New-York tribune., 1920-03-25
Captain Blannes
Daniels and
Upholds Sims
Continued from page ono

had been reporting on the preparation.
tnat were being made in the German
Admiralty and at the German nava
yards to that end. In spite of this
foreknowleHge, backed up by statistics
tending to show that the underses
campaign would be conducted on 8
scale never before conceived, the Nav,
Department, he said, went into the wal
with practically no plans for fighting
the submarines.
he read into the records memoranda
illed with the Secretary by officers of
the department urging that such a
plan be devised, and then showed how
it was three months after war was de-
clared and five months after relations
with Germany were severed before
such plan was approved.
The officer defends Rear Admiral
Benson. chief of naval operations, who
attacks. explaining that Benson ex-
perienced the same difficulty in getting
the Secretary to act.
You can imagine" he said, "the diff
culties Admiral Benson was in. IN
stead of having his original plan ap-
proved, so that he might put the ma
chinery of our navy to work, he was
compelled to sink himself in details
and beg approval Of first one and then
another part of his plan. I was amazed
that the navy was able to accomplish
the remarkable work it did. but it is
certain that what it did accomplish
could have been done much more
quickly and much more efficiently if
we could have had plan from the verv
start---a plan that was based on con-
ditions as they were"
Delay Over Transports
The witness submitted documents to
show how for more than two months,
or until July, 1917, the department was
daily trying to get the Secretary to an
prove proposal for the navy to take
over the seized German liners and op-
crate them as transports for the army.
ieneral Pershing had approved the idea |
md the War Department was willing
% approve.
He related, with the same kind of
evidence to support him. |
low during the time when Sims and |
ne Allied admiralties were appealing
or American destroyers, officers in
ne department. finding that the ordi-
lary appeals for action by the Sec
etary failed of results, organized a
ampalgn whereby each day some ono
4 the important staff men would send
n urgent written memorandum to Mr..
Daniels, warning him that these de-
avs were seriously jeopardzing sue
ess in the war and inviting ma
ional disaster.
he showed that week after the
]nltcd States entered the war the
ack OF preparations in the way of
,unitions was such that the few bat
leshlps able to go into actual combat
ad reserve ammunition supply for
heir big guns of only thirty-onc shells
gun; how there were no torpedoes
n hand for the new destroyers, and
ow for period OF approximately a
lonth after contracts for these mu
inons were drawn upon the Secre-
ary delayed signing them.
Huge sums OF money were needlessly
xpended and wasted. the witness dis
'osed, because the Secretary refused
approve general plan drawn up
the outset OF the war for the hand
ng OF moneys out Of the emergency
ands on budget basis. He submit
I'd to the committee drafts of letters
G had prepared for the Secretary to
end to Congress increasing the cmer-
ency fund, but which the Secretary
eturned to him unsigned.
On cross-examination Captain Lam
lg was confronted by Senator Tram
lell, of Florida, with extracts from a
'tter written by the witness to Admi-
al SIMS IN August, 1918, ssdisputine,I
of Sims that the department ,
ad not been functioning properly.
mong other things Laning wrote !
inns:
cover there you give us the devil be-
ause we don't do all you want US to
}. You feel we are failing you. Does {