'WE HAVE NO NAVAL BASE SET FOR WAR,' SAYS ADMIRAL SIMS

"The United States has no single harbor equipped to maintain the Atlantic fleet in case of war," Admiral William S. Sims, U. S. N. retired, stated to a gathering in the Adams House common room in the course of a discussion of over two hours which broke up with the center table covered with matches illustrating the "ripple movement" at the Battle of Jutland.

"Neither the much discussed New York or Boston harbor and navy yard is designed or equipped to act as a fleet base," the Admiral declared. "Naval opinion is and has long been unanimous that Narragansett Bay, with Block Island for its Helgoland, with one of the finest harbors in the world, and located farthest East, towards any possible enemy's lines, is the logical base.

Force of public opinion alone will bring about reorganization of the Navy Department now operated on principles long demonstrated unsound, so that military responsibility will be centralized, the speaker said. Calling the situation at Annapolis another matter requiring application of public opinion, the Admiral cited the suppression of official reports on the Academy by President Angell and others which called the course there "a combination of, say, Harvard and M. I. T. precluding a liberal education for naval officers."

"The most our fleet or the British could do towards attacking the respective countries would be to steam across, place the ball of the thumb on the nose, make a disrespectful gesture, and steam back for more fuel", the Admiral remarked. "Each would wreak such havoc on the convoyed commerce of the other, however, that the publics would raise so much hell that the war would be stopped."