for at the outer harhor our
vessel was mined. The wamage was
not irreparable. but the passengers
were transferred to another steamer.
and we safely reached port while
found a representative or the British
admiralty. Rear Admiral Hope wait
ing to receive me. The admiralty had
also provided a special train, in which
we left Immediately for London.
Submarine Losses Appalling
Whenever think OF the naval stu
alton as it stood in April, 1917, I al
ways have before my mind two con-
trastlng pictures. that OF the British
public, as represented in their press
and in their social gatherings I'm Lon
don. and the other that of British
officialdoni. as represented in my con-
fidential meetings with British states
men and British naval officers. For
the larger part the English newspapers
were publishing optimistic statements
about the German submarine campaign.
They generally secuted the idea that
this new form of piracy really threat
ened in any way the safety of the
British Empire. These rather cheerful
sutgivings were accompanied by week
IL statistics of submarine sinkings-fig-
ures which, while not particularly re-
assuring hardly indicated that any
fnr.n had ar han In
the British mercantile marine. The adj
miralty was publishing tables showing
that four or five thousand ships were
arriving at British ports and leaving
them every week while other tables dis
closed the number of British ships un-
der sixteen hundred tons and more than
sixteen hundred tons that We're going
down every seven days. Thus the week
that arrived learned from these fig
ures that Great Britain had lost sew
enteen ships above that size. and two
ships below: that 2,406 vessels had
arrived at British ports. and that 1857
had left and that, in addition, seven
fishing vessels had fallen victims to
the German submarines. Such figures
were worthless, for they did not IN
clude neutral ships and did not give
the amount of tonnage sunk-details,
OF course, which it was necessary to
keep from the enemy. Consequently
these results as published did not seem
particulariy alarming. The newspapers
ALI over the British Isles were draw
ling favorable conclusions from these
ktatistics; here and there one OF them
sounded n more apprehensive note;
vet the generally prevailing feeling was
that the submarine campaign had al
ready a;lod that Gerrnany's last daS-
perate attempt to win the war had
collapsed and that peace would prob
ably not be long delayed, These pa
Ders found much satisfaction in the