Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-05-17
HOW DOES 1T
STRIKE YOU? Z
By kELLAMY

------- BY AZ.
MTIIEN the war began the country
w looked with dismay at Secretary
Daniels as tho head of the navy.
When the war was over people said,
THE navy succeeded in srite of Dan
iclS'
But the secretary has been able to
show the department and especially the
President, impatient with British delay
and caution, pursuing an aggressive
policy, always pressing for action.
And in the Sims controversy Daniels
has put up hard fight.
lie is n dangerous controversialist.
DANIELS is one of the men that you
- can do justice to.
He never has had justice in Wash
ington.
lie may mot get it now, after he has
finished smashing his old enemies i'll the
navy.
His parents saw to it that he should
never have justice by naming him the
slightly ridiculous name of Josephus
and by endowing him with scntimcn-
tality and idcalism.
In addition, he wears queer, fiat
brimmed hat which no one else would
wear.
Before he came TO Washington the
New York Sun had given him place
in its gallery of ridiculous figures along
with Pod Dismuke and Colonel Abe
Supsky.
Partly it was the name, partly it was
the figure, partly 1t was the incauti6uS
enthusiasms but Daniels was thought
of as II good deal of an old woman and
author of ludicrous poem, Under the
Gamdeboo Tree"
TT WAS inevitable that Josephus
1 should be a Bryanite when to be a
Bryanite was to be suspect.
1t was, inevitable that he should be q
prohibitionist in the days before the
Anti Saloon League had made prohi-
bitionists anything but ridiculous.
1t was inevitable that he should be
rather noisy about single standards of
morality.
You must credit Daniels with courage.
He is nothing by halves.
He doesn't apologize for his convic-
tions, no matter how ridiculous they
seem to be.
He likes martyrdom, or he doesn't
mind it.
He has been covered with ridicule.
He has been the victim of the press.
But he has gone right on being the
only Bryanite secretary of the navy
there ever was.
Today he has the navy with him and
against Sims.
q q q
MOST secretaries of the navy merely
lHl do what the heads of the great
permanent bureaus of the navy tell them
to do.
They enter the navy without any
sDeciai convictions ON the subject of
the navy or knowledge of the navy.
They never get to know any more than
the navy bureaucracy wants them to
know.
Daniels had no special knowledge of
the navy.
Amusing stories are told of the inno-
cent questions he asked about ships
when first appointed.
But If he did not know anything
about ships, he knew lot about men.
He had positive convictions about the
navy as q body of men.
lie was DTydulte, uuu ne believed
in greater democracy in the navy than
he found there.
To have his own way with the navy
ne removed the old bureau chiefs and
nut new men of his own choice in their
places.
He opened the way wider than it had
been for men to rise from the ranks in
the navy.
He forbade liquor to the officers of
the navy just as 1t was forbidden to
the men.
He concerned himself with the morals
of the men in paternal way.
q q q
A LII this started tremendous row.
n A Democratic administration is
suspect anyway.
we haven't had many of them in
half century.
A Bryanite was more than suspect
And Colonel Abe Slupsby sort of
comic political character like Daniels
filed the country with the worst mis-
giyings. ..... 10.
Everything favored snap Judgment
highly adverse. .,,..., - = =
The navy set, the old bureau chief
crowd. knew the art of publicity.
TAsy had access to " press. the