The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1883-02-18

TIIE PROPOSED NA ALREDUCTTONS |
We regret being compelled to oppose the
plan proposed by Senator Rollins and sec
onded by Secretary Chandler, with GER /
tain notifications, for a large reduc !
ton in the number Of officers on the |
active list Of the Navy. The scheme seems
to us to be ueedlessly harsh and sweeping, |
besides being grossly unfair to certain uu-
favored branches of the staG. Take the |
case of the paymosters. Willie it is pro |
posed to reduce the line l5l per cent. it is
in thesame measure proposed to reduce the
variods'staG corps 32l per cent. and the
pay corps Boy per cent. Yet there is a |
smaller proportion ofpay officers unemployed
than of any other class. Each OF the
vessels in the Navy must have n paymas-
ter. Each navy yard and receiving-ship
also requires paymaster. And, as at pres
ent organized, inspection duty is done,
aud we believe ought to I've done, hy
| officers of the pay corps not ON duty with
ships or yards, II so many Of the pay
corps are placed on the reserved list as is
proposed by the Rollins amendment, the re-.
naming paymasters will I've kept at sea
without intermission.
There are to-day, OF the 90 paymasters Of
all grades, IS on duty absolutely necessary
to be performed, while Mr. Rollins's amend
ment would reduce this corps to &C members,
- less than are now actually on duty. And
this same unequal discrimination is made
against the Engineer Corps.
4 remarkable thing about the Congress
sional propositions to get rid of superhuous
officers is the fact that it never seems TO oc-
eur to Legislators that the prime cause of the
superiuity is the Naval Academy, which
turns ont every year large number Of
young officers, while there is nst sufficient
employment for those already in the service.
There is no good reason why the reform
should not begin at this end, where the most
of the evil lies The surplus officers will
soon disappear il the Naval School ceases its
yearly additions TO their number.
There is no explanation for thus depriving
officers who have spent half their lives-or
at least years enough to throw them outside
of the ordinary course of business and pro-
fessional life-in honorably serving their
country, while leaving the root of the evil
sending up a horde of new sprouts, except
the fact that the Naval Academy gives Sena'
tors and Representatives a little "patron'
cage" The right of nominating cadets i:
part of the Spoils System " which is solidly
!. fixed in the naval appropriations, and which
), will not willingly be surrendered.
The plan of turning out officers all the way
from rear admirals down, while continuin!
the manufacture of surplus cadet midship
!, men would have an exact parallel in tn
Civil Service if heads of departments wer
each year to dismiss number of competen
- aud experienced clerks i'll order to make room
for a number of boys nominated by Congress
- men in turn from the various Congressiona
-. districts. The country is not so poor that
10 needs to deal harshly with any class OF pull
= lie servants, and it is the part of wisdom an
-, decency, if there are more officers than thei
% is employment for, to stop commissioning ne
ones for year or two before beginning to di
:, miss the old ones.
-. Before the Secretary of the Navy asks Cor
~ gressional legislation to enable him to s,
=. rid of the least efficient officers, he ought
- make serious effort to get the naval examil
10 ing boards to do their duty. The Nav
a already has system which enables it to r.
- tire officers who are not fit for promotio
,or And what it most urgently needs is to ha
:. examining boards act with rigor and il
a., partiality. That they have not done I'll
-. during the last ten years is due more to VIII
- we may call 50 Robesonism " than to all 9th
-, causes put together.