"The combined navies of all the European nations would be powerless to make a successful attack on the United States itself," said Rear Admiral W. S. Sims, U. S. N. (retired) in an informal talk to members of Naval Science classes in the Old Fogg lecture room yesterday afternoon. Admiral Sims explained that an invading fleet which had captured, for example, Montauk Point, would soon exhaust its fuel cruising to escape American submarines, and that its airplane carriers would be ineffectual against the superior numbers of the defending air fleet, which would stage a bombing at its leisure. "The best the invaders could do," said the Admiral, "would be to place the ball of their thumbs on their noses, make a disrespectful gesture, and retire." An enemy fleet, he pointed out, would attack our commerce only.

Declining to "inject his personal opinion" into the present naval controversy. Sims pointed out, however, that the submarine, which has the power of attacking unseen, is a weapon to which there is as yet no adequate answer.

In telling the story of improvement in American gunnery, he stated that, from the point of view of results achieved, the British Admiral Sir Percy Scott is the most remarkable naval of flcer the world has produced. In 1898 the American navy fired a shell 2000 yards once every five minutes and 20 seconds. With the aid of Scott's device for keeping trunioned guns trained on targets even while the ship is rolling, modern navies fire accurately 30,000 yards 15 times a minute. It was with the backing of Theodore Roosevelt that this reform was effected in the American navy.