Evening Star Newspaper, April 14, 1921, Page 3

Why Merciless Warfare Was KeptSecret. Admiral Von Holtzen- . dorff’s Scorn and » siant German gun which, from a re- * mote distance and a carefully con- . Contempt for the "U. S. Ships. BY JOSEPHUS DANIELS, Former Secretary of the Navy—1813 to 1921. Copyright, 1921. by John F. Dille. right by Natiomal Newspaper Service. right in Great Britain, Canada and 1l Europe. All rights reserved, including transla- tion into foreign languages, including the Scan- dinavian, Unauthored repriating for any Ppurpose forbidden. Copu- Copw- ARTICLE L About ‘5 o'clock the afternoon of ‘Wednesday, January 31, 1917, a dap- per little man presented himself at the office of the Secretary of State. From that moment life was never the same again in Washington. Events, incidents and episodes of tre- mendous importance and public inter- est occurred in the Navy Department, as in all other departments, until the day when certain commissioners from Berlin signed their names to a dogu- ment which Marshal Foch presented to them in the forest of Senlis. As Secretary of the Navy I lived through those crowded months in the atmosphere of suppressed excitement which is inseparable from the capital of a great nation at war. A friend recently asked me my impressions of eight years as Secretary of the Navy. 1 replied, “Four years of quiet—then h—— on all sides, to make Shermun’s expression nautical. Department heads, upon whose prompt and efficient action tremen- dous interests depended, had to keep their own heads amid the rumor and intrigue, criticism and conflict of ad- vice which whispered or thundered in their ears. They had to keep their heads through days and nights of anxiety, when they were sending Pprecious lives over seas of peril and into enterprises of danger. They had to keep their heads when sudden emergency demanded instant decision and action. Gives Inside Facts. T am going to tell the story of those thrilling days as we saw and lived them in the Navy Department, and present some things that have never Jet been told about the part the Navy played. I want you to know certain inside facts concerning the message which that dapper little man carried to the State Department, whereby he jolted Washington out of its routine, and I am going to give you a view of the momentous cabinet meetings which lolno::;li his visit 8| tell you the story of a cer- tain “S. W. Davidson,” who went to !flnggn befored(h: United States de- clared war, and of the conversation I had with him befors he left. You will recall the dispatches you Tead three years ago concerning the cealed base, was killing wom <hildren in Paris. You"fll re!‘:n:l:‘-l ber the shock of horror you felt when you read how shells had fallen in the little church of St. Gervaise Goy Friday, 1918, turning the sacred pre- cinct into a hideous shambles. Do you know that the United States played a part in ending the bombard- ment of Paris? It will interest you to learn how our Navy -contributed to ‘the relief of the shell-shake§ French capital. ation With Child’s Heart. And I will tell you a joyful tale. America is yet a young nation, and it has a strong, clean child heart ‘That is why, perhaps, when it went to war its saflors based some of their code signals on nursery rhymes. Only a child-hearted nation would have thought of that. No German could think of such a thing, and in that | JOSEPHUS DANIELS. very fact lay the usefulness of their signals. They were a part of our intelligence service. Just what part I will tell you before my story ends. We have heard a lot about the im- portance of cables lately, and a little island, about ten miles long, in the Pacific, bearing the comic opera name of Yap, has assumed a prominence |out of all proportion to its size and commercial value merely because it is a convenient cable station. You would think from all this talk that cables are absolutely gssential to the maintenance of world-wide com- munications. Beyond doubt they are of tremendous importance, and no nation can afford to neglect its in- terests in the matter of submarmine telegraphs. < Not Dependent on Cables. But what would you think if I told you that had Germany been able to sever the cables by which the United States was linked to London and Paris and American headquarters at Chaumont, we could nevertheless have communicated almost instantly with Lloyd George, or Clemenceau, or Gen. Pershing? In like manner, al- though with more difficulty, we could reach every ship in the United States Navy, wherever stationed, from the China sea to the Bay Biscay. The miracle. which made this pos- sible was created within a few months after we entered