Josephus Daniels

“The use or introduction for drinking purposes of alcoholic liquors on board any naval vessel, or within any navy yard or station, is strictly prohibited, and commanding officers will be held responsible for the enforcement of this order.”

June 1, 1914 · Statement · Washington, D.C.

Daniels issued the order in his second year in office. It replaced the existing article of the Naval Instructions, ended the officers' wine mess and was recommended, he says, by the Surgeon General of the Navy.

General Order No. 99, Navy Department, 1 June 1914, effective 1 July 1914, as printed in Josephus Daniels, Our Navy at War (Washington, D.C.: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), p. 344 Source

“An Investigation Section was formed to seek out and take into custody persons who were, by sabotage, explosion, fomenting strikes or other means, seeking to prevent or retard the manufacture of munitions; to discover and thwart any attempt to damage vessels, shipyards, bases or factories; to counteract German propaganda and, in general, restrain the activities of Germans and German sympathizers.”

1922 · Book

Daniels describes the work of the Office of Naval Intelligence on the home front after April 1917. The sentence is from the book he published a year after leaving office, and describes the Navy's own part in the domestic security effort.

Josephus Daniels, Our Navy at War (Washington, D.C.: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), ch. on the war at home, p. 263 Source

“Arrests of suspects sent fear into the hearts of any who might be plotting sabotage. In one day I ordered the arrest of more than a score in one plant.”

1922 · Book

Daniels continues his account of naval intelligence work at home during the war, in the paragraph that follows his description of the Investigation Section.

Josephus Daniels, Our Navy at War (Washington, D.C.: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), p. 263 Source

“Close inspection and censorship of mails and cables prevented Germany from communicating with its agents in this country, and also prevented them from sending out military information.”

1922 · Book

Daniels summarises the censorship of mail and cable traffic, which the Navy operated for cables and radio and which the Post Office and the Exports Administrative Board shared for the mails after the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 1917.

Josephus Daniels, Our Navy at War (Washington, D.C.: Pictorial Bureau, 1922), p. 263 Source