The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-04-21

to be cause for wonder and admira- /
tior on the part of those who were
closely associated with him.
His brilliant mind gave further evil
dence OF it's gift for strategy in his
contention from the day we entered
the warfare of Germany to beat the
U-boat warfare of Germany was to bar
the U-boats from access to waters
traversed by allied shipping.
WILLING TO TAKE RISK
He was willing to run tremendous
risks and to suffer heavy losses if there
were possibility of destroying the
U-boats nests
Speaking to the officers and crew
of the Pennsylvania, he said:
I'VE are hunting hornets all over the
farm and letting the nests alone None
of us know how to go to the nest and
crush 1t, and yet 1 despair of hunting
for hornets all over the sea when L
know where the nest is, and l know
that the nest is breeding hornets as
fast as can find them. l am willing
for my part. and L know you are Will
ing, for know the stuff you are made
OIL am willing to sacrifice half the
navy Great Britain and we together
have to crush the nest, because II We
crush it the war is won"
The British admiralty, however, was
inclined to be exceedingly cautious.
and the Presf~ant 8 proposals failed to
evoke the response he had reasou to
hope for.
Every time weyhave suggested any
thing to the British admiralty" he
said, talking on the deck of the Penn
sylvania, in the summer of 1917, "the
reply has come back that virtually
amounts to this: That it had never
been done in that way. 1 felt like say
ing: Well. nothing was ever done so
systematically as nothing is being done
now Therefore, l should like to see
something unusual happen, som sthing
that has never been done before.
There is no other way to win"
CALLS FOR SUGGESTIONS
1t was on this occasion that ne in
vlted the youngest as well as the old
est officers in the navy to suggest to
him possible ways of doing the big and
bold and unprecedented thing that
might bring victory.
II am not saying" he declared, that
do not expect the admirals to tell us
what to do, but l am saying that
want the youngest and most modest
youngster in the service to tell US
what we ought to do, if he knows what
it is.
Please leave out of your vocabu-
larry the word prudent" he said to
the naval officers. do not stop to
think about what is prudent for a mo-
ment. DO the thing that is audacious
to the utmost point of risk and daring,
because that is exactly what the other
side does not understand"
The President had sized up correctly
the enemy mind-rigid, conventional.
regimented. In order to surprise and
bewilder him, it was necessary only 10
Ia he hat
lar. contrary to established rules.
MAYO SENT TO EUROPE
Soon after the President made his
hornet nest speech Admiral Mayo, COM
mander-in-chief Of all the vessels afloat
on both sides of the Atlantic, was dis
patched to Europe with instructions to
convince the British admiralty of the
overshadowing necessity of constructing
the North sea barrage
Failing the possibility of persuading the
British admiralty to join in a combined
attack upon the hornets nest, the Pres-
dent proposed the stretching of a screen
that would catch the hornets before they
scattered along the British and French
coasts and the lanes of ocean traffic.
! have told the story of this remarka-
able achievement in another of the arti-
cles in this series. The President warm
ly approved the navy's plans for the
northern mine barrage, which did so
much to shatter the morale of the Ger
man navy, whose mutiny marked the
beginning of the enemy's collapse.
During the war years the President
often came unannounced to the navy de-
partment to consult suggest and, l
think. frequently with the desire to en-
courage and stimulate. This latter serv-
ice was invaluable to US. When he could
not come because of pressure of affairs.
he would send us a tyrewritten query, or
memorandum, bearing the initials w.
w" Those wv. W." notes never had a
spare word, and they showed the same
clearness and vision which John Hay
tells US Lincoln had when he would go
over to see Stanton in the dark days OF
the Civil war.
KEEN NAVAL INSTINCT
President Wilson's interest was neither
perfunctory nor official. He had the
keenest naval instinct. He was born
with it. When Thomas Woodrow Wilson
was a boy--before he dropped the
"Thomas''--he chose for himself ma
val career.
His boyhood was spent on the banks of
river. and he loved boating next to
books, or at times even more than books.
He had penchant for sailing; he loved
sea tales, and his ambition was to fol-
low Jones and Farragut and Dewey.
Thomas Woodrows father. scholarly
Presbyterian preacher OF the old school,
vetoed the naval career. When the
chance came to go to Annapolis, he said
In substance: mo; you are not meant
for the sea. my SON. letters. books. states
manship for you
1t is not recorded that Thomas Wood
row replied, AYE. aye, sir" with nauti-
cal brevity and cheerfulness. but certain
1t Is that he accepted his fathers de-
cree The navy lost an officer who would
have destroyed many presidents and won
many victories when his father snatched
him from the topsail and sent him down
below to the study of languages and po-
litical economy.
(Another article by former Secretary
Daniels will be printed tomorrow
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