The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-02-29
FU[[||A|||N||||| SCORES
POLAR TRIP
CRITICS
Admiral Asserts Plans Are
Well Laid and Should
Be Carried Out.

Il
BY w. s. FULLAM,
Rear Admiral, U. 8. Navy. Retired.
Copyright, 1874, by Cosmopolitan
News Servtce.)
1t is rumored upon good author
ity that a quiet movement Ia on
foot, encouraged by conservative
naval officers and supported by
timid statesmen, to kill for all time
the projected polar exploration plan
so well conceived by the navy.
Here should be no surrender to
these influences. To faint away
now, would subject this country and
the navy to ridicule and humiliation.
The whole world would laugh, and
envious nations, as well as individ-
uals. who viewed this American en-
| terprise with some alarm because
of its intelligent holiness, and be-
cause the United States might gain
something by 1t, will be 1ubilant
II weakness takes the helm and
commands the navy to turn back!
Already 1t il reported that Eng.
land and other nations will seek to
rush expeditions toward the pole
and win from US any advantage
that may develop.
Exploration Needed.
| There 10 great need for explora.
ton in Alaska, and on the shores
bordering the Arctic. The ex-
petition for this purpose as planned
was conservative and practical in
every detail. Even il the Shenan-
doah, the supporting ships, and
the airplanes based upon them.
should penetrate no farther north
than Nome the first year, and
should limit their flights and ex-
| plorations to distances well within
their safe cruising radius from
| Nome as a base. the results are
sure to be of great practical,
scientific and commercial value 20
this country.
Aerial photography gives us the
most wonderful and the quickest
possible means of surveying the
hitherto unknown regions of
Alaska. Imagine the Shenandoah
and her planes working several
| flights back and forth on parallel
lines, covering a large area and
taking photographs as they fly
over the country.
Aid for Business.
These pictures would be of in
estimabile value to American pros
pectors and business enterprises.
The late President Harding and
several members Of his Cabinet
visited Alaska a few months ago.
They realized, as our people do.
that in Alaska there are mines of
wealth, which should be developed
for the nations good.
This naval expedition could do
more in few months than any
other organized survey could &C.
complish in as many years.
Conservatism within and without
! the service has always been the
bane of the navy. 1t is a brain
less, homeless mass of professional
blubber through which the navy
has always been forced to plough
its path to progress. This is q
case in point.
The accident to the Shenandoah
was joyful news to them. But in
truth false hope. The Shenandoah
was safely navigated back to her
home base. Her triumph was the
greater in that she was somewhat
battered, not by the gale, but by
reason Of the weakness of the
moorings. Her hull and motive
power stood the crucial test of a
terrific strain.
History Cited.
The timid officers, statesmen and
writers, who seek to smash a for
ward-looking naval accomplishment,
seem to have forgotten that three
American cruisers-the Trenton,
Vandolia and Nipsic-were helpless.
ly blown ashore during a hurricane
in Samoa years ago. Their moor
ings gave way and they drifted on
the reefs.
Their engines were so weak that
they could not hold their own, and
could not get out of the harbor.
They were the products and victims
of conservatism. They were relics
Of naval antiquity. They were de.
signed and built by naval minds
that were twenty years behind the
times in naval science.
The British cruiser Caliope, an
up-to-date steel ship with modern
engines, put to sea and saved her.
self. The three American ships left
their bones on the beach, and sew
Ieral officers and men lost their
lives. They could not weather the
gale. These ships could not come
back" But the Shenandoah did
she came back without loss Of a
life.
The shores of the world are
strewn with wrecks of ships-old
ships and modern ships. But re-
member. the Shenandoah came back.
Conservatism Blamed
The Bureau of Naval Aeronautics,
under Admiral Moffett's energetic
leadership, has accomplished a won
derful work during the past two
years. But naval conservatism has
opposed and sought to block It at
every turn. 1t is a serious matter.
The safety Of the nation and the
fighting efficiency of the navy in
modern war are largely dependent
upon the development of aviation in
the fleet.
We must know what airplanes
and airships can do, and we must
utilize them to the limit.
The work Of the Shenandoah and
the airplanes in the north, together
with the parent ships and their
mooring masts, would go far to
solve problems of vital Importance
in connection with the employment
OF aeronautical equipment in the
fleet. Timidity and conservatism
menace the navy today.
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