the war,and its accomplishment lifted from our shoulders one of the big anxieties which had been almost constantly present—the fear that some enemy raider or submarine might cut the cables, leaving us isolated from our soldiers in France, our allies and our fighting squadrons in war zone wa- ters. 1 want to tell you in some detail how this miracle was worked and about the great wireless station which can flash radio messages around the world. Indians’ “Wireless” System. The early pioneer wending his way with his wagon train across our western prairies saw in the smoke signals of the Indian the earliest American _attempts at communicat- ing over long distances. It is a far cry from the smoke signals of the Indian tn":lhe nlo{ly of this world- io station. “;glx::r‘e was it? Who bullt it Those are questions that wilj be an- swered later on. ; When it comes to hunting, even Clemenceau, the tiger of France, hunting the tigers of India, got few- er thrills than any gob of Uncle Sam’s navy on board a destroyer chasing submarines. Lumbering along through the jungle onr an elephant for a big cat is tame work compared with cutting the waves at forty miles an hour in pursuit of a foe whose presence is known to you only by the vibrations vhkl:]n the water carries om his pro| er. “we hall x‘:: on such a hunt be- fore my story is ended, and I will tell you how the presence of the subma- rine in adjacent waters was detected, tinguish one type of ve: - othfi. though both were beneath the waves. There will he many interesting per- sonalities in this narrative, and I ———————— e SPECIAL NOTICES. _SPECIAL NOTICES. WILL WILLIE MAY JOHNSON OF SAVA came to Washington March 9. child, phone Linc. 4660? CHARLIE name and style of the Acme Building Com- 3. pany. with offices at 2539 Mills ave. z Wi D. C., have dissolved partnership and is 0 way_counected - 3. Weisser or Acme Building Co., and will not be responsible for any credit extended to either the Acme Buflding Co. or J. J. Weisser, trading under rame. FREDERICK J. HERLINGER, . n.e. . THE PARTNERSHIP HERETOFORE EXIST- ing between James J. Croghan and Oscar Masn, under firm name “Mt. Pleasant Realty " has been dissolved by mutual consent. n will continue to do business Pleasant Realty Co.”” ¢ 'ASHED AN look like new: prolong the wear of rugs: agency for sanitary brushes. PROGRESSIVE SALES COMPANY, 605 F st. n.w. my13* HOUSES PLANNED, SPECIFICATIONS g&ten. estimates furnished. Cull Woull. e HOUSEKEEPERS — RUGS disinfected at your residen RK. N. 3. April 25 or 26. BIG 4 TRANSFER CO.. INC., 1125 14th st. n.w. Phone Main 2054. 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And speak- ing of Prince Udine, I must not for- get to tell you how he caught th: measles. _But now to get back to the dapper little individual who presented him- self at the office of the Secretary of State Wednesday, January 31, 1917, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. This gentleman came with a me: sage for Secretary Lansing which had been waiting delivery for twelvé days. That message made America's entrance into the war inevitable, and sealed the doom ofskaiserism. It was conveyed by Count von Bernstorff, and it announced the beginning of unrestricted U-boat warfare by Ge: many on the morning of the follow- ing day. ‘We know now that von Bernstorft recelved Germany’s official declara- tion of merciless submarine warfare January 19. That day the Berlin foreign office advised him, in code, of the policy which had been decided upon. On the same day Zimmerman, the German foreign minister, dispatched to Mexico his famous proposal that Carranza’s country should make an alliance with Japan, launch a war against the United States and recover the “lost- territory” of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. I shall have more to say about that again. German Secret Revealed. Why did Bernstorft withhold the announcement until the eleventh hour? Doubtless under specific or- ders from his government and be- cause Germany, having decided to abandon all restraint and run all risks, wanted to gain for her new policy the full advantage of sur- prise. A premature announcement would have been warning to her vic- tims and occasion for delay in exe- cution. It would have opened the way for negotiations, and these Ger- many desired to avoid. This view is fully sustained by a secret document, unknown then to the American gov- ernment or to any of its allies, but| discovered months after the armi- stice. It is dated “Berlin, December 22, 1916 —a little more than a month before the date on which unrestrict- ed U-boat warfare began—and is addressed to “B-—35840-1." It is| marked “strictly