Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-21

AVxlAANMlIM great numDer OIL
a VN years who has be-
DN come disabled from
VII any cause, in or out
of the line of duty,
can retire from active service with an as
sured income. This is one feature which
makes service in the army or navy SO at
tractive. There is no other occupation, ex-
cept that of federal judge. which makes
provision for a mans declining years. There
are sporadic cases of business men who pro-
vide for old employees. George w. Childs OF
the Philadelphia Ledger is one Of these.
But these instances are rare; and the ordi-
nary business man is expected to lay by
something for his own rainy day. The off,
Ger in the army or navy knows that ne can
keep on drawing money from Uncle sam
until he dies provided he does not misbe-
have. 1t Is comforting reflection, and goes
a long way toward reconciling men to the
ambitiOnless life of the service.
Temptations are often put in the path OF
army and navy officers to resign and go
into business. Positions with bankers and
brokers, with railroads and with ship-build-
ers offered to them. They hesitate a
long time before accepting, and usually they
obtain through the grace of the head OF the
department under which they are serving
a long leave of absence in which they can
make trial trip in the new business.
They do not care to risk the loss of their
standing in the service for anything I'M
IL.
a great many officers would resign and en-
ter upon some more active pursuit.
The Retired Officers Pay.
The "half-pay' Of United States naval
officer is usually three-quarters pay. The
law provides that 1.-The pay of all officers Of
the navy who have been retired after forty
five years service after reaching the age Of
sixty years or who have been or may be
retired after forty years service upon their
own application to the President; or on
attaining the age of sixty-two years; or on
account of incapacity resulting from long
and faithful service from wounds or in
juries received in the line of duty or from
sickness or exposure therein. shall, when
not on active duty, be equal to rs per cent
of the sea pay provided for the grade or
rank which they held respectively at the
time of the retirement. The pay Of all
other officers on the retired list shall. when
not on active duty. be equal to one-half the
sea pay provided for the grade or rank held
at the time of retirement"
The sea-pay of a rear admiral is 81, 900 a
year; of a commodore 5000; of a captain,
1850; of a commander, s., 500; of lieutenant
commanders s.. 800 or 5000, according to
length of active service. Thus the pay of
the retired rear admiral is $500 a year; of
a commodore, $3.50; of a captain. $3,375, and
so on. An income of A,500 is a very neat
sum to live on in idleness, even in Wash
ington, and most of the retired officers of
the navy make their home in Washington
The number of naval officers on the re-
tired list at this time is 800 The next line
officer to retire will probably be Rear Ad-
miral Belknap, who is eligible for retire
ment January %. 1894. The other retire
ments expected in different branches Of the
service are:
In the medical corps, Medical Director
Richard c. Deane, who will retire in 1895.
In the pay corps. Pay Inspector Worth
Goldsborough, who retires in 1895
In the engineer corps, Chief Engineer
Edward d. ROBBIE. who retires Septembe-
IL. 1893.
In the corps of professors of mathematics.
l.; r. Prud homme. who retires in 1896.
In the construction corps, Frank L. Fer
maid, who retires in 1897.
1t is well to say that these retirements
are expected" So are deaths in the navy.
Every death, resignation or retirement in
the higher grades of the service means the
promotion of a few and perhaps of a great
many men. At least, IL it does not advance
each man to a higher grade it puts him one
point nearer his promotion; for promotion
is by seniority of service Naval officers
therefore have decidedly selfish interest I'm
retirements. They figure on them a long
time ahead. specializing on the possibility
OF promotion. When a man has reached
the age of thirty-five and finds himself still
a lieutenant in the navy il is about time
that he began to worry about his promo
ton.
The Army Lists.
The army has two retired lists There is a
limited list divided into three classes The
first of these includes officers who have
been in the service thirty years and who
have been retired on their own application.
with the approval of the President The
second class includes those officers who
have served forty years, and who have been
retired either by their own request or by
the action of the President. An officer who
has served forty years has the right to be
retired without asking permission of any
one
Recently the President asserted the right
to retire these officers whether they made
application or not: and he carried out that
idea in the case of Gen. E. A. Carr The
third class includes officers who have be-
come incapaciated for service and who have
been retired by examining boards.
The officers in these three classes Of the
limited retired list cannot exceed 800: but
not long ago the list became so congested
and there were so many officers awaiting
retirement that Congress passed a law
providing that any officer on the limited
list who had reached the age of sixty-four
could be transferred to the unlimited list
The unlimited list includes officers who have
reached the age of sixty-four, at which re-
tirement is compulsory.
The pay of retired army officers is always
rs per cent of active service pay. A major
general on the active list receives 81 800 a
year. on the retired list his salary is IS 625
A brigadier general on the active list re-
ceives $780, on the retired list, he draws
81, lbs. The pay of a colonel on the active
list ranges from $500 a year up, according
to length of service The increase is 10 per
cent for every five years of service His
pay on the retired list varies also with the
length of his active service, from $2lsR a
month (s2,625 a year, to s2S1.25 a month,
which IS the rate of men who have been
on active service fifteen or twenty years
second lieutenant receives s., 400 on the
active list, $3.50 a year on the retired list
The Families of Retired Naval Officers
No provision is made in law for the wives
or families of men who die while on the
retired list of the army or navy or even
for those who die while in active service.
But Congress is very liberal with special
enactments and where Congress refuses to
act there has never been any difficulty
about raising a fund by private subscrip-
ton for the widow of defender of the
country. Among the widows of naval Off
GERS who draw special pensions are: The
widow of Rear Admiral Edward Donaldson
who is pensioned at $50 a month; the widow;
of Commodore j. B. Marchand, who draws
$50 month; the widow of Rear Admira
j. w. A. Nicholson, who receives 500 n
month; the widow of Admiral Radford who
receives $50 a month; the widow of Admiral
FabiuS Stanley, whose pension is $50 a
month; the widow of Rear Admiral Charles
Wilkes, who receives 800 a month; the
widow of Chaplain G. w. Dorrance, who
receives $40 a month, and the following
who receive $50 a month each: The widow
of Rear Admiral Charles Steedman, the
widow of Medical Director Robert T. Nc
/ Nl,A