Albuquerque morning journal., 1920-03-17
DANIELS PLANS
FOR PROTECTION
Of TRANSPORTS
|MPRACT|CABLE
Navy Department Wanted to
Depend Upon Advance
Warnings" From Abroad
As to Movements of Subs
CONVOY SYSTEM NOT
REGARDED FAV0RABlY
Naval Chief Urged Use Of
BattIeShipS to Protect the
TroopShipS Which Scheme
Was Later Abandoned.

tsT MORNING. JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED WIREI
Washington, March l6.-An un-
! published story of war time anxiety
! in London and Washington lest
German battle cruisers attempt a
forlorn hope raid against Ameri-
can transports was disclosed today
To- the senate naval investigating
cc mmittee by Rear Admiral Sims.
Messages exchanged by Admiral
| BENSON, chief of operations. and
admiral Sims In July. 1918, were
| presented by the latter to correct
"implicatious" which, he said,
Secretary Daniels had made to the
committee that general plans and
| policies We're none of my busi-
ress."
Included in plans formed by the
IrcVy department to meet such
raids and rejected by Admiral Sims
| as "impractical' was a proposal TO
call on Japan for n battle cruiser
division to serve with the American
Atlantic fleet.
In his first statement to the
committee, Admiral Sims said the
complaints he had to make were
&C nfined largely to the first six
| o? eight months of the war. When
today he began discussion of events
that occurred in the summer OF
1H1S, he said he did so because Mr..
Daniels in statement had inn
lplied Armiral Sims post in Lon
con was purely local one
The statement was Inaccurate"
Admiral Sims said.
| In the spring of 1918, he said.
when the submarine menace had
| been overcome, naval officials in
london became apprehensive that
| the Germans might as last ven-
| lture, send cut battle cruisers in the
pc of destroying an American
convoy.
That this apprehension was felt
also at the navy department, he
bald, was demonstrated by this ca
lblegram from Admiral Benson.
LAS last hope German battle
cruisers may be sent out to COM
| pletely destroy one of our troops
cnnvoys We depend upon you to
| Gain and give information on this
+ oint and grand fleet to take nec-
cessary action until United States
could act"
In reply, Admiral Sims said. ho
cabled that everything possible
would be done to intercept raiding
German cruisers but that there
could not be any guarantee that
they would not reach the open At
lantic. He advised guarding United
states troop conveys with battle-
ships.
Despite this, he said. the navy
| department on July 80 outlined a
! plan of its own to meet such raids,
predicted, he added, on the false
! premise" that advance warning
would be given, The plan contem-
plated placing one division OF
American battleships at Queens
town, Ireland, to cover the eastern
! Atlantic, another to be held at
home ready to cover the western
Atlantic and division of japanese
battle cruisers to be stationed with
the Atlantic fleet to pursue and
sink raiders,
"The plan was impractcable for
a number of reasons" Admiral
Sims declared. 1T was eventually
abandoned and for 1t was substi-
tuted a plan substantially the same
as previously recommended by
me-"
Admiral Sims said the depart
ment sent many cables insisting
that its plan be given a trial and
that II was not abandoned until
months after it was first suggested.
A raid in the meantime, he assert
| ed, would have found the United
4 States without a practical working
nlan To meet II
only the fact that God was with
us" saved early troop ship convovs
from German torpedoes, Admiral
Sims declared.