Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-03-24
LANlNC UP)H|O|L|D[S
SIMS CHARGES
AGAINST NAVY
Says Chaos Existed in Navy
Department Before War
III 1917.

Washington, March, 4.--NlrtuaI
chaos existed in the navy depart
ment at the time the United States
entered he war. Captain Harris Lam
ing. assistant chief of the bureau of
navigation. during the war. testified
today before the senate investigating
cOrlmittee./
I Captain kaning said no one knew
what to do after "a plan of action
submitted by the bureau /. Of opera
lions had been disapproved and Mat
the personal charactepistics OF the
secretary of the havy often made IT
impossible to get approval. OF real
important policies"
The American navy not only was
unprepared when the United States
entered Nthe war. but it did not car
ry on in the early days "as efficient
Nv as 1t could and should have" Cap
tain Laning testified.
Base of Information.
Captain I4aning, who followed Rear
! Admiral Sims on the stand, said his
| statements were based on his expert
ences at sea with the fleet just before
the United States entered the war
and in the navy department at Wash
ington a~fterward. The witness. said
that at about the time the United
States declared war the office of chief
1 OIL naval OpGTdIlOuS lldu lCPaiCo =
| plan outlining TO- the navy's first er-
forts should be directed, but, that it
was disapproved by the department
with the result that when a plan of
operations was needed the navy was
without one. :.
He charged that during the war it
always was difficult and frequently
impossible to obtain the departments
approval to essential plans and poll
81 - ~, f4r cY1hnr
dinate officers to go far beyond their
authority to get things accomplished,
thus increasing the difficulty of car
rying on the war and decreasing the
effectiveness of American participa-
ton.
Captain Laning also told the com
mittee that the various units of the
department could make no. co-ordi-
mated effort to carry o the war for
the feet was not ready for operations
when war began and that in the
years immediately preceding 1917 the
department did not take Al attitude
toward legislation and policies that
would have prepared the feet.
Delayed Action.
"whenever a plan or policy was
presented to the secretary he almost
invariably delayed action on it," Cap
tain Laning declared. 1.-The person
al interest he took in all matters con-
nected with the department absorb
ed so much of his time that he never
had much left to give to the more
important affairs"
When important policies and plans
were submitted to Secretary Daniels,
Captain Laning said directions would
be given to leave the papers for
consideration and usually the in
structions meant that the matter
would not be heard from again until
the officer interested looked the pa
pers up and then frequently the pa
pers could not be found.
Conditions finally became so bad,
the witness said, that officers used
every means possible to put their
plans and policies through without
obtaining the required authority.
II was and still am amazed that
the navy was able to accomplish the
remarkable work it did. but it is GER
tain that what it did accomplish
could have been done much more
quickly and efficiently if We could
have had a plan from the start"
Captain Laning said many officers
found this condition to be true and
he offered to furnish the>committee
the names of other officers who. he
said, would corroborate his testimony
in this respect. I
NJ. @a-# H #. ~.