New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-19
The Nays Needs
Bureau for War Plans-FuH Public Discussion
bt. 1921. New York Tribune Inc.

prosperity will continue forever and
make no adequate provision for the
period of financial depression which
seems inevitably to follow such a pc
riod, so most of US feel in time of
peace that there will be no more war,
at least for US. Yet, somehow or other,
financial depressions and wars have
continued for generations to occur at
intervals, and their occurrence has each
time been unforeseen by the ajority of
the people affected. Just as so many
business men in times of prosperity
are so occupied with the immediate
details of their business that they
fail to make proper provision for
meeting the contingencies which will
arise in the following period of
depression, which always seems so
far away until they find themselves
in the midst of it, so with our present
naval organization most of the respon-
sible officers are in time of peace so
occupied with the immediate details
of naval operation and maintenance
that they fail to make any adequate
plans for meeting the contingencies
which will arise in time of war.
The most nearly satisfactory remedy
for this condition appears to be to create
in the Navy Department bureau
charged by law with the sole and
specific duty of preparing plans for war
and for war training This bureau must
be superior to all other bureaus; it
must be allowed sufficient personnel to
permit 1T to carry out it's duties eff
ficlently, and its activities must at the
same time be hedged about with such
legal regulations as to prevent it as
far as possible from becoming merely
an organization for carrying on the
peace-tlme routine of the navy or a
soft berth for deserving and super
animated rear admirals.
Report to Congress
This object has to a certain ex
tent already been accomplished by the
creation of the Office of naval OPERA
lions, but the planning section of this
bureau is at present inadequate and
there is constant friction between this
planning section and the General
Board. The latter should be abolished
and all its powers and duties should be
transferred to the office of naval opera
tons. Moreover, it should be made
legal requirement that the annual re-
port OF the Secretary of the Navy shall
IN all cases be supplemented by full
and unabridged report direct to Con-
gress from this bureau in regard to the
status OF war plans, the personnel and
material desirable in connection there
with and all other strictly military
matters affecting the efficiency of the
navy.
In order to keep this bureau up to
the mark and to prevent the Secretary
OF the Navy from virtually assuming its
powers by filling it with his dummies,
as was done in so many cases by Mr..
Daniels, the present restrictions in re-
gard to the public discussion of pro-
fesslonal matters by naval officers
should be removed, and such public
discussion should be encouraged. The
publication of naval secrets may be
bad, but dry rot is worse; and dry rot
is the greatest enemy of any military
service in time of peace. Publicity and
public discussion are the best antidotes
for dry rot. L. ABRoTT.
Late Lieutenant Commander U. S. N.
Flushing, N. Y, July 1s, 1921