WHY SIMS LIKES BRITISH.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 307, 28 December 1922, Page 6

WHY SIMS LIKES BRITISH.

THEY ARE "GOOD SPORTS." SUBMARINE AND AEROPLANE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) VANCOUVER, November 23. Rear-Admiral Sims, pro-British-Ameri-can, and thorn in the flesh of precedentbound officialdom, is nothing if not courageous when it comee to staking his reputation on startling prophecy. So convinced is he of the efficiency of two of the modern scientific instruments of warfare- the submarine and the aero plane—that, in addressing- the members of the Royal Canadian Institute, assembled at Convocation Hall in Toronto, he said that he did not think the world would see the building of any more great battleships. He admitted that the statement was big and would be denied officially by naval experts, but added that the great battle units costing 50,000,000 dollare or more, were not worth the powder it would take to blow them up.

Ixjually significant was his statement that the most of the propaganda spread against the uee of poison gas in warfare was false, that gas was the most humane instrument of warfare yet invented, that it was ridiculous to suppose tthat any Great Power could afford to ireglect the development of the weapon, when many countries were not) signatories to the Waehington pact outlawing its use. and that military cxiperts of a)ll nationalities -were to-day engaged :n x race to diecorwr tlie most effective forms of the instrument.

Incidentlly the Admiral declared that no military or naval training college was a. good school, but this was merely byway of explaining the conservativemindednees oi the average military °r naval officer. These, he said, enjoyed the distim-tion of possessing the most conservative of all human minds.

When speaking before the Canadian Clulb in Toronto, Admiral Sims, alluding to the international iriendliness beOween the two nyeat nations, in North America, eaid: "I a-m pro-British, in fact, I am characterised by the Hearst papers a-s the most popular British Admiral in the American navy." WILL STAND THE GAFF. Admiral Pirns explained why this wa3 the case. ' I like the British"" he eaid, "because they are good sports, an.] will stand the gaff without whimpering at all. You can torpedo a British sailor until he is blue in the face, but h« will go back to tea."

Hearty cheers greeted the famous admiral upon hi* appearance at the Canadian Club gathering,'and his speech was punctuated with cheers and applause. It abounded in humorous anecdotes, and uas pervaded with a breezinces of the sea.

"Of all instruments of warfare," Admiral Sims said, "the submarine is the most remarkable, and singularly enough it will make for peace in the future, simply because it will make it impossible for any nation to strike against another across the sea if that nation'--, coasts arc defended by a sufficient number of submarines."

Admiral Sims said that the aeroplanes performed the *am£_function » the submarine within the radius wherein it could successfully operate. 'Never again," he continued, "so long as this world lasts will any fleet be able to maintain an attack against a coast that is protected by more aeroplanes thau the fleet can take with it."

Admiral remarked that it was only accidental that he wm in charge of tin , I'nited States Navy durinfj the Great War. He referred to the harmony which prevailed among the naval officers in the British and American fleets. "When I went into it,"' ho added, "I said I would abide by the decision of the Allied naval leaders, although reserving the right to 'sacs' anyone who did not agree with mc. AH old regulations of the British 'Nary and the Tnited States Navy were thrown overboard to prevent friction. As a. result there wore no cases of friction. We worked unanimously at all times." Admiral Sims admitted that "the I'nited States was very slow in discerning the seriousness of the situation in 101"." and he declared: "As soon as tho Knglishspeaking people get through fussing about the lyeagne of Nations and other things, they will realise that these Kngli*h-speaking peoples of the world will have to come together and run it." OLD ORDER CHAXGETH. After outlining the scientific developments which have made the submarine and the aeroplane the most deadly and most efficient oneans of waging war, Admiral Sims proceeded to hie expose of the useleseness of the modern 'battleship.

'•(riant battleships, with their enormous guns and huge turrets, "are not worth the powder it would take to •blow them up. I don't think any more battleships will ever be Wilt." he told the Royal Canadian Inetitute. "Naval experts ars denying that officially, 'but Bonar Law made a significant statement the other day. He said that Great Britain and every other great power should examine very carefully the new instruments of warfare, and not rely too extensively on those tha-t had been in use. We'll hear more of that some <>f these days.' . The reasons quoted were simple. Xo great, fleet could now attack a hostile shore if the enemy possessed a sufficient number of submarines. Battle cruising formation with a triple destroyer screen was the only safeguard against submarine attack, and such procedure was not possible at great distance from a base. Similarly, a fleet could steam across the Atlantic, and would be absolutely helpless once its accompanying fleet of aeroplanes was destroyed by a defending air force. ASTT-GAS PROPAGANDA. "You've a bad opinion of gas. So had we. The reason it is bad now is because the Germans were smart enough to get it first and spring it on us. Propaganda directed against its use has been untrue. The official records of gas casualties in the Great War show that of all the weapons yet invented the most humane is gas. You've heard that, once gassed, a casualty invariably becomes tubercular. That is false. And the number killed in the last war by gas was negligible. So great was the horror caused by false propaganda that it took a couple of years to get it corrected. The Washington agreement was signed only by some of the Powers, and right this moment every country has gas experts at work. Those "are scientific facte, whether you like them or no."