ADMIRAL ROBISON.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 188, 11 August 1925, Page 10

ADMIRAL ROBISON.

SOMETHING ABOUT "SMILING SAM. ,,

LIKEABLE AND UNPRETENTIOUS LEADER

A BIG MAN FOR A BIG JOB.

By LIEUT.-COM. E. J. FOY, of the U.S. Navy

"Smiling Sam" is the affectionate nick-name of Admiral Samuel Shelbure Kobison, commander in chief of the United States battle fleet. There is [mother rioliison among the flag officers (it iln' navy—"■J.K.." the present Kng'n err-iii-l liirf and fur this reason the innii wild is coming to you ha? Ion;: Ih'i'ii known simply as "S.S." The surname, is hardly necessary for identification now that "5.5. ,, has readied the lop. A smiling person— a genial, happy, friendly. wholesome person —is the admiral. Ho i.- a person you will love nnrt respect- an altogether delightful lriHU of lifty-eight years, tlio coming 14lh of l\ve:iiher. He has keen blue eyes, which havr seen much and recorded much since that day in September. 'St. when he matriculated in the Naval Academy at Annapolis from his home in the State of Illinois. Jle has been a Government investment, which lias ptfid generously since he left the academy with the class of 'SS. t> is not a linished orator. .But he is a delightful dinner partner; a charming ->nd an interesting host; a jolly raconteur of his many experiences; a man with a remarkably accurate memory. Physically the admiral is vigorous and sturdy, and keeps himself in excellent trim. He is an ardent adherent of sport. and his encouragement has assisted very considerably in [rlaeing athletics on their present high plane in the fleet. Does the admiral play golf? No, he does not play golf. Says that golf is .an old man's game, which he proposes to play after he retires. lie does play an excellent game oV tennis, and both he and Mrs. Kobison are great devotees of the game. Only a very few years back the admiral, then a captain, won the fleet tennis championship. defeating young officers of less than half his years. Keen on Electricity. Following his graduation from the Naval Academy. Admiral Robison's career was shaped in the usual mould through the various grades, including that of commander.. He early developed a preference for engineering duty, and, in fact, more or less specialised the electrical branch of that science. He was identified with electrical installations aboard ship, and took special interest in storage batteries for submarines, in the production and distribution of electrical power aboard ship, and in radio. In the early days, when radio was "wireless telegraphy" the admiral was one of those who nursed it through its infancy. In 1011 "Kobison's Manual of Radio Telegraphy and Telephony" was published. This was one of the very first publications of its kind, and it served as a text book for many years. This work is now in its sixth edition. We next see Captain Kobison as commanding officer of. the battleship South Carolina. The writer was on the corn-mander-in-ehiefs staff at that time, and was in a position to know what was what. There was no more efficient ship in the fleet in those days than the old "South (.'.," and there was no happier ship. Not an officer or man who did not swear by his captain. The war had started. Things were moving rapidly. The important post of commander of the submarine force was vacated, and the South Carolina had to contribute her captain to fill the place. As you know, the war was not a wellbehaved, orthodox war. There were new problems cropping up hourly. Two of these—and I will say two of the most trying—were the problems of submarine detection and destruction. The special board on anti-submarine devices was formed, with Captain Robison as president. This involved investigation. It involved research at home and abroad, and co-ordination with the other nations associated with us in the war. It involved ingenuity, imagination, ability to work with temperamental inventors, and last, but not. least, a thorough knowledge of electricity. The results attested the high type of labour devoted to this board by its president. Rear-Admiral. Now comes promotion to the grade of rear-admiral. This was in lOISj shortly before the close of the Avar. This promotion brought with it orders to duty in Brest at naval headquarters. Then the armistice, when Rear-Admiral Kobison was designated ns United States representative on the Naval Armistice Commission. I saw him in London in those clays immediately after the close of hostilities, hurrying off to Germany on his new mission—one of the very first of the Allied officers to inspect the defeated fleet. That Jiis work on this commission was eminently well performed goes without saying. The archives of the Navy Department bear witness to this. We next see him as commandant of the navy yard at Boston, struggling successfully with the many perplexing post-war problems—tearing down the war structure, building up the peace structure. I do not believe there is a meaner job than "unscrambling the egg , " —demobilising, contracting, economising after an orgy of expansion for war. But that duty had its compensa-

tions in that the admiral was at least at home. "At home" means a great deal, too. when home is presided over by a Mrs. Robison. But this was too good to last. There was other work in other climes to be (lone. A West Indian Tangle. The scene now shifts to the little West Indian republic of San Domingo. This little country was in difficulties, as was its neighbour, the black republic of llayti. The natives found themselves unable to form a stable government. Revolution followed revolution. The public moneys found their way into many places, the public exchequer not, however, included among them. There were external' debts. Creditor nations were pressing for payment. Life was anything but secure. There were few schools, fewer roads, no trade, and the government was in a state of collapse. Altogether, the outlook was unpleasant to a degree. I am speaking now of 191(i. The United States intervened in the interest of all concerned, and fortunately the interests of the Dominions were considered fiVst of all. There were a succession of military governors appointed—all of them naval officers, and each of them gave a good account of his stewardship. Upon his return home to Washington Admiral Robison was made a member of the General Board of the Navy. He did not remain in this detail long. June. I!)' 2.'{. came along. A new commander-iii-chief of the battle fleet was to be appointed. And then the news—-"Smil-ing Sam Robison was selected by the President of the United States for this position of high honour, which brought with it the rank of admiral in the navy. A murmur of satisfaction could be heard throughout the navy—"A big man for a big job!" And so ho lias proved to be. The battle fleet has never been more ably administered than it has been by K. S. Robison. It has never "shot" better. Its moral has never been higher, for the "Old Man" is loved by all ranks and ratings.