secret. Admiral von Holtzendorff, chief of t:a German admiralty, was its au- thor. This document named February 1| as the date for turning the U-boats i loose under orders to spare nobody. It declared England would be starved in five months—or by July L It declared the allies would be forced to surrender by August 1. These exact dates were given. The first date is the only one which stood the test of events. Expected Amerfea to Fight. The probable entrance of the United States as a belligerent was foreseen, and von Holtzendorff thus expressed himself as to the influence she would be likely to exercise upon the “trend of the war.” “As regards tonnage, this influence would be negligible. It is not to be expected that more than a small fraction of the tonnage of the cen- tral powers lying in America and many other neutral harbors could then be enlisted for the traffic to England. “For the far greatest part of this shipping can be damaged in such a way that it cannot sall in the de- cisive time of the first few months. There would also be no crews to be found for them.” Let me interrupt Admiral von Holt- zendorff a moment to call attention to the fact that everything the Gel mans could do to make the admira prediction come true w. FICTION AND NON-FICTION THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. 'BERLIN UNDERRATED AMERICA, " SAYS DANIELS IN STORY OF WAR vance of February 1. Before making his call upon Secretary Lansing the last day of January, Bernstorft had given instructions that the engines of all German ships lying in Ameri- can harbors must be destroyed, and these instructions had been carried out. As a matter of fact, as far back as May, 1916, at the time of the ex- citement occasioned by the sinking of the Sussex, Bernstorft had notified the officers in charge of Germany's interned ships that they must be ready to destroy the engines when- ever the order was given. (Some other things happened at this time, of which I will tell you later on. They will show you that the German ambassador did not monopolize all the foresight in making his advance). Disabled All Ships. Reporting upon the situaties uary 31, Bernstorff says: “It dangerous to allow any delay, for the evening of January 31 our ships were seized by the American police. As I know, however, all of them, without exception, were ma: unfit for use before this occurred It was this effective work upon which Holtzendorff counted to cripple the United States if she decided to enter the war. Once in, he believed, whatever shipping she was able to command could be disposed of by the U-boats. 3 How Holtzendorf's calculations were upset is part of this story which I will take a lot of satisfaction in telling. Naturally, since the German ad- miral belleved it would be impossible for the United States to find ton- nage or to keep it afloat. he had very little fear of an American army. He wrote in the secret document. “Just as little decisive effect can be as- cribed to any oxlon:‘ o iAmerécl:n ch, in the first place, can- otiba ;‘;'ggght over through lack of tonnage.” ‘Warning for All Time. 3 ch stupid underestimates O Amperichn. resourcefuiness were ~the Germans persuaded by their own lead- ers to their own undoing. It is to be hoped for mutual welfare and the peace of the world that no nation will ever again underestimate the power and resourcefulness of America in war. Finally Holtzendorff emiphasized the importance of launching the U-boat terror without warning. “The begin- ning and_the declaration of the unre- stricted U-boat war must follow so quickly one upon another that there is no time for negotiating, especially between England and the neutrals. The wholesome terror will exercise in this case upon enemy and neut: alike.” That last sentence is significant as e North Columbia Heights Homes Sample Houses: 1323 and 1333 Taylor St., N.W. 3 and 4 bedroom houses; H. W. H.; Electric Lights; double floors; large attic; extra deep closets; wash trays; servants’ toilet; double rear porches; wide cement front porches; extra deep lot; % square from 14th street car line. Small cash payment, balance like rent. Open daily until 8 P.M. For sale by Thomas A. Jameson Owner & Builder 906 New York Ave., N.W. Main 5526 After 5 P.M., Linc. 6146-W Ask the Man Who Owns Ons HERE IS strength in organization whether it is an army or an of- fice. The strength of this office is in its organiza- tion—with its captains and showing Germany's attitude toward the neutrals, of whom the United States, at this time, was one. “En- emy and neutral alike”—on such terms to have remained a neutral would have been folly. To this con- clusion members of the cabinet were being strongly impelled. Navy Acts at Once. " Of course I was notified at once of the serfous nature of the communica- tion made by the German ambassador to Secretary Lansing. Its momentous character was immediately apparent. Apprehension had beon feit that Ger- many might do some Intolerable thing. but this utter defiance of civ- ilization, this complete repudiation of pledges, witthout warning or chance for argument., exceeded aprehensions. The Navy acted at once, without Waiting for the cabinet meeting which #s called for Friday, February 2. 