The evening world., 1920-03-24
''CHAOS" IN NAVY
LAID TO DANIELS
BY CAPT. LANING
Plan of Operations DiSap-
proved and No New One
Was Formulated.

"A'' O"b1' Aiaillb lAciHlilBt RbSlS LalI
Chief OF the Bureau Of Navigation
during the war, testified to-day before
the Senate Investigating Committee.
The navy. not only was not pre-
pared, but 1t did no carry on" in the
, early days "as efficiently as it could
and should have" he said.
Capt. Laning said that about the
! time the United States declared war
the Office Of Chief of Naval Operations
had prepared a plan outlining the
navy's first efforts, but it was dis
approved by the department, with the
result that when a plan of operations
was needed the navy was without one.
Capt. LaniDg said no one knew
what to do after this plan was dis
approved and that the personal
characteristics Of the Secretary Of the
Navy often made il impossible to get
approval Of really important policies"
He charged that during the war it
always was difficult and frequently
impossible TO obtain the departments
approval TO essential plans and poll
cies, making it necessary for subor-
dinate officers TO go far beyond their
authority to get things accomplished,
thus increasing the difficulty Of car
rying on the war and decreasing the
effectiveness of American participa-
ton
Capt Laning asserted that the vari-
GUS units of the department could
make no coordinate effort to carry
on the war for lack of definite
general plan; that the fleet was not
ready for operations when war began,
and that in the years Immediately
preceding 1917 the department did
not take an attitude toward legisla-
ton and policies that would have
prepared the fleet.
Whenever a plan or policy was
presented to the Secretary he almost
invariably delayed action on it," Capt.
Laning declared. The personal in
terest he took in all matters absorbed
so much time that he never had much
left to give to the more important
affairs"
When Important policies and plans
were submitted to Secretary Daniels,
Laning said, directions would be given
to leave the papers decentralization"
and usually these instructions meant
that the matter would not be heard
from again until the officer interested
looked the papers up and then fire.
quently the papers could not be
found.
Conditions became so bad" the
witness said, shat officers used every
means possible to put their plans
through without obtaining the re-
quired authority"
I.aning offered to furnish the COM
mittee the names of other officers
who, he said, would corroborate his
testimony.
"As for material conditions in the
fleet when we entered the war" the
captain added, ut was found that 1t
would take over 100 days to get all
battleships of even the active fleet
materially ready for war. The dread
noughts were not sent to the yards
for repairs until several months after
the declaration of war"
Before the entry of the United
States into the war, efforts were be-
ing made to obtain Daniels's approval
to contracts for 14-inch shells for the
dreadnoughts, Capt. Laning said.
These efforts were accelerated, he
said, and in a letter Of April ~, 1917,
it was pointed out that should the
six dreadnoughts having 14-inch guns
would not be enough in reserve to
refill their magazines and none for
three more dreadnoughts then near
ing completion. Later, he said, the
shells were ordered,
Lanning said that Just prior to
1917 the Department gave out such
glowing accounts OF the Navy and its
splendid condition and efficiency that
few, II any, outside the Navy realized
the true condition"
Inat the lack OF a general plan
cost huge sums Of money was indiCat-
ed, Lansing said, by a conversation
with Paymasher General MCGOWAN,
two months after the arInistice, when
MCGOWAN said:
do you remember the plan you
| tried TO put through at the outbreak
Of the war that provided for handling
| the Emergency Fund and which the
Secretary wouldn't approve? God
man, II he only had done it, The way
things have gone we find after charg-
| ing off everything we could to other
appropriations we have over expended
the Emergency Fund by about $685.
600, 900.
Laning was cross examined by
Senator Trammell, Florida, VINO read
J a letter written by Laning to Rear
| Admiral Sims in 1918, apparently in
! answer to criticisms made by the
| Admiral. "..
Il am not convinced" wrote Capt.
Ianing, ''that operations has erred or
that my office Cnavigation) has
erred. The problem was not to de-
liver a puny and futile blow at the
start but TO build for the blows that
in the end must crush the enemy.
Even you yourself questioned the ad-
visibility OF keeping or battlerships
in commission and suggested putting