The daily morning oasis., 1920-05-13


with the "Bon Homme Richard" sinking, which she
did shortly after Jones and his crew had taken pos
session of the Scraps. Discretion would have
prompted Jones avod battle with the Scraps,
but he threw discretion to the Winds threw into the
adverse balance his own daring audacitv and won the
battle, with the ship Of his enemy
When on December 23rd., 1903 Lieutenant Steph-
en- Decatur in the ketch Intrepid stole into the har
Dor of Tripoi and succeeded in destroying the fri
gate Philadelphia, which had gone ashore and was
foated bv the TriDolitans, and had to be destroyed
to prevent the Trpolitan Navy from using her. that
same Decatur threw discretion to the winds. But
for that daring act the naval war against the Tripo
Titan pirates would have been failure.
The great British Admiral Nelson described De-
catlrs feat at Trpoli as "the most bold and daring
act Of the age"
When on the 9th, of October, 1864, Lieut. W. B.
Cushing of the American Navy, entered the Roanoke
River at Plymouth North Carolina, and blew up the
rebel ram Abemarle, he too cast discretion to the
Winds In two launches, with but twenty men, under
CALLING fire Of small Gushing approached the
Abemarle to find her surrounded by circle of logs
chained together. Backing UP 100 feet, Gushing
ran his launches full speed against the logs, slid over
them ran along side the Albemarle exploded against
her side torpedo which tore hole in her, "a hole
one could drive team and wagon into" as describ
edbyher commander, eliminating the dreaded armor
ed ram from further participation in the war. She
sank to the bottom and remained there until after the
war Cushing and his men took to the water. The
gallant commander with two of his men escaped by
swimming; eleven were captured, and the rest kill
ed by musketry fire.
Farragut, the great Admiral of the rebellion,
threw discretion to the Winds in the battle OF Mobile
Bay, when he commanded Dam the torpedoes, full
speed ahead and went on across the line OF tOrpe
does in his wooden Ship the Hartford, and fought
tosdefeat the Confederate iron clad ram Tennessee.
Why, the greatest events in American naval his
tory wre won by men who threw discretion to the
Winds"
Now, there was the head and front of President
Wilson's instruction to his naval officers at York
town in 1917 He had been fairly exasperated at
British incompetence in dealing with the submarine
menace British love of precedent and binding force
Of red tape had seemed utterly helpless When sug-
eestions were made from this side OF the water the
usual response of the British Admiralty was that 1T
had never been done that way"
President Wilson told his naval officers that 1t
was their duty to remove the menace OF the German
submarine and they did it. That is the whole story.
He appealed to that spirit which took John Paul Jones
through New Providence channel where regular pi-
lots would not go; which held that same John Paul
Jones up to fighting sinking ship against far sup
erior vessel and captured the latter the spirit which
took Decatur in enemy waters against the side OF
great frigate and destroyed her; Che same spirit
which took Gushing into the Roanoke river where
he sank the Albemarle and the same spirit which
caused Farragut to utter that historic command
Dam the Torpedoes; Full Speed Ahead"
Discretion does not win battles over great odds.
It takes sublime audacity to do that. Sublime au-
dacitywas what President Wilson called for at ork
twon; and he got it..