Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-05-05
BY JosEPHUS DANIELS,

Former Secretary of the Navy.
CopyriSht 1921, by John f. Ollie. Copy
right by National Newspaper Service
Copyright in Great Britain, Canada and
throughout France. All rights reserved
including translation into foreign
languages. including the; Scandinavian.
Unauthorized reprintlng for any purpose
forbidden.
ARTICLE 21.
The naval force Of the United
States has not been divided into two
fleets; it has been organized as two
fleets, capable of combination so
quickly and efficiently as to be ready
at any time to employ their united
strength in either ocean.
When the announcement was
made of the organization of the Pa
cific feet and Admiral Rodman was
making ready to take it through the
Panama Canal, newspaper man
friend Of mine-came into the Navy
Department to tell me that a retired
admiral, who thinks he received the
mantle of AIahan, was going to make
a violent attack upon the policy.
'Let him go ahead" I replied. THE
feet IS moving and nobody will live
long enough ever again to see American
interests. American policies and the
American people unprotected in the Pa
cifc"
But said my newspaper friend, ''he
says you viii ruin the Navy If you
create two fleets"
THAT does not give me any concern" ="
answered According to such onion
eyed admiral knockers I ruined the Navy
so many times until the acid test OF war
confOunded their assertions. that one
more time will make no difference"
FOR STRENGTH
AND UNITY.
So the plan went into effect. It is so
perfectly elaborated and co-ordinated
that a brief message from the Secretary
Of the Navy would merge the Atlantic
and Pacific fleets into one great Ameri-
can feet, on either side Of the continent
long before any foreign foe could ap-
proach our coasts. The s0-calIed di-
vision, therefore, makes for strength and
unity as well as for a full knowledge
OF all the conditions in both oceans.
Much cruising in the Atlantic has made
naval officers very familiar with its
peculiarities. It is a valuable scq1aint-
anceship with which to supplement the
charts. The Pacific should be known
equally we'll
For many years the policy Of in
creased construction OF naval craft looked
toward the time when strong feet in
sursnce on that coast as the Atlantic
feet gave to the Eastern coast. Mani
testify this assurance could not be
granted until the Panama Canal was
opened and the Navy was big enough
TO organize two powerful fleets so con-
stituted that, by means Of the canal,
they could be united in a few days.
PROTECTS
BOTH COASTS.
The large increase in the number Of
destroyers 1--WE viii soon have 300 Of the
largest and best in existence) and the
completion and commissioning Of new
dreadnaughts and other craft have made
possible what the protection of our
coasts has long demanded-the mainte-
nance of powerful divisions of the Ameri-
can feet in both the Atlantic and the
Pacific The wisdom Of this policy has
been questioned by those who have not
taken the pains to understand the plans
and organization, and by some officers
who think Jersey City is the western
frontier Of the United States.
II the Panama Canal had not been
completed this new organization could
not have been adopted wisely. It was
mainly for the purpose OF making easy
and quick passage OF our naval force
through the canal that the people were
willing to invest so much money in
building the canal. In fact, the real
reason the canal was built when it was
can be traced to the voyage of the
Oregon around South America in 1888.
That long trip, watched with almost
feverish interest, fixed the determination
to construct an Isthmian canal. Its
building had been thwarted time and
again by influential men interested in
transcontinentaI railroads. They thought
its construction would so decrease their
freight rates more and more as a big
merchant marine is maintained, but the
business Of our country expands so
rapidly that there Is an abundance of
freight for both rail and water trans
portation companies.
No TOLL ON
NAVAL VESSELS.
It was because the canal was built
largely for naval purposes that Presi-
dent Wilson upheld me In my eortsD-
ton with the Secretary Of War that no
toll should be charged for nSvsi vessels
going through the canal.
The creation Of a strong Pacific feet
was the result of long consideration and
study. Long before the World War,
when Rear Admiral Cameron McRae
WinsIow was made a full admiral and
placed in command Of Pacific feet. then
small and containing no modern dread
naught, I directed him to make study
Of the needs Of the Pacific. Other Off
GERS were likewise instructed to make
similar studies.
AS a result, in 1914-15, I had decided
to organize a powerful Pacific fleet,
which could be united with the Atlantic
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