The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-07-25

they were completely inter-depen-
dent. According to my idea, the BUSH
ness of the American Navy was to
join forces whole heartedly with those
of the Allies in an attempt to win
the war. Anything which helped to
accomplish this great purpose be-
came automatically. our duty. Ger
| many was basing her chances of sue
cess upon the submarine; our
business was therefore to assist in
defeating the submarine. The cause
of the Allies was our cause; our
cause was the cause of the Allies:
anything which benefited the Allies
benefited the United States; and
anything which benefited the United
States benefited the Allies. Neither
we nor France nor England were
conducting a separate campaign, we
were separate units of a har-
monlous whole. At the be-
ginning the one pressing duty
was to put an end to the sinking of
merchantmen, not because these mer-
chantmen were for the larger part.
British, but because the failure to do
SO would have meant the elimination
Of Great Britain from the war, with
results which would have meant de-
feat for the other Allies
Our twelve months campaign
against the submarine was an invalu-
able preliminary to transporting the
troops. Does any sane person believe
that we could have put two millions
Americans into France had the Ger
man submarines maintained until
the spring and summer of, 1918, the
striking power which had been theirs
in the spring of 1917? Merely to state
the question is to answer it. In that
same twelve months we had gained
much experience which was exceed
ingly valuable when we began trans
porting troops. The most efficacious
protection to merchant shipping, the
convoy, was similarly the greatest
safeguard to our military Transports
Those methods which had been so
successfully used in shipping food,
munitions, and materials were now
used in shipping soldiers. The Sec
ton of the great headquarters which
we had developed in London for
routing conveys was used for routing
transports. and the American naval
officer, Byron A. Long, who had DEM
onstrated such great ability in this
respect was likewise the master r1ind
lean soldiers to France.
Work ait Brest.
In other ways we had laid the
foundations for this, the greatest
movement in history. In the preced-
ing twelve months we had increased
the oil tankage at Brest more than
four-fold, sent over repair ships and
augmented its repair facilities. This
port and all of our nnval activities |
in France We're under the command |
first of Admiral VIM. B. Fletcher,
and later Rear Admiral Henry B. Will
son. 1t was matter of regret that |
we could not earlier have made Brest |
the main naval base for the Ameri- |
can naval forces in France, for it |
was in some respects strategically
better located for that purpose than
was any other port in Europe Even
for escorting certain merchant con-
voys into the channel, Brest would |
have provided better base than
either Plymouth j.. or Queenstown to
pick UP conveys and escort them into |
the channel or to French ports and |
thence return to their base involved /
a long triangular trip; to send such
destroyers from Brest to escort these
involved smaller amount of steam |
ing and direct east and west vow
age. Similarly Queenstown was a |
much better location for destrovers
sent to meet conveys bound for ports
in the Irish Sea over the northern |
trunk line" Butt unfortunately il |
was utterly impossible to use the
great natural advantages of Brest in |
the early days of war; the mere fact /
that TINS french harbor possessed |
most inadequate tankage facilities
put 1t out of the question, and it was |
also very deficient in docks, repair
facilities, and other Indispensable
features of a naval base At this time
Brest was hardly more than able
to provide for the requirements
of the French, and it would have
embarrassed our French allies
greatly had we attempted to
establish large American force
there. The ships which we did send I
in the first part of the war were
mostly yachts, of the dollar r"
variety, which their owners had gen.
erously given to the national service.
their crews We're largely of that type |
OF young business man and college |
under graduate to whose skill and de-
votion | have already paid tribute.
This little flotilla acquitted itself
splendidly up and down the coast of
France. Meanwhile we were con-
structing fuel oil tanks; and. as soon
as these were ready, and repair ships
were available. we began building
up large force at Brest-a force
which was ultimately larger than the
one we maintained at Queenstown, at
the reight of the troop movements.
it comprised about 36 destroyers. IL
yachts, 3 tenders. and several mine
sweepers and tugs. The fine work
which this detachment accomplished
in escortiag troop and supply coz
voys is sufficient tribute to the