New-York tribune., 1921-02-27
Roosevelt to
Hell DENLY
Run the Navy

Z ~'NF
interview he gave were those relating
to the technical side of the Office he is
to fill
Cautious About Theories
Il don't propose to be recorded" he
said, with lot of theories that I'll
afterward find wrong"
He confessed that he was a good
sized human being, confirmed ths feet
that he is six feet, one and a half
inches tall and that he weighs $50
pounds.
you know Tom Reed used to say
! that no man could weigh more than $50
pounds and be a gentleman, so | have
stopped where l am. was a fairly
heavy young man, too. l played center
rush on the University of Michigan
team in 1885, when it was celebrated
tor the great weight of the team
MT Denby acknowledged that he re-
seIabled William j. Bryan. Tom Reed,
Bob lngersoll and Joseph Letter.
i have always loved the navy" said
Mr.. Denby. 81 was named for an uncle
who was fleet surgeon. He died after
nursing his feet through siege of
yellow fever. Then my great-uncle,
leroy Fitch, commanded a mosquito
fleet in the Civil War. have natural
affection for the army, too Ny father
was colonel in the Civil War. Nv
mothers father raised three regiments
during the Civil War and commanded
one of them. He was a Democrat bv
the way, Senator Graham Fitch.
so was my father Democrat until
Bryan came along with free silver in
lSs6- Grover Cleveland appointed my
father Minister to China in 1892 and
went with him We were carried
from Nagasaki to China aboard one Of
'he navy's old wooden corvettes.
was then fifteen, and you may imagine
how delighted / was with everything
aboard the ship.
Had a Share in Battle
"Then in 1898 / enlisted in the navy
and went aboard the Yosemite. I got
TO be q thlrd-class gunner's maze. We
participated in the blockade at Havana
and Santiago We had battle, too
very good battle
Our ship--but then / mustn't start
out by creating any jealousies in the
service. Anyway, we encountered a su-
perlor foe and destroyed her, a Span
lsh auxiliary cruiser.
FOR while the Yosemite was off
San Juan, Porto Rico. 1t was and is a
very tortuous harbor. We were near
the entrance one day when Admiral
Slgsbee steamed up and came to the
rail to megaphone warning to us.
you are in danger" he shouted,
Every grave danger" He also mega
phoned that the spaniards had re-
paired couple of torpedo boats that
we had thought were out of service
AT all events, he convinced US that
we were in bad way. Some of our
fellows had never been to sea before
and these megaphoned warnings left
US very groggy, as you may imagine"
Mr.. DENLY chuckled at the memory.
II remember another thing Sigsbee
shouted: Look out for that after
torpedoes.' 1t was painted white.
believe we altered that without loss OF
time"
Mr.. DENLY was asked if he was in
sympathy with Secretary Daniels's
ideas Replying, he very carefully
avoided committing himself to anything
except agreement with the abolishment
of the wine mess aboard the ships of
the American navy.
81 absolutely approved when Secre-
tary Daniels abolished the wine mess"
he said. "The enlisted men were not
allowed to drink, and, while / don't
mean to imply that the officers were not
capable of taking better care of them
selves. still theirs are tremendous re-
sponsibilities,
"My idea has always been that the
American services had such magnificent
traditions that misconduct was incon-
ceivable. Kipling put it pretty well in
his line, 'We amt no plaster saints
I've been before the mast myself, and
| think / understand the men fairly
we'll"
In the World War Mr.. DENLY, who
was engaged in manufacturing automo-
bile trucks and with a legal practice
in Detroit, enlisted in the Marine Corps
and went to Paris Island, off South Car
olina, for training. To-day he expressed
his great admiration for the non-com-
missioned officers who gave the recruits
there stiff training,
"My, but they were great" he said.
Mr.. DENLY came out of the Marine
Corps with a commission as major in
the reserve. Later he gave this up
when he thought something of running
fer Governor of Michigan. During the
war he was three wonths IN France.
He confessed that he had been under
artillery fire "a bit"
'I went over" he said, "as one of
those unhappy beings, u worm, an OBJ
server"
Speaking of the appointment of Col
onel Roosevelt to be Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy, Mr.. Denny SAID ne
was tremendously pleased although
he never has met him. Commenting
on the fact that this would be the
third time, counting Franklin D., that
a Roosevelt had been Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy, Mr.. DENLY said:
almost hereditary, isn't it -
Finally, before gong to send mes
sage of thanks to Secretary Daniels
for mis- complimentary remarks about
his appointment, Mr.. DENLY said:
"I am anxious to see the navy main
tanned st size adequate to deal with
any situation that may arise. What
ever navy Congress gives US :. it will. will be {,
maintained at the peak Of It's power
Mr.. DENLY departed this evening for
Washington after sending word of his
appointment to Mrs, DENLY along with
with his personal effects.
The President-elect and his party
will leave ST. Augustine early Monday
morning, boarding the two special cars
in which they will travel late Sunday
night. One night will be spent in