The Ely miner., 1943-02-25
FRANK NAVY TALK

Vice Admiral Fred Horne, assist
ant chief of naval operations, has
been holding some quiet blackboard
talks with the house and senate
naval affairs committees, and these
talks have been a real step toward
congressionalexecutive cooperation.
Horne, by his frankness and willing
ness to admit navy mistakes, made
a better impression than any other
navy man appearing before con-
gress.
Horne was high in his praise of our
naval officers and men, but frankly
admitted that the navy was caught
off guard in the Savo Island battle
of August 9, just after the marines
landed at Guadalcanal. He said
there was no excuse for this defeat;
that board of inquiry was now
investigating; and there probably
would be heavy penalties for the
guilty.
Horne said that apparently the
captains of the cruisers sunk had
not ordered their men to battle sta
tions. He also revealed that an Aus
tralian admiral that night was in
command of the screening force"
of cruisers and destroyers sup
posed to be protecting the main task
| force.
Horne admitted that the Austria
Ian officer and Admiral Kelly Turn
er, chief of the Allied task force,
knew Jap scouting fleet was in the
vicinity, but didn't figure it would
risk an attack. The commanders
calculated that the earliest possible
time the Japs could reach Savo is
land was after daybreak next morn
| ing.
Therefore, the Australian admiral
left his flagship, the Canberra, and
spent the night on Admiral Turner's
flagship Is miles from the scene of
battle. No orders were given mean
while to Australian and American
officers under Turner and the Aus
tralian, and they were caught COM
pletely off base when the Japs struck
at about 1:50 a. m.
Japs Cornered in AIeutians.
On the more optimistic side, Ad-
miral Horne reported the United
States had sunk a great many Jap
cruisers, and that despite the defeat
at Savo island we had been definitely
superior in operational strategy.
In the Aleutians the Japs are so
completely bottled up, Horne re-
ported, that we probably could wipe
them out at any time. Our sub
/ marine patrol has been especially
effective in these waters, with the re-
suit that the Japs are desperately
hard up for food, aviation gasoline
and other supplies.
| Horne also made no attempt to
minimize the seriousness of the SUBJ
| marine menace.
CAPITAL CHAFF
q Interesting question: Why is it
that army air crashes during train
ing and operations right here in the
U. S. A. are military secrets? Could
it be that some persons are trying
to protect themselves from public in
dignation?
q One of the roads running through
the woods around Ft. Benning, Ca,
is labelled Burma Road" another
"Chungking Approach" But most
popular among soldiers is "the Road
to Singapore" because at the end
they hope to find Dorothy Lamour.
q Dorothy Deter, vivacious secre-
tary of the Women's International
league, has reported to the Commit
| tee on Indian Freedom that she in
terviewed nine senators, asked them
to introduce resolution for Indian
freedom. They vigorously refused.
q Assistant Secretary of State Adolf
Berle, who studied Greek and Latin
at Harvard when he was still in
knee breeches, recently was the SUBJ
ject of a series of caustic profiles
in the New Yorker. State depart
ment associates say: Were hav.
ing it translated into Latin so he
can read it."