Evening star., 1920-01-18
SIMS CHARGE THAT
NAWBUNCLEDMAY
START NEW INQUIRY
War Prolonged by Lack OF
Cooperation, Asserts
Rear Admiral.
RECOMMENDATIONS WERE
IGNORED BY OFFICIALS
TOO Great Desire to Protect Coast
of United States" Shown
by Department.

s. Sims, commander OF the Ouiteo
States naval forces overseas through
out the war, that the Navy Depart
mont rneddled in the conduct OF oper-
ations and had bungled matters bad
". made before the subcommittee IN
vestigating awards Of naval war
decorations yesterday, caused the de-
mand for such an investigation.
Allegations by Admiral Sims that
the department had failed to cooper
ate fully with the commander of the
overseas naval forces startled MEM
bers of the committee. The charges
made by Admiral Sims. were contain
ed in a letter addressed by him 10
Secretary Daniels January T., en-
Titled "Certain Naval Lessons of the
Great War"
Admiral Sims declared that "the at
titude in Washington greatly slowed
the sending of the necessary assistance
and necessarily resulted in prolonging
the war"
Again. he said:
II the department had promptly ac-
cepted the recommendations MADE pe-
ginning four days after my arrival
abroad and continuing Tor some
months. and had sent at once all the
destroyers and other craft which were
finally sent in the next four or fve
months, it follows that the United
States naval Intervention would nave
been much more efficient"
Had Fortnight Hours Notice.
At one place in this letter Admiral
Sims said he received orders for Lon
don on barely forty-eight hours notice
in March, 1917. He made the following
statement regarding his instructions:
Brief orders were delivered to me
verbally in Washington. No formal in
structions or statement of the Navy
~lav %.
ceived at that time, though I received
the following explicit admonitlon:
Don't let the British pull the wool
over your eyes. 1t is none OF our busl-
ness pulling their chestnuts out Of the
fire. We would as soon fight the Brit
ish as the Germans
Who issued these instructions was
not brought out at the hearing. Ad-
miral Sims was not called upon to
say by the committee. After the hear
ing he said that the statement had
been made to him by "a high official"
Chairman Hale of the subcommittee
said that tomorrow he would ask the
full naval affairs committee to au-
thorize his subcommittee to make a
wider inquiry, covering the conduct
of the war by the Navy Department.
or to appoint another subcommittee to
make such an investigation.
Secretary Daniels refused last night
to comment on the allegations of Ad-
miral Sims. He said he had turned
over all letters. documents and other
data connected with the case to the
general board of the Navy.
'All afternoon and evening I have
been besieged by newspaper cor
respondents wanting me to comment
on this matter Mr.. Daniels told a
Star reporter. IT must withhold COM
ment for the present time. That's all
can say now. I have given all
data-letters and documents-to the
general board for its study"
Issues Copy of General Order.
The Secretary, however, made public,
without comment, a general order is
sued December % last, calling upon all
persons in the naval service to submit
suggestions and recommendations for
improving the methods used by the
Navy in the prosecution of operations
and in the supply of men and material"
There are thirty-nine specific points on
which recommendations were asked to
be submitted to the Secretary before
April l of this year, and No. 38 fol-
lows:
Cooperation of the Navy Depart
ment with the allies, in connection both
with the operation of the naval forces
and with material matters"
Admiral Sims letter to the Secretary
was dated January z. after the issu-
ance of this order. The letter contains
more than 1000 words, and was read
TO the subcommittee at the request of
Chairman Hale. The letter reviewed
Admiral Sims experiences and said that
at the time he left for Europe he had
no idea that he was to command Amer
lean naval forces abroad in event of
war, then impending.
AS soon as he arrived in London
the letter said, Admiral Sims realized
that the Navy Department did not
comprehend the seriousness of the
submarine menace. due to the insuf-
hcIent scope of the American intelli-
gence service.
"A review of the cables sent 10 the
Navy department in April, 1917" the
letter said, shows that the situation
was verysserious, and that the enemy
was rapidly winning the war by the
destruction of merchant shipping
throughout the following year nu-
nerous cables and letters Of the most
urgent possible cha aracter were sent
with the object Of impressing on the
department the vital necessity of ou1
maximum effort being exerted in Eu.
ropean waters with the least possible
delay, but without producing the de-
sired result"
Pointed to Loss Of War,
The Navy Department was repeat-
eJly told the letter said that il was
a matter of simple arithmetic cal.
culation to determine that the allies
must lose the war If the rate of ship
loss continued.
For some reason which has never
been explained" Admiral Sims wrote
the Navy Department, during al
least the first six months of the war
failed to put into actual practice q
whole-hearted policy of cooperation
with the allies-a policy required fol
winning the war with the least pos.
eible delay"
The letter charged that not until
July, 1917. did the Navy Department
outline a policy of naval co-opera-
tion with the allies
"As usual in such cases." 1t con
tinued, the policy was academicalIy
sound, but that it was not carried ou
or was not understood by the depart
ment is shown by the fact that fol
ten months after it's receipt l wa.
urgently recommending an increas,
of forces-still trying TO convince tn,
department that the war was in tn,
eastern Atlantic, that the United
States naval front was off the Euro
pean coast and not off the Unitet
States coast"
Admiral Sim letter declared tha
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