The New York herald., 1878-12-16

VACANCIES ON THE RETIRED LIST FOX stiEh-
ANIMATED HEADS or BUREAUS AND OTHER
sUPERNuMERAREs-R OF OFFICERS EN-
TITLED TO BE RETIRED ON THEIR OWN AP-
PLIcATIoN.
WASHINGTON, Dec. l3, 1873.
When the retired list of the army was expanded to
400 by provision in the last appropriation bill II was
expected that the 100 vacancies thus created would DE
promptly filled by the voluntary retirement OF super
animated officers and the compulsory retirement Oh
incapacitated So far however. the only enect
OF the law has been 10 retire de Jye on the rec
ommendation of retiring boards. thirty-hree oncers
most of whom, in consequence of wounds and sick
ness, have been retired de facto for many years
PROSPECTIVE sUPERSuMEEAnIEs
As the proposed reorganization of the army will
render supernumerary large number OF able bodied
officers of rank and there at present seventy
ave vacancies on the retired list it becomes matter
of interest to know how mary of our nineteen gen.
erals, sxty-hve colonies. eighty-four lieutenant
rolonels and two hundred and thirty nine majors
the active list and presumably fit for active service,
have under existing laws, any claim to those
vacancies. The law on the subject is:-
When officer has served forty consecutive years a.
President be retired from active service and
placed the retired LIST. When an officer has been
the discretion Of the President he retired and
The two lists given below embrace the names OF
nl officers credited with thirty years service and up
ward The thirty year list will probably be increased
under the provision of the OF June 49, 1873 which
allows officers to count any time they may have
served enlisted men, either in the regular or vol
unteer army in computing their service for rctire-
ment but the number TO be added to it cannot be
definitely stated until the claims Of all such officers
have been verified by the records of the Adjutant
Generals Office From these lists it will be seen that
twenty-six officers having served forty consecutive
years, can claim retirement under the first part of
section l243, and that ninety-two, having served
thirty years eligible for retirement under the
latter part of said section.
suPERASNUATED HEADS BUREAUS.
The lists also show that six Of the nine heads OF
bureaus may relieved Of the Of Office without
further legislation, if they so desre-nameiy AdJu-
tant General Townsend, Inspector General Marcy.
Quartermaster General Meigs Surgeon General
Barnes, Paymaster General Avord and Chief of En-
gineers Humphreys
nEGIsiENTAL VETERANS.
All the colonies of artillery and fourteen Of the
other twenty field officers of that OF the service
are rerabe account of length of service but only
seven of the forty field officers OF cavalry and
twenty of the scventy-one field officers of infantry
are sufficiently veteranized to have voice i'll their
own retirement. 1t is noteworthy that ont OF III
officers who have served than thirty years
seventytwo belong to the staff departments and only
two out OF staff officers have right to seek retire
ment whether they are disabled or not only forty
seven of 1595 regimentals officers possess that
right from which it may be inferred that stan duty
is conducive to longevity.
THE THE ARMY.
The senior officer the active list counting years
of service is Lieutenant Colonel Franklin +. Hunt
Deputy Paymaster General and Chief Paymaster Of
the Department of the Missouri. He entered the
Military Academy in 1924. graduated in 1929,
served lieutenant of artillery seventeen years
a captain nine years paymaster with the rank OF
major twenty-five years, and has held his present
rank twenty months.
FoETY-YEAR MEN.
The following is complete list of forty-year men,
arranged according to length of service which varies
materially from their standing in the army