Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-05-11
DANIELS, IN BITTER ATTACK, FLAyS SIMS.
 RECORD DURING WAR.
Accuses Stormy Petrel of Navy of ''PrO-British
 Idiosyncracies'
SAYS NAVY'S RECORD
 STANDS UNTOUCHED
Secretary Says His Critic Loved Glitter and Foreign Decorations Coveted Honors That the
 British Could BestOw

Washington May 1O.-Secretarv Daniels, before the senate investigat- ing committee, made his long awaited reply to the criticisms by Rear Admi- ral Sims on the navy's part in the war.
 The naval secretary let go broad side which included charges that Sims lacked vision, belttled the work of the American navy in contrast to the British, coveted British decora- tions and aspired to become an hon. orary member of the British admi- rality. He declared that officers supporting the Sims charges were largely people with grievance"
 The testimony of other officers, in possession of first hand knowledge, Secretary Daniels testified, should be accepted by all open minded men as an absolute refutation of practi- cally all of Admiral Sims charges" Sims, Secretary Daniels told the com mittee, did not measure up to expec- tations in various ways, of which he mentioned six, as follows:
 "He lacked vision to see that a great and new project to bear the submarines from their hunting grounds should be properly adopted and carried out, no matter what the cost or how radical the departure from what ultra prudent men regard ed as impracticable.
 "He seemed to accept the views of the British admirality as superior to anything that would come from Amer ica and urged those views even when the navy department proposed plans that proved more effective.
 "1n public speeches and other ways he gave a maximum of credit to Brit ish efforts and minimized what his country was doing.
 "He coveted British decorations and seemed to place a higher value on honors given abroad than on hon. ors that could be conferred by the American government.
 "He aspired to become member of the British admirality and wrote complainigly when the American gov ernment declined to permit him to accept such tender by the king of England.
 Neglected Transports.
 "He placed protection of merchant shipping as the main operation of our forces abroad, failing to appre- ciate that the protection of trans ports carrying troops to France was the paramount naval duty until I felt impelled to cable him peremptorily that such was our main mission" Secretary Daniels testified that had he known that in October, 1918 Sims had made such statements re- flecting upon the contributions ot the United States army and navy to winning the war to members of con- gress visiting abroad, he would never have recommended his promition.
 "He had not then related all facts of the firht of American sailors in Cork.
 q thought then he had only de. tended American sailors, proper thing to do, when attacked unjustlS by what he termed a lawless element in Cork If I had known that he proposed, under the permission grant ed him to tell the story of what the navy had done over seas, to denounct the Irish people as he did in his arti cles in 'The Worlds Work the per mission would not have been grant ed"
 Secretary Daniels said he had nev CT publicly or privately criticised Ad miral Sims for lack of early visior in connection with the North Ses mine barrage project Cor his othe1 mistakes or wrong views" Admlra Mayo succeeded in convincing th' British admirality of the soundnes of the barrage scheme where Admira Sims had failed, he said.
 Although the department had dis approved of some of his recommen dations and denied some of his de sires," said Secretary Daniels, "l mls takenly supposed until the letter O January z, that he had accepted ant acquiesced with more or less grace | (Continued on Page 8