South Bend news-times., 1921-05-18
Il NeUer Pass the Buck" Says
Daniels When His Critics Rage

n MS Critics Rage
abuse. which some persons showered
at mo tOhserve I say "at" and not
/ upon me. for none OF 10 ever touch
cd me-, i have learned In a some
what varied experience that bitter
attacks in the long run react upon
their authors and help. rather than
. hurt. man in public office. OF
course that reflection gives no COM
fort 90 a short-wlnded man.
"Starboard And Port"
Ny FIRST official experience with
criticism and ridicule came when /
/ issued an order that after a certain
date the words "starboard' and
/ port" should give away 10 the
/ terms right and " left"
Immediately the paragraphers
and cartoOnists began 20 have fun
/ at the expense of the secretary 0f
+ the navy. a country editor. who had
such little reverence for naval tradi-
/ tion and naval terms as 10 put those
I nautical words "starboard" and
port in the discard 10 was an evil
/ dence, they thought OF "a provincial
mind. lack OF knowledge Of ScafaT-
/ ing ways. and an kinds OF "a blunder.
I III not "a crime. At least 10 furnished
I acceptable copy % so represent IL.
/ Asked about it. my only reply was
\ that the order spoke for itself. that
young men coming into the navy
\ instinctively knew which was right
and which was left but were con-
\ fused by port" and "starboard. ."
/ and the same thing was true OF civil
ians. And ] let 10 go at thar.
one day a. newspaper friend came
into the department and said TO me:
q have just learned the history Of
your port and starboard' order
about which YOU have been criti-
. cized and ridiculed so much. It's a
. beastly shame and I am going to
print the true story so that the peo-
pie will see YOU are not responsible
for that order"
Board Is For Change.
but 1 am responsible for f." I
replied. "The truth is, as YOU have
learned. but not from me. that the
/ general board before I became sec
/ retary of the navy. and after a time
they reached the conclusion. only
one member doubling and register
ing no dissent, that right and left
were better terms TO be emr'nved
At the time they made then Geci-
sion ] had never so much as heard
that the question was under discus
/ sion. After their decision the order
was drafted I'm the customary way
and was presented to me in the reg
ular course for signature.
What is this?" 7 asked Of the al
miral who brought IL in with a
batch of mail He explained it and
it's history. I deliberately placed il
i'm a private drawer Of my desk. told
the admiral that hated TO see ole
naval traditions and lingo discarde,
without a good reason; that I would
not sign it then. but would think
about it, He believed II was a good
order and could do no harm a
few days afterward ] was talking
with Admiral Dewey and brought
! the matter up. He said that hold
j
\ taught and retauEht to every new
I enlisted man was out Of date, and
/ when il was so easy for the youngest
/ 10 understand right and left, the
I board could see no good reason why
right and left should not be substi-
tuted for the ancient terms That
/ seemed sensible to me and so I went
/ back 10 the department, signed the
: order. gave it TO the press. and then
/ the anvil chorus begaui
Doesn't Pass the Buck"
why don't YOU" asked my news
paper friend-and ] am proud e
have many i'm my profession-"iu
tell the story as I have learned it,
When the people know that YOU act.
I ed upon the suggestion and advice
of Dewey and Rodgers and Winter
halter and F'isSe. and the other eX
pericnced old sea dogs, they will see
that all their criticism of you is un.
just TO do this"
/ explained to him that withou
the signature of the secretary Of tn,
navy the order could not have beer
issued. that the responsibility o
L
declined % affiN my signature TN,
order as drawn would have been
mere scrap of paper. and that ! hal
never had any patience with a pub
lie officer who sought to escape re
. sponsihility by passing the buck
and saying he acted upon the ad
vice of my advisers
"NO. ] issued the order" I re
! piled. IF it is "a mistake. I made E
with my eyes open. If 1 could shift
it to- the general board. then tn,
general board would be exercising
the functions of the secretary Of tn
navy. and for the nonce I woul,
have abdicated my office Moreover
the chief defect i'm the navy-and /
is i'm the army and other places, a
wells the confirmed habit o
passing the buck I may commi
all the other crimes i'm the crimina
CataloE. but as long as I am score
tary of the navy I will initiate m,
old military political hero and fol
fellow Tarhecl. Andrew Jackson
who. when some action of his ad
ministration was aSsailed, had
habit Of saying: 4 take the respon
sibility''
Fun Over the Wine Mess Order.
no YOU remember the fun RI
papers had when 7 issued the win
mess order. way back I'm 1914
Sometimes I have thought the para
graphists and the cartOonists OuCh
TO have shared with mo the pay the
received out OF the opportunity tina
: order gave them TO draw picture
and write poetry. But none Of then