Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-22
NAVY CONSERVATIVES.
RAPED BY ADMIRAL.

the Naval War college to it's gradu-
ating class of officers, discussed mil
ntary Conservatism" referring, he
said, specifically to that type and
degree Of conservatism (which has
so often been responsible for defeat
in battle, and sometimes for national
disaster"
After quoting from history to show
that there has always been resist
ance to new weapons and methods
of warfare, he said:
"The rapid development of the
submarine and the airplane during
the war and the continuous develop
ment of both and probably the lat
ter, since the war, have shown that
weapons are still in their infancy,
SO that great possibilities Of develop
ment are clearly in sight; and that it
will require the most careful, devot-
ed and logical consideration upon our
part even to keep abreast of the de-
velopments in foreign navies, much
less to anticipate these develop
ments."
Indisposition on the part Of our
navy at once to utilize new ideas,
weapons, and methods of demon
strated value, the admiral said, had
been 'due to habit of mind that
could be INDUCED in the past with
comparative safety but which is
manifesGly danger to a country
that has become involved in interna-
tional politics and whose policies are
likely to be disputed by other pow
erS.'
Admiral Sims, asserting that our
gunnery up to 1900 was so inefficient
that an equal force of any navy
could have inflicted upon us a most
humiliating defeat, added: "In my
opinion we are now entering period
that may become still more danger
Gus If we fail correctly to interpret
the significance of the rapid develop
ment of fundamentally new weapons
Of enormous destructive power and
Of relative immunity to effective re-
sistance by any means except de-
cisive superiority Of similar weapons.
eve may escape this danger in
future, as has so often been the case
in the past, through the superior
vision of Roosevelt, or through the
pressure of public opinion overcom-
ing the excessive conservatism of
military minds.
lIllllh IL opPoL S1AI LhAcII liz
remedy we seek is comprised in a
commission of logical ability and
military characteristic ability to
reach sound conclusions from estab.
lished facts, and the character to &C
cept, adopt, and fight for these con-
illusions.
"a navy to be. successful must be
guarded not only by men of ability
but by an intellectual honesty that
is proof against personal ambition or
any other influences whatsoever.
(Which of us will be quoted in
future as examples Of dangerous
conservatism"
ever since men first began to use
weapons to fight each other" Ad-
miral SimsAsaid, military men have
been Reproduced for excessive con-
servatism, a polite term often in
tended to imply a dangerous reluc-
lance to accept new IDEAS"
Other professions could afford to be
conservative without much danger
to the country" he continued,
whereas, in the case of the military
profession, national disaster might
easily result from a lack of vision
necessary to recognize the superiori-
ty of new weapon or a new method
of warfare.
Inventors have always had a
hard time in convincing high naval
officials Of the merits of their inven-
tons. 1t usually required the pres
sure of war necessity or strong po-
litical influences, or both, to insure
even a hearing. Fulton and Erick-
son are cases in point.
EEWhoD in 1909 and 1904 the new
methods of gunnery training caused
number of junior officers to oppose
the building of any more mixed cal
iber ships and to recommend the all
big-gun ship, or dreadnaught type,
the recommendation was successful
ly opposed by most of our senior Of
ficers, including Admiral Mahan, I'M
til it's adoption was forced by Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
1.-THE case of the submarine need
be hardly more than mentioned.
Though American designers Of this
type of vessel are responsible for
most of the principles upon which
it's success depends, they received so
little encouragement from our navy
that not only was the first practical
development in foreign navies, but
even as late as our entry into the
great war the capabilities Of this
type of vessel were seriously ,miSun-
derStood.
"The same is true to an even
greater degree as regards the devel-
opment of the airplane as weapon.
Ever while foreign countries were
appropriating large sums of money
and were making every effort to de
velop it, our naval authorities were
actually resisting it's introduction"
"It is by reason of this attitude
that our navy found itself so alb
surdly deficient in craftsmanship
during the Spanish war, so deficient
in destroyers, submarines and air
planes when we entered the great
war, and it is for this reason that
we are still without battle cruisers.
Are we approaching the consid-
Grafton of the influence of these rev.
dictionary weapons in a judicious
frame of mind? am afraid not,
in view Of recent examples Of minds
absolutely closed to the plainest
facts.
"Our objective must not be safety
first in the sense Of adherence to
already tested practices and nipple
ments, but safety first in being the
first to recognize, the first to expert
ment with and the first to adopt i'm
provements of distinct military val
ue."
A N.Y.