Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-11
SIMS REVIEWS ATTACK.
Continued from page 1

and reiterated his. previous requests for
more small craft with which To fight sub
marines.
Even as late az January, 1918, he was
still calling for more dostroyers, Admiral
Sims said, and by that time. he declared
his predictions that the Allies would lose
the war unless the United States uaye
more complete naval cooperation were
being justified by results and the Navy
Department was beginning to carry out
his recommendations of six and eight
months before.
On April %, August "a and September
10, 1918, Admiral Sims said, nc wrote the
department expressing his disappoint-
rnent at the apparent non-success of the
destroyer building program IN the United
States and urging the necessity Of speed
ing up" production of anti-submarine
craft and sending every available small
vessel to the war zone even at the expense
of the protection of the coasts of the United
States.
Il am only introducing testimony so
far along III 1918 at this time TO bring
out the accumulated effect of not having
thrown our full weight into the war at
the beginning" the admiral said
The situation was SO serious and the
consequences of failure so terrible that |
went beyond the channels which the navy
afforded me end enlisted the services of
such men as Ambassador Page"
Herbert Hoover will be called to testify
IN the Senate investigation of the navy's
conduct of the war.
Rear Admiral Sims told the inquiry
committee today that Mr.. Hoover had an
intimate knowledge of the situation in
Europe at the time America entered the
war and Asked that he be summoned to
substantiate the admiral's testimony
with regard to the gravity of the Allies
position at that time.
Admiral Sims said this squadron repre-
sent four different types of ships.
1T would have been just as easy"
he said, ito have selected homogeneous
squadron. The reason it was not done
was that they (other ships of the same
type were not ready for service at sea. I"
At one point in his presentation Adj
miral Sims paused to outline his purpose
II wish to show" he said, THE great
evil and great danger of trying to manage
a war by cable at distance of 5000
miles,
In the same connection he read his
early suggestions to the department that
the Atlantic battleship fleet be kept ready
to be rushed overseas.
No specific recommendation for the
assignment of an American squadron To
the British Grand Fleet was made, he
said, until August, 1917, when the British
Admiralty asked for a squadron of coal
burning battleships. No reply to this
proposal was received for a month, the
admiral testified, and when he again
urged that the squadron be sent the de-
partment said it was not proposed to
''disintegrate" the American fleet unless
stronger reasons were advanced. This
message signed by Admiral Benson, then
chief of naval operations, said the de-
partment was disappointed" that no
plan for joint operations had been de-
veloped.
Admiral Benson himself visited London
early in November, Admiral Sims con-
tinued, and quickly convinced himself of
wisdom of sending over the coal burning
battleships. He communicated with the
department and received reply that the
New York, Florida, Delaware and Wyom-
ing would be ready to sail latter dock
inc