The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-03-25
LANlNC TELLS COMMITTEE navy
Was NOT PREPARED FOR BATTLE
when AMERICA ENTERED THE War
Assistant Chief of Bureau of
Navigation Says Daniels
DisapprOved All Plans
HAD TO EXCEED POWERS
In Order to Get Anything Done,
Laning Says Junior Officers
Overstepped Rules.


can navy not only was not prepared
when the United States entered the
war but it did not carry on in the
early days "as efficiently as it could
and should have, Capt Harris Lam
ing. assistant chief of the bureau or
navigation. testified today before the
Senate investigating committee,
Capt. Laning. who followed Rear
Admiral Sims on the stand, said state
ments were based on his experiences
at sea with the fleet just before the
United States entered the war
The witness said that about the time
the United States declared war the
office of the chief of naval operations
had prepared plan outlining how
the navy's first efforts should be dI-
rected but 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 il
always was difficult and frequently
impossible to obtain the departments
approval to essential plans and pol
icies, making 1t necessary for sub
ordinate officers TO go beyond their
authorities to get things accomplished
thus increasing the difficulty of carry
ing on the war and decreasing the
effectiveness of American participa-
tion.
Capt. Laning also told the committee
that the bureaus of the department
could make no co-ordinated effGSnM
to carry on the war for lack =
definite general plan, that the -,
was not ready for battle when j
began, and that in the years imm e,
ately preceding 1917 the departmentSaio>
not. take an attitude toward legisfa-
tion and policies that would have pre-
pared the fleet.
Whenever plan or policy was pre-
sented to the secretary he almost in
yariably delayed action on it" Captain
Laning declared. The personal in
terest he took in all matters connected
with the department absorbed so much
of his time that he never had much
left to give TO the more important
affairs.
When important policies and plans
Captain Laning said, directions would
be given TO leave the papers for con
sideration'' and usually these instruc-
tions meant that the. matter would not
be heard from again until the officer
interested looked the papers up and
then frequently the paper could not
be found.
Conditions finally became so bad
the witness said. that the officers
used every means possible to put their
plans and policies through without OBJ
tanning the required authority +
Il was and still am amazed that the
navy was able to accomplish the re-
markable work it did, but IL is certain
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.
Captain Laning said that just prior
to 1917 the department gave out such
glowing accounts of the navy anu it's
splendid condition and efficiency that
few if any, outside the navy realized
the true condition
The witness said that he did not
criticize the departments policy as
to building programs as it always ad-
vocated increased numbers Of ships
Dut Whetner the NUMBERS and types
were correct was a matter of personal
opinion Secretary Daniels, he said
based his ideas of the navy's fitness
on the total number of ships rather
than their condition whether tney
were properly nance Tor wal
Captain Laning asserted that while
in the Spring of 1917 only about half
the navy's ships had even peace time
crews and that naval officers gener-
ally conceded that the greatest need
of the service then was men, the de-
partment went on record against any
increase in personnel.
LAS for material conditions in the
fleet when we entered the war" the
captain added 1T was found that it
would take over 100 days to get all
battleships of even the active fleet
materially ready for war.
The dreadnaughts, he said were not
sent to the yards for repairs until sew
eraI months after the declaration OF
war
Before the entry of the United States
into the war efforts were being made
by the bureau of ordinance to obtain
Secretary Daniels approval to con-
tracts for new 14-inch shells for the
dreadnaughts, Captain Laning said.
After war was declared these efforts
were accelerated he said, and in
letter Of April IL, 1917 prepared FOR
.ranSua RtaI bv Admiral Renson the