The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-05-14
DELAY DID NOT
PR0LONG WAR
Declared Secretary Daniels
Testifying Before Sen
ate Committee
SAYS SIMS REFUTED
HIS OWN CHARGES
Daniels Likens Them to
Fantastic Tales of Bar
on Munchausen"

Washington, d. c., May l4.-Rear
Admiral Sims "fallacious and baseless"
charge that the navy department de-
laws prolonged the war four months
unnecessarily, was practically the
only charge of upfavorable results
from the many alleged sins of omission
and commission" the officer had as
eribed to the department, Secretary
Daniels to-day told the Senate naval
investigating committee. 1t was fully
refuted, he added, by the admiral's own
test imony.
THE charge Of the prolongation OF
the war was definite and serious
one, ,"'said the secretary. 1T was made
with reckless disregard of the facts and
the reasoning and statistics adduced in
its support are those which one might
expect to find in the fantastic tales OF
Baron Munchausen."
Admiral Sims based his estimate OF
an unnecessary loss of 100000 lives on
an average loss for the allies OF 1900
men day, Mr. Daniels said
THE loss of 5000 men day for four
months" he added, falls short OF hall
a<fnilhon, but, OF course half million
sounds more impressive than the tis-
ures which would have been arrived
at by correct arithmetic"
The admiral based the charge on the
assumption that had there been m1l-
lion American soldiers in France by
March 1918, the war would have ended
four months sooner, Mr. Daniels said
and completed the reasoning by as
suming the tonnage losses OF lal1 pre-.
vented carrying that number OF troops
overseas by that date. and that failure
of the American navy to eo,opcrate
heartily in the first months of the war
resulted in the heavy tonnage losses
1T is not necessary to wander far
into the realm OF statistics or technical
questions to show the absolute fallacy
OF Admiral Sims claim Mr.. Daniels
continued. "He informed the commit
tee that the net tonnage available fol
the allies May |. 1917, was 2T-00o,U0t
tons. II j. a matter Of common knowi-
edge that on May |. 1918, the tonnage
was less than on May |. 1917. Iesti'
monv given by Admiral Sims would in.
dicate that the net loss during the year
was about two million tons. This Il
probably a sufficient close estimate foI
practical purposes.
"Now then. owing to the tonnage
losses of 1917 and the early part OF
1918. the net tonnage available to the
allies had been reduced from q 10000
on Nav |. 1917 to 25,O00.00O on May !
lnls. Yet il is admitted by Admira
Sims that in the spring OF 1918 Amer
lean troops were transported TO France
at the rate of nearly 100000 a montf
or more than ten times the rate e
which he said transportation had beer
restricted in 1917 because of the de
struction Of tonnage.
This simple fact refutes absolutely
Admiral Sims statement that the ton
mage losses Of 1917 made it 'impo-si
bic 20 transport any considerable
American army and made il necessary
10 limit the number of American .roop'
that could be sent abroad during th'
first wear to an average of approx
matcly 25.OO0 men per month
There never was time. the witness
said. when tonnage was not available
TO carry troops and supplies to France
as fast a. they could be landed anC
transported TO the front although i
was only by extreme eXertions thai
this was done during the rush Of troop.
| i'm Anril