The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-05-21

MT. David Lawrence, the Tampa
Times special Washington correspon-
dent contributes the following i'm
portant and valuable information to
Tle general public which we know
will be read with interest.
The interesting story follows:
Something more important than the
mere refutation of Admiral Sir
charges that the American navy did
not do its proper share in the early
stages Of the war, something more
than controversy over war honors,
is behind the revelations being made
by Secretary Daniels with the consent
Of President Wilson.
The administration has long smart
ed under the criticism that it pussy.
fcOtetd" during the war that il
Slowed up" and that it hesitated 10
make big sacrifices either on land or
sea in the hope that a ."peace by nego-
tiatiOn" might shorten the war. Even
as the president was endeavoring to
answer the final plea of the GerD1an~
for an armistic; he was being criti-
cised by political orators on the
ground that he wanted to make "a
soft peace" 1t will be rememb bered
that unconditional surrender clubs''
were organized to offset this supposed
weakness Of the president
Throughout it all Mr. Wilson has
maintained secrecy Many people in
the capital know. for instance. that
he made that fighting speech aboard
the battleship Pennsylvania before
the assembled officers of the Atlantic
uh
by newspapers to permit the publ
cation Of that address. 1t was con
tended that ii would do a great deal
toward enthuSing the American pe0.
ple-but the president refused. II
was evident. however. that the froe-
dom with which he had criticised the
British navy was the fllndar, o~ta |
reason. 1t was feared that publica-
t10n of these remarks might mean
dissension among the allied people
and might give comfort to the enemy
But there are dozens of documents
just like the one Secretary Daniels
has just made public which throw
light on how America conducted the
war. Congress has seen fit to probe
expenditures and given an impression
that the government was extravagant
and wasteful.
Administration Lifting the Veil
The administration has made no
answer. But as the political campaign
approaches there will be many an.
swers. Charges that money was
wastefully spent will be refuted by
lifting the veil on the entire manage
ment of the war. 1t will be found.
for instance. that the allies were in
much more desperate straits than the
world generally knew. 1t will be dis
closed that their appeals to the presi.
dent were answered one after the
other with spirit that threw "pru-
dence to the winds" The perilous
situation OF the allies influenced a
good many hasty actions on the part
OF the American government which
never would have been sanctioned in
moments Of calm deliberation.
The constroversv between til
American and British navies continu.
ed for many months. The Sims erf-
sode is only one of a number Again
and again the two navies were argu.
ing how the war should be fought.
The British had appeared content TO
fight defensive war on the seas.
President Wilson was insisting al
ways on an offensive even though It
meant concentrating the entire fleets
of the allies and making a raid and
landing on the German coast. Tne
presidents idea of shortening the war
was TO combine the allied force into
an overwhelming weapon. He advo-
Gated the same kind of tactics on
land. He believed in Marshal Foch
from the first. He didn't hesitate 10
approve the request for the brigading
Of American troops with British or
French, doing something in that con-
nection incidentally which amazed the
European nations-for Mr.. Wilson
didn't reveal any national sensitive
ness such as had troubled the British
and French governments in handling
their military men.
war Record TO BE Kept unsmIrehed