The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-23
Consideration Of the Naval Appropriation
Bill by the House.
IDEAS or THE COMMITTEE.
Proposed Reduction in the Pay
and Number Of Officers.
EXCITING DEBATE ON THE AMENDMENT

WASHINGTON May ~, 1870
The House this afternoon weAs into Committee Of the
Whole (Mr Ciymer. OF Pennsylvania in the chair on
the Naval Appropriation bill The pending amendment
that offered by Mr.. Whitthorne, OF Tennessee, tx
ing the pay OF tho officers OF the navy, follows:
That from and after tho LIST DAY OF July 1870, tho
officers OF The navy shall receive The following pay
namely
PAY on osEcrRa
Admiral, $4,000
Vice Admiral, 5000
Roar admiral $4,000
Commodore, $4,000.
Captains, 81, 500
Commanders, 49, 00
Lieutenant comman ders-First Hvo years aftor date
Of commission, $4,000; after i've years from date Of
commission. 81, 700
Iieutcnants-First nvo years after dute OF commits
sion. 81 600; after I'VE years from date Of commission
81 400.
Masters--First nve years after date of commission
81, 600; after i've years from date Of commission,
$500
EnsIgns-First nve years from date OF commission,
$1,000; sfter i've years from date Of commission,
81, 400
Midshipmen, 81 00o
Cadet midshipmen, $500.
Mates, $780,
Medical pay directors and medical and pay in
spectors and chief engineers having the rank 1t
sea, $500
Fleet surgeons feet engineers and feet paymnsters
shall receive the pay due them respectively
geons chief engineers and paymasters, according 70
their rank and length Of SERVICE and increase OF
pay is TO be made to either OF said grades Of officers
account OF their being assigned to duty feet
geons nect engineers feet paymasters
Surgeons, pay masters and chief enginecrs-Frst
nva aft dat Ofro mis-
nvo years after date OF commission 81 750 third i've
years after date OF commission So 250 after twenty
years from the date OF the commission So. 500
For pay Of passed assistant surgeons, passed assist
ant engineers and passed. assistant
i've years after tho date or appointment $780, after
i've years from date OF appointment, $1,000
For pay OF assistant surgeons, assistant engineers
and assistant paymastors-First i've years after the
date Of appointment 81 600; aftor vo years from the
For pay OF naval consructors-Firs five years after
the date Of appointment 81, 500; second i've years
the date of appointment 200 fourth i've years
after date OF appointment sac; after twenty years
For pay Of chapains-Firs1 i've wears after date Of
appointment 81 200; aftcr i've years IRON date Of ap
Aud the pay Of all other officers on the active list of
the navy shall remain as 1t is now provided by law,
and when any or the officers hereinDefore mentioned,
except the admiral vico admiral and naval constructors
and assistant naval constructors. shall BIO ON shore
duty or on leave or waiting orders, their pay shall be
-rcduce from tho rates herein fixed In the same pro-
portion as Is reduced from pay by existing law.
REDUCTION IN NUMBER or OFFICERS
And alter the passage OF this act there shall DO no
promotion 10 the grade OF admiral until their
Der shall bu reduced below three and no promotion
shall DO made to the grade Of commodore until their
number shall be reduced below SIX and promotion
shall be made to the grade OF captain their
Der shall be reduced below forty, and promotion shall
shall be reduced below fy, and no promoton shall bo
made 10 the grade OF lieutenant commander until
their number shall be reduced below sixty, and
promotion shall be made TO the grade OF lieutenant
until their number shall be reduced below 150 and
promotion shall be made to the grade of chief engineer
until their number shall DO reduced below forty, and
promoon shall be made to tho grade Of passed assist
ant engineer until their number shall be reduced
DC below seven.y-shree' ana no promotion shall
ecr until their number shall be reduced below
forty seven,. and no promotion or appointment
shall be made TO the grades OF medical director and
medical inspector, and pay director and pay inspector,
anu assistant naval constructor and civil engineer. and
until their number shall be reduced below twenty nvc
and no promotion TO the grade OF naval constructor
until their number shall be reduced below SIX.
DISCHARGE VOLUNTEER OFFICERS
All officers OF the volunteer service Of tho navy shall
be discharged from service after the LIST OF July 1885,
and laws authorizing the appointment or employment
by the Secretary Of tho Navy OF any person in the vol
unteer navy shall be and hereby repeated. 1t
provided that all civil engineers now In tho naval
service shall be discharged on tho LIST day of July,
Mr. BLouSr, tdem) of Ga, representing the Commit
tee on Appropriations IN the mans cement OF this BILL
stated that that committee made no recommendation
favorable OF unfavoraOe, as to the amendment, but
LEFT II entirely to the consideration Of the House.
THE OBJECT OF THE COMMITTEE.
Mr. wHIrrHoRSE, (dem) OF Tcnn said that the OBJ
this resolution to align liscf in the Of
reformation on which the House had en-
tered, not only in the reduction Of the
There 1912 comm ssioned officers in the
navy, or with the cadet engineers cadet midshipmen
and volunteer officers 1853 when the number OF
enlisted mec was divided by the number Of officers
there four one officer. This dispro-
portonae In other words, tho naval service was top
heavy. II was with view OF economy as well as OF
efficiency that the Committee Naval Affairs made
this recommendation. The proposed reduction OF pay
averaged ten per cent, which would conform To and
harmonic with the reduction made by the House the
pay OF army officers The amendment reported
IN hostility TO the naval service. but 10 make the
of the officers OF the navy correspond with that OF tho
officers OF the army grade for grade and rank for rank
he believed that that would DO just alike 20 the navy
the army and the people
mr. HALE IN OPPOSITION
Mr. HAIR, trep.) Of Me-, a member OF the Appropria-
ton Committee opposed tho amendment He wanted
the proposition AMI then to take tho respon.
slbility OF acting ON IT, Ii was tue
the question had come up since the great
war OF striking at one OF the military establishments OF
the country The people had but one way Of reward
IN the late war. IL not by cnnobng theu not by
making them grants OF land money, as IN other
rear admralshps, and the pay Tor those ranks
had been nxnd commensurate with like
ranks IN other on tho naval
list proposed to be struck by the amendment were
Porter, a Rowan, Davis, Rogers, Worden OF the
monitor, and dozen others. These had had
their pay liked ut rate higher than that before the
war, largely IN consideration OF their services and
II was proposed 10 strike them; take IRON the
ndmirals $1,000 year, and 10 reduce the pay Of
admirs,s, commodores captains. &c This was
the only way IN which these men could be struck at
Tho gentleman from Tennessee lwnitthornc)
had not yet had the hardhood 10
propose dsmssing these gallant men
from service and sending them out with nothing live
upon, out SO lar as he dared lac proposed 10 reduce
Their pay. The pay Of the American navy officers
day was smaller than that OF the officers OF any other
navy; besides, the higher officers other navics
allowed Tor the expense Of exercising tho duties OF
hospitality British admiral having IS, 900 year al
lowed him Tor that purpose but officers had
no such allowance. The men who commanded Lects
the American navy were whom tho people bad
been taught BY Tour years experience 10 regard and
vcncratc All OF them were pinchcd 10 live al their
Tor navy onccr 10 save money out oil his pay
as Tor a clerk In ono Of the departments 70 do So