Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-03-23
Enttnrial DiDrat
An .IndepenAent Analysis Of Leading CU.
rent Events ~ Rejected II fhe Pub.
IL Press Of the CeUntTy
Did Mere Luck Win the War?

"If Admiral Sims is right" says the Detroit
Free Press rnd), mot even the war depart
meut with all its laundering was a. slow about
utilizing its resources as was the navy depart
ment." It had been assumed that the nayy's
part in winning the war was accomplished with
efficiency and dispatch until the charges OF Ad-
miral Sims burst on the country like 14-inch
she'll and started people wondering whether the
war was won in spite OF the navy rather than
because Of it.
"But Germany was beaten, anyhow" Mr..
Average American is likely to say. why not
he satisfied with that? Why try to unearth
scandalsy' To this the Pittsburgh Press (Indr
replies:
I'VE are not so secure from the possibility
Of future war but that 1t is the part OF prudence
to understand just where We fell short this
time and adopt precautions to prevent repett-
ton of the blunders of which Admiral Sims
complains"
The substance Of the admiraPs complaint is
that the navy department tried to direct the
strategy of the campaign from Washington,
and that instead of cooperating with the allies
in a common plan against the enemy 1t pur-
basic charges" according to the Chicago Daily
News (lnd.), are:
THAT during the early period Of the war
the navy department violated fundamental pr1n-
ciples of warfare and thus caused needless and
costly prolongation Of the fighting; that the
policies of the department during the last half
of the war were identical with those recon-
mended by him and rejected during the first
six months and that the department either did
not have suitable plans when the nation en-
tered the war or else did not make use of them
in timely manner"
"A painful picture of confusion and delay,
the News comments, and the Seattle Times
| Und) puts emphasis on the admiral's opinion
that these conditions cost half million lives.
SIS, 900 900 900 in treasure and 100000 tons OF
shipping" The San Antonio Light Und)
thinks all this sounds bad for Daniels" and
| it points especially to the original policy OF
the secretary in keeping our warships in home
waters because of the submarine menace
whereas:
| 1.-THE department should have understood
enough of naval strategy to know that the
damage they could infict on this side Of the
ocean was negligible compared with what they
could do on the other side, and that the best
way to keep them from our coast was to con-
duct such forcible offensive against them
that they would have been obliged to remain
on the other side Of the Atlantic"
And it turned out" adds the Buffalo Ex.
press (Rep) that after we sent our patrol
| boats to those European waters. we had nc
, more trouble from submarines off our OWL
coast" The New York Tribune (Rep.), how
i ever. calls attention to a Daniels telegram tr
Sims, saying that 1.-The future position of the
| United States must in no way be jeopardizeG
| by any dsintegration of our main fightine
feet" and it thinks this boldly indicates that
instead of cooperating intellectually for the
prompt defeat of common enemy, We were
to conserve our main fighting fieet intact fol
post bellum conditions "In this" thinks ths
Tacoma News-Tribune 1nd.), "the, navy's head
seemed to fear the English navy as much a,
he feared Germany"
| However. as the Cleveland Plain Deale,
| lind DEM remarks. we should hear tbs
other side before finally condemning the one
department of the government reputed ready
A for the German peril in 1917"
! Admiral Sims judges the navy by it's fail
ure to reach standard which was in fact un
attainable." says the Springfield Republican
und.), and allows too little for the natura
and inevitable slowness and indecision O
democracy in the first stages of a war It il
in the last stages that democracy is ant t,
shine The Dayton News (Dem) reminds III
that 1.-The appreciation Of the allies followet
Americas naval services" and asks "Why nee.
Admiral Sims consider our part SO insigniican
and poorly conceived?' 1t appears to the Mem
phis Commercial Appeal DEM that the ego
tism OF the admiral has run away with an,
discretion or judgment that he may have nos
sessed," and that the whole discussion cha
resolved itself into political attack upon tn
present authorities"