The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-03-23
WHAT SIMS TOLD
CONCRESSMEN
Senator Pittman Quotes Car.
ter Glass During CrosS-Ex-
animation of Admiral.
CHARGED ARMIST s DUE
TO BREAK IN &,PPLIES
Senator Contend ~.rmy Had
All Necessary :snsports.
Sims Quot STersh-
ing in {; ial.

Washington. M 23.-The fact
that the United tss~. es was obliged
to grant an armlstice was because
the service of supply of the Ameri
can army had broken down, was the
fiat declaration Senator Carter Glass
claimed Admiral Sims made to him
and Representative Whaley and
Byrnes on Oct, S0 1918, III Paris.
This was brought out today in the
investigation of charges against tho
navy department by senate sub
committee. Senator Pittman, of Ne
Nada, presented to subcommittee
a letter from Senator Glass to Ad-
miral Sims, in which he made this
charge, and in which he further said:
THE fact that nearly seven months
later You and Gen. Pershing ex-
changed cordial personal letters can
not alter the circumstances"
" u. S. Not Responsible.
Senators Pittsman. of Nevada, and
Trammell, of Florida, democrat. un-
dertook to show that the United
States was not wholly responsible
for heavy submarine losses during
the two months Immediately follow
ing the entry of the United States
into the war.
Rear Admiral Sims said adoption
OF the convoy system marked the
turning point of the war, and that
the allies had to wait for United
States cooperation before the plan
could be made effective.
The convoy was adopted by the
allies eXperimentally about May u,
1917" the officer said. THE United
States was asked to furnish four
teen cruisers for escort. No cruisers
were furnished for many weeks and
then only seven. | take the attitude
that the American system was very
effective when finally offered, but
that our delay was extremely
costly"
"Of course we might say that if
the United States had entered the
war a year earlier many lives and
much property could have been
saved" said Senator Trammell.
That involves a government policy"
Should Have Sailed at Once.
What | mean Is that our destroy
ers or other ships should have sailed
the night we declared war, and there
was no good reason why they should
not have done So" replied Admiral
Sims. III they had 2.a00000 tons Of
shipping would have been saved, the
convoy system would have been ef-
fective much earlier and the United
States would have had an army OF
100000 men in France by May !,
1918. The fact was that after we
declared war many American ships
had to be placed in dry dock and re-
paired before they could he sent to
the war zone
Senator pittman and Admiral Sims
clashed several times again today,
particularly when the senator in
asking questions pointed his finger
at the officer.
The Nevada senator told the ad-
miral he had not presented any evil
dence to support his assertion that
failure of the navy to properly CO.
operate during the war had pro-
longed the struggle at a cost of 5O0,-
600 lives and great amount Of ship
tonnage and cash.
Pershing's Statement
Unless you can produce evidence
to support that assertion 1t falls
Eat, said the senator. Il notify you
here and now that at the proper time
evidence will be introduced to show
that the army did not ask for ocean
transport that it did not get"
"If you do you will have to dis
prove Gen. Pershing's own report in
which he said that he could not get
troops to France when he wanted
them" returned the admiral. Il think
have proved that the navy's fail
ure to cooperate fully early in the
war would have reduced the sink
ing Of merchant ships, thus pr0vid-
ing tonnage 10 take American troops
abroad and thus ended the war
sooner and saved 100000 lives and
great treasure" replied the officer.
There never was a time when
ships were not provided to carry to
France any American soldiers who
were properly trained and ready 10
60" replied Senator Pittman.