Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-03-17
SIMS RELATES HOW GERMANS PASSED UP
 CHANCE AT SHIPPING
Raiding of Conveys, Says Ad- miral, Would Have Par
 alyzed Shipping
LITTLE BLUFF WOULD
 HAVE CAUSED HAVOC
Despite Warning Navy Made No Preparations to Combat Dan. ger, Declares Administra-
 tion Critic

! Washington, March 1G.-Germany missed an opportunity to paralyzc shipping and American troop move ments to France in the summer of | 1918 by not sending battle cruiser to raid conveys, Rear Admiral Sims said today continuing his testimony before the senate committee investi- gating his charges against the navy departments conduct of the war. Although the department was warned in. September 1917 of this danger, he said, it had no comprehensive plan to combat such an enemy move 10 later when the danger was really imminent.
 "The department acknowledged that it had no approved plans and said that it depends upon the European forces and upon the British grand fleet to stand off the danger until it had time to act" the admiral as- serted, adding that little bluff" on Germany's part would have work ed havoc with allied transportation. ! The department suggested plan after plan in the intervening months, 1 the admiral said, all based on a wrong premise and most of which had been previously considered and rejected by the allies as unavoidable
 In August 1918, word came that the enemy was preparing two cruis- CTS for raiding duty. Admiral Sims said, and not until then did the de partment abandon its own ideas and accept his recommendation made 10 months before that battleships be assigned to protect troop ships. He read from the cablegram accepting his plan, in which the department said it was "only a temporary exped- ient," and did not "solve the prob lem of continued enemy battle cruis- CT activity in the Atlantic"
 The same cable said that "no reply" had been received to request by the department that four Japanese battle cruisers be assigned to the American Atlantic fleet for duty against raiders and that the depart- ment desired "to know what will be the admiralty's policy as to the use of their battle cruisers for pursuit in case of the escape of an enemy battle cruiser"
 Unity Absent
 The admiral said confusion as to plans at this stage of the war was an Impressive example of the de- plorable absence of unity of command on the seas, a measure which the allies finally adopted on land and which made victory possible.
 A "little bluff" on the part of the Germans in 1918, at the crucial point of the war, would have paralyzed the transportation of soldiers and war materials, between this country and Europe, Rear Admiral Sims today told the senate naval subcommittee.
 Information from authentic sour- ces, indicating that the Germans were building two heavy armoured modern battle cruisers for desper- ate last hope raid against troop ships conveys was transmitted toI the navy department, Admiral Sims said, and immediately he was beseig- ed with cables from Washington out lining various plans of action, all of which, he testified, were impractlca- ble, although such contingency, has been under discussion for nearly a i to prepare.
 eff the enemy had only known" | said Admiral Sims, Gall he need have done was to make a series of bluffs. 1 inv olving little risk to himself, and we would have done the rest. Ship ping would have been paralyzed." | Admiral Sims discussed at length 1 four plans proposed by the depart ment for defeating Germany on the sea. They were:
 A protected lane through the dam ger zone.
 The blocking of German ports by the sinking ships in the entrace; ,' Mine barriers of nets, and mines of types then in use;
 Mine barriers of mines of new type. 1 All except the last were imprac- ticable, he declared, and much time was wasted bv the insistence of the derartment that they be tried.
 The department wished to land a "solar plexus" below against the submarine campaipn, the admiral said, and suggested many schemes lone before rejected by the allies Such a plan was that of sinking old battleships and cruisers in the en- trance to all German submarine bases and harbors. Admiral Sims asserted. and only after he had pointed out that the scheme would require the sinking of 40 battleships and 43 cruisers and six months of prepara- ton did the department apree to abandon the plans. It took seven months of effort to bring the Wash ington officials to the final conclu- sion, he said.
 On May II, 1917, the navy depart yment first suggested the idea of a barrier of mines across the North Sea to trap German sea forces, Ad- miral Sims said. and at that time he opposed the plan because the al- lies could not afford to divert the large numbers of men and ships and Fhuge amounts of material necessary to make the project success, he de- \ clared; and also because the old type 4 mines then in use were not practical for such purpose.
 Later, when the submarine cam 'I paign wns we'll in hand and new .
 Sl.nssd on Psse Q