Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1920-01-03
TIIE I.0N0a JF TuE NAVY.

iltE i.oND.t DF TilE NAVY.
Congress must nov come to the
lroscuc Of the honor and eff cheney Of
| the United States navy. The present
Secretary. Mr.. Joscnhus Daniels has
| succeeded in inflicting series OF
| well nigh deadly blows. which have
. so dcmoralized the rank and file that
! the navy is II grave danger. Its hon
or is bcsmirchcd and its efficiency
| impaired. Admiral Sims refusal to
accept the distinguished service med
: al on account ii the INJUSTICE which
has been done to gallant officers un
, der his command, brings the question
! of Encouragement OF he Navy De-
! partmcnt to the attention Of Congress
i'll such manner that 1t cannot be ig-
nored with deccncy or safety.
| Mr.. Daniels bcgan the udminstra.
ton Of The Navy Departm snt with the
good Will of the service and tho pub
lie. lie has not encountered any op
; position except thut which lie has
created himself. LII the naval officers
arc Ill state Of deep resentment and
/ revolt it is not thclr fault. The pup
, lie is disguised with the navy's mis-
manage: aent and angered because of
the DENIAL of justice to brave officers
whilo personal favoritcs are decorated
' with the honors that belong to 9TH
crs. 1t is not the fault of the public
that affairs in the navy have gone
from bad to worse. The people gladly
support all appropriations for the
navy and are thrilled with pride when
they review its record in all the
wars. lnc public willingly gave Mr..
Daniels credit for all he accomplish
cd during the recent war, and for
much that he did not accomplish.
mere has not been any disposition to
do anything nurc THAI smile at Mr..
Daniels v"rar'cs, so long us they
merely exhibited his odd unfitncSS
for his place and did not injurc tho
service. But now the situation has
taken sinister turn for the worse.
What is to be thought Of depart
mcnt head who ovcrturns facts and
Justice and substitutes falSchood and
injustice in the award of medals for
distinguished service during the war
against Germany? 1t is n peculiarly
injurious ofCcnse against dcccncy and
Justice. 1t strikes at the navy's hon
or--an act that no one ever dreamed
would or could be commi ted by
JoscphuS Daniels or any other Sccrc
tary of the Navy. The navy's honor
is in his keeping. He is the last man
in the United States who should tarn
ish it. His chief duty is to maintain
the navy's honor, without which
there can he no navy.
Naval officers are taught from first
to last to cherish the honor of the
service. Throughout the glorious his
tory of the navy, the pursuit CT hon
or has been the inspiration Of heroic
deeds now famous throughout the
world. The hoEors bestowed by this
nation upoE its naval defenders have
been until this hour the reward above
all others foI which men have given
their lives we'll knowing that these
honors were unpurchasable by fav-
oritism and unaltainable by the unde
serving.
But now-what n change! The
choice honor provided by Congress
and entrusted to the Secretary OF
the Navy for bestowal upon those who
have honored their country by dis
tngulshcd service is now made ar
instrument Of malice and favoritism
so that the badge becomes token OF
. dishonor in the eyes OF gallant Off
} GERS and is priced only by the incon
petent and the undeserving!
Who is the naval officer who vii
wear a distinguished service medal
bestowed by Josephus Daniels? How
Will he explain his possession of tho
dishonored symbol Of honor? Will he
take pains to say that he is in fact {
hero. who, by some mistake Of tho
Secretary of the Navy, was permit
ed to have a medal? Or will he wink
: and nod and whisper eargerly that
he has pull with the Secretary oil
, the Navy and can get honor by the
, graft OF fayOritism or sectionalism
|, No individual of either of these
types has ever worn the uniform OF
tho United States Navy. Hence there
will be no such shameful exhibition
of disbonored badges purporting tc
express the gratitude Of the United
States for gallant service.
The President cannot be expected
to attend to this scandal. Unfortunate
ly it has occurred during his severe
illness, and advantage has been tax
en- Of his condition TO put through
) the plan without his knowledge The
matter is one that calls for the in
slant action Of Congress. Let the
Secretary Of the Navy and the board
, of awards be called forthwith. Let
facts be ascertained and published
in order that the people may know
where honor and dishonor lie.
Washington Post Dec. 90 1919.