Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-10-12
RETIRED NAVAL OFFICERS
sent Ashore They Make tut
Home Near the So,

sen. Ashore They Make Tha;r
nome Near the Sea.
Landsmen find the retired lis+ &c ~
United States Navy one Of tha odaa ny
ana most complex features of the na1.s1
t t;nad lsI There are upon the re-
urea list OF commissioned officers ~
ABOUT 500 names of all ranks frn,, ~"
sign to rearadmifal. Tie rat;r rl7
Ieaf-admlrals are more than fve t;,aaa
90 lnaliy as the rear-admirals on tl1a
ao.iEG list, and the retired commodoraS
t &c s'llllost exactly equal in number ia
'ilS conlmodores In active service
:. VI other ranks in the line the rati,ad
lleutehants OF both grades are LARGEST in
numbers. OF these there are > 1itt Il,
over nifty, The retired captains. COM
manders, heutenant-comnan ana
ehslSns number altogether only ahont
seventy. There are more than ninety
le.lred engineer officers, or half az
1 Many as the engineers Of the active list
no Ielired pay officers number onlv
.Menls-ehree, about one-fourth the
NUMBER OF the active paw corns and
the medical retired list numbers fortv-
nVe, about one-third the number Of the
acuye medical corps The retired list
OF the Marine Corps is about one-third
as large as the active list.
=. 1here are great many WAYS of get
uhg retired from the navy, and since
rev naval officers court retirement a
large part OF the retired list is made nm
OF officers who have reached the ACE
lnlt OF 81 years or have served FORTY
hVe years. The compulsory retirement
age OF the army is GA years, but Uncle
sam views with pain the spectacle of an
Ola gentleman aboard ship with shaky
set legs, ana SO puts the naval age of
compulsory retirement two Years
earlier. There are few officers fhigh
rank who have retired on their own an
plicatlon after forty years service.
Then there are many Of all ranks save
the lowest who have been retired be-
cause OF disabilities contracted in the
service. These, says the New York
Sun, make up an even larger part of
the retired list than those compulsorilv
retired because Of age. The fact is that
these latter seldom long survive retire
ment. There is small group of sew
eral ranks retired ''as not recommended
tor promotion In some cases phvsi-
cal disability is alleged, in others the
navy registry preserves q discreet
silence. 1t is to this department Of the
retired list that naval officers long
awaiting promotion look for possible re-
lief III the futune, if Congress can be in
duced to enact that all officers who re-
main unprOmoted after certain num-
Der of years shall be retired.
Retirement is the thing genuinely
dreaded by many naval officers, to
whom it means reduced pay and prac-
teal inability to earn anything in civil
life. Some retired naval officers man
age to carry on business of one kind or
another, and a few lucky fellows earn a
good deal at civil employments while
still on the active list, but a retired
naval officer if not too old or intirm for
active work, is usually too much the vic
in any business of civi! life. Retirement
to a naval officer in vigorous mental and
bodily health is usually a genuine mis-
fortune, since it means largely reduced
income to one whose habits OF life and
expenditure are well settled, and who
has never learned the art OF saving
money. Only one officer in the current
navy list appears as retired with the
highest sea5pay Of his grade.
1t is pleasant to know that retired
officers who have been longest in the
service love to fix their homes at sea-
ports or within easy reach OF places fire.
Quented by naval officers. Washington
is tavorite place of residence for the
grlZZleu veterans vi Tie navy. We"
York, Philadelphia, Portsmouth, New
port and three or four other Atlantic
seaports are also beloved of the veter-
ans. Few Of them live inland, though
the younger retired officers are scat
tered all over the continent. There IS
a peculiar charm about these battered
old sea dogs, whose memories are rich
in pictures of the navy's stirring times,
whose traditions are those of the days
when Farragut was a lieutenant and
lads of twelve went to sea as mldshlp-
men by way of learning to be officers.