7Thursday, as the German U-boats were spurring themselves to the pur- 8uit of their prey, all ships and sta- tions were being notified to be in readiness for a possible mobilization order. The Instructions which I sent to the whole fleet read as follows: | “The order to mobolize for war will | be an ‘Alnav’ message in secret code. Upon receipt of the message to mob- ilize every effort should be made to | assemble ships at the designated ren- | dezvous at the earllest possible date, | ready in all respects for war serv- ce. The rendezvous for the various | forces—battleships, scouts, destroy- ers. submarines, mine force, Atlant| and Pacific coast divisions, and naval | district forces—were set forth. All vessels were notified that upon re- ceipt of the message, “FAMINE RELI B April 14 lieutenants graduates in the school of experience and faith- ful students of situations as they develop. We'll handle your Real Estate to the limit of successful manage- ment. PEARLMAN’S BOOK SHOP 933 G St. N.W. Open Evenings AILES Viee President WILLIAM J, 1 FLATHER Vice President JOSHUA EVANS, Jr. Vice Presideat REG THAT NOT SAVE I - SAVING A | THE ONLY —START THIS PAY Department of ¢ OF WASHI On Pennsylvania Avenue ANY PEOPLE HAVE BUT NO ONE WAS EVER SORRY THAT HE i WHAT YOU EARN OF ADVANCEMENT. this 1 Banking Hours Tomorrow: 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. The Rias National Bank Capital and Surplus, $3,000,000 Resources, Close of Business, Feh. 21, 1021—$25,831,530.25 ROBERT V. FLEMING Cashler AVON M. NEVIUS Assistant Cashier GEORGE 0, VASS | Assistant Ca: spring we RETTED THEY DID MONEY— DID. LITTLE OF 1S ASSURANCE DAY, at the Savings old institution, NGTON DC. » Ricing the U.S. Treasury Don’t go back four years—or one year—for your ideas of value. ‘Alnav avail- MONSTER MASS MEETING Shubert Belasco Theater RIDAY, APRIL 15th 4 P.M. Recital by the Marine Corps Band Six-minute Addresses on Y Dr. Chinese Minister to the United States Secretary of the Navy Denby Dr. Thomas E. Green Of the American Red Cross NO ADMISSION FEE DON'T FORGET THE DATE! C., THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1921 ability,” they were to report imme- diately to the Navy Department as to “when eagh vessel could be at its assigned rendezvous, or at its war station, ready in all respects, so far as material is concerned, for war service. For the first time I am giving to the publc the steps which we took simultaneously with the menacing movement of Germany. Outside of official circles the fact has not been known until now that a complete plan for the mobilization of the en- tire Navy, brought up, to date in every defail, was sent olit before the cabinet met. While rumors were flying about Washington, and politicians were en- gaging in excited speculation in hotel HEATING By Hot-Water, Steam or Vapor- Pressure Systems the Na other. Our in_operation. When 1 If you need a new System, a new Heater, or other Repairs, take it up with us now. Prices down. Good workmen are avail- able. Biggs Heating Co. W. H, Gottlieb, H. E. Humtsberry, Vice Pres. 917 H St. NW. PHONE MAIN 4888 ~ = T ANE, s TERTRINE 4, e EF IN CHINA” ~ Sze $0.85 L e i | ! 1319-1321 F Street STORE NEWS : Exclusive Washington Representatives of “Stratford Clothes” Our Sport Model is the Style Hit ong - Spring Suits Young men come here because the REAL styles are have a “peach” for them. Our sport model for 1921 makes their eyes shine. Every fellow who has seen it “must have one.” 1 cut. lobbles and congressional corridors. vy was quietly getting ready | its deliberations. for whatever the hour might bring. | at the table in the confidence that, whatever might be the decision of} this solemn and critieal hour, the! of the United States was pre-: There was neither hesitation on the one hand nor frenzied h: plans and it took few words to put them ent to the ing called by the President for th. afternoon of Friday. no more than any of my colleagues, a1 DEMO "'a* te on the had made. been d to sustain it. net meet- | ary Danie States Navy got into the be printed in The Star tomorrow. 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