South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-05-05
In JosFPHus DANIELs
Former ScoFetaTy OF The Navy

Former Secretary OF the Navy
Copyright. 1921 By John r. ollie
Copyright By National Newspaper ser
vice Copyright IN Great Britain, Can
eds snd throughout France All rights
rfserved, Including translation into FOR
efEn languages, including the Scandina-
Wan. Unauthorized reprintlng FOR any
purpose forbidden.
why don't you send Admiral
Mayo and the powerful Atlantic
fleet into the war z0ne2'' men asked
me during the Wnr-statesmen, nav
al officers. civilians.
Men stu ask me why didn't
send Mayo and lbs dreadnaughts to
the North sea
Probably the man who was most
interested in the answer TO this
question was Admiral Mayo himself.
He wanted TO go. lie wanted a
chance 20 meet the Germans. He
could think OF all sorts OF argu-
ments why ne should be allowed 10
take his fleet and lie in wait for the
enemy somewhere in the North sea.
and every time ne thought OF a new
one. he offered It.
II was a question upon which
there was a division In and out of
the navy.
My own first inclination was to
dispatch our whole feet, except a
. few vessels necessary for coast pa
troll. TO waters where the chance for
] a Tight was more promising than on
this side of the ocean.
Blocked by LOgistics.
But against this inclination. and
. IN answer to Admiral Mayo's per-
suasion arose a very definite and
substantial argument
'Logistics."
The naval an dmilitary readers
Will understand at once what
mean and the force Of the argument.
s Possibly my civilian readers may be
a little puzzled. II Is reasonable
enough 10 suppose that the word
"logistics'' refers to logic, and so 10
some well-considered strategy or
tactics. Commonly It does have ref
s erence 70 logic. and. in its particular
use by naval experts, TO what might
be termed the logic OF hard facts.
Before defining IL further and
& showing it's application to the prob
lens we are considering let me tell
) little story suggested 10 me by the
4 mention OF logic.
A prominent an Influential man
was one day trying 10 persuade
Il Pres't Wilson that certain PROPOSE
ton ne had made was right and
: wise and even imperative. When he
Il found that ne was failing he sum
med up his effort in the emphatic
declaration:
But. Mr.. President. Il Is the logic.
the memorable logic. OF the situa-
ticn"
Yes" said the president. that
would be all right except for one
: thing
what is that2" asked the man
II in deadly earnest. His sense OF
hUmor was unhappily deficient.
The president smiled. and then
said quietly. but cOnclusively;
There Is so such thing as logic.
And the president was right in
the particular instance under dis
cuesion. There must be no such
thing as logic IL logic il to be an OBJ
stacle 10 doing big and brave and
daring things in time OF emer-
sense, practical thing.
these hard facts constituted the log
ist.cs OF the navy-such facts as
had 10 do with oil and coal and
beef and bread and supplies Of every
An army goes on its belly a
navy on its iogisdcs. They both
mean the same thing. The navy
term is more elegant. II less under
: standable.
In 1917 we did send over a divi-
siou OF powerful battleships under
conn of Admiral Rodman
which served with the British grand
neet TO the end OF the war and the
surrender OF the German fleet
rheir splendid service won the adj
y Iniration OF their British comrades
but these battleships were Goa
burners and did not interfere with
logistics as the sending o. the en-
tire fleet would have done.
! Our main reason. then. for re-
Training from sending the whole OF
[3the Atlantic fleet TO the North Sea
was because the allied Powers and
the operating department OF the
American navy agreed that the util-
zatiOn OF the tonnage II would re
oaire In order TO keep IL supplied
: with oil. coal and food was not jus.
tihed By any chance there might b
for a sudden sally Of the German
- beet. Il was very difficult 20 supply
fuel oil enough for the British fleet
- car destroyers and our biggest bat.
eships were oil burners, To senC