New-York tribune., 1920-03-13

spondence, the plan was seriously
ingness Of the department to force
American merchant ships to submit to
the convoy system.
Delay in Convoy Plan
Admiral Sims had previously re-
minded the committee how from the
time he arrived in London in April,
1917, he had been urging the adoption
Of the convoy system; and how by the
first Of May he had brought the Brit
ish and French admiralties to adopt
it; and how his repeated appeals to
the Navy Department for information
as to how far it would cooperate in
the plan had gone unanswered; and
received this message from Secretary
Daniels:
In regard to convoy, l consider that
American vessels having armed guards
are safer. when sailing independently.
BY copious quotations from the cor
respondence the witness showed how
the British and French, as we'll as him
self, had observed the failure Of the
armlng of merchant vessels to check
the submarine menace; how daily
armed ships were being sunk in large
numbers; and he quoted from Admiral
Won Tirpiitz's book, written after the
war, to show how his analysis Of the
armed ship weaknesses was substanti-
ated by the experience Of the German
commanders, and how the Germans ad-
mitted that the adoption of the con-
voy system sealed the doom of the u
boat campaign.
Following this up, the witness sub
mitted correspondence showing how,
even after the convoy system was final
ly agreed to and in the midst of the
most critical period, Secretary Daniels
suddenly on June ] proposed chang
ing the whole basis of ceordinated
routing of ships in favor of an inde-
pendent American system. To this
proposition Sims protested, but Secre-
tary Daniels insisted on an independ-
ent plan for American ships.
Graphic evidence was submitted by
the witness in support of the conten-
ton, which he was constantly laying
before the department when trying for
months to get American destroyers
sent to the other side as aid in the
anti-submarine campaign, that German
submarines could not possibly raid the
American coast without full advance
side. The first of these raids, he
showed, was not attempted until May,
1918, or more than year after he first
began urging the department to send
all available destroyers to the other
side. The advance information was
sent to the department weeks ahead,
when the Uboat, speeding at five knots,
first started on her trip across. 1t gave
the name of the submarine, her prob
able destination and the method by
which she would operate. Every item of
this information was borne out by the
actual happenings.
Sims Cabled Warning
The warning cabled by Sims read:
"May /, 1918. Highly secret. Ad-
mralty informs me that information
from reliable agents states that sub
marine of Deutschland type left Ger
many about 10th April to attack either
American troop transports or ships
carrying material from the States. So
far Is known, the Germans formed con-
clusions that:
81. Troop transports sail from New
York via Nantucket Shoals and Sable
Island direct to Europe.
"2. Material transports go from
Newport News to point south Of Ber-
muda and then to Azores and thence to
destination. (Sims here pointed out
in many respects faulty.)
at is thought that submarine is tax
ing northerly route across Atlantic.
Average speed five knots. None of new
class Of cruising submarines ready for
service. Admiralty experience with
Deutschland class establishes following
conclusions:
"They generally operate a long dis
tance from shore and seldom in less
than 100 fathoms. Their single hulls
are very vulnerable to depth charge
attack. They rarely attack submerged.
There is but one known instance of
attack against convoy and but two of
torpedo attack against single vessels,
one being successful. They attack by
gun fire almost exclusively. The most
effective type to oppose them is the
submarine. They shift their operating
area as soon as presence of submarine
is discovered"
Two weeks later Sims was able to
give in longer dispatch information
that a submarine would probably Law
mines off Delaware Breakwater and
Chesapeake Bay, as she actually did. A
third message gave the name Of the
U-boat as probably the U-151, as she
proved to be. Several vessels were
sunk by her and the United States bat
tleship Minnesota hit one Of her mines,
but was saved.
Similarly Sims read from dispatches
giving advance warning, with location,
of second submarine sent across and
then of two additional.