Evening star., 1894-02-08
SMELLS OF THE STEERAGE
That is the Criticism Upon Recent Sem
ate Bill.
The Proposed Bill Will Make the Navy
More TOp-Heavy Than 1t
is Now.

Senate bill ito increase the efficiency of
the personnel of the navy" which was in
troduced by Senator Hale, "by request" is
severely criticised by naval officers station
ed in this city. 1t is specially unsatisfac-
tory to the stan and marine CORPS and re-
ceives only lukewarm commendation from
line officers. Naval officers are prohibited
from discussing legislation, but they can
not be prevented from talking with their
friends on such subjects. A well-known res
ident Of Washington, until very recently an
officer of the navy. talked very freely on
the subject with Star reporter today on
condition that his name should not be used
He said he voiced the sentiments of many
officers still in the service.
THE Hale BILL he said, lis beauty II
the various staff corps had combined their
talents and devised bill intended TO ridi-
cule the pretensions of the line they could
not have invented anything so well calcu-
lated to effect that object as is this same
measure. 1t is improbable, however that
any staff officer imposed upon Mr. Hale TO
the extent OF making him believe that the
bill which he was requested to introduce
Was one or such vital Importance to the
welfare of the navy to merit the pater-
nal soicitude OF the STAFF. On the contrary
the various provisions of the bill are SO
fedolent or the logic of tine steerage that
there can be no doubt that IL is the product
of the vealy mind Of some very junior line
officer: one who has ESCAPED from the fine
pasture lands where his kind feeds. and
wandering forth into unknown fields is at
tracing attention to his lonely condition
by his piteous bleatings. The older heads
OF the flock will do well to entice him back
with a pail of milk and put up the bars
securely behind him.
Rather "a Reelection.
THE proposal embodied In the bill TO in
crease the line by about sixty is decidedly
refreshing Of h. II
fact that the membership of the line is now
| at least twice great as there is any
earthly use OF. There are now more than
| 200 line officers holding commissions in the
! navy and only thirty-one vessels I'm COM
mission for sea service. making the average
| or about twenty-one officers to a ship; the
average In the British navy is about four TO
ship. Mr.. Tracy, when Secretary of the
Navy in testifying before the naval COM
| mlttees OF Congress in regard to the practi-
cability of transferring the revenue marine
service TO the Navy Department, said that
even when sll the new vessels are completed
| II VIII be impossible TO employ more than
about 800. OF the line officers on sea duty
ana that the present number of them Is
more than enough to perform all possible
| duties in the navy. even If the entire fleet
OF revenue cutters is turned over to the
| naval authorities. Instead of clamoring for
| an Increase i'm numbers. the line officers
would show some respect for the efficiency
"A g.
auction of about aOO in their plethoric ranks
Such a reduction would be directly in the
| line of both efficiency and economy and
| would serve to drive away the dreaded in
! cubus OF congestion and paralysis I'm pro-
motion that how haunts the halls OF the
Metropolitan Club and other posts of duty
or our immaculate eyaders of sea service
| twenty rear admirals is modest starter
for this modest bill. and il would be highly
interesting to know Just what employment
Is TO be found for these dignified and worthy
| persons or course. the board of Eve ad-
mlrals elsewhere provided for i'm the bill to
| meet once year in Washington will fur
| nish pleasant duty for five of them out
what are the Others to do? The limited
states army. with about 10000 men. seems
| 10 do very well under the command of nine
general officers, but we are given to under-
| stand that the navy, with only about Supo
men, needs twenty officers of corresponding
| rank,
Thi. is Real Modesty.
Then the demand for sixty-five captains
is entirely free from any suspicion OF diff
dence. There are now forty-five captains.
and. according TO the official Navy Register
Just ten of them are in command of crIis-
ing ships; ten others are without any en-
| pioyment whatever and many of the re-
main"er are performing shore duties that
would more befit the pay and position of
a sl,2OO clerk. OF eighty-five commanders
| now on the active list just thirteen are in
| command cf ships at sea; but what is the
use of going into this scheme any further? ?
| Using Tact ana con mon sense against these
| proposals to create horde of useless and
unemployed swashtucklers to elbow each
otfvr epout Uncle Sari lunch counter is
| like using mrsket to thwart the ambitions
! or malevole:lt nlicrobe and is Simply a
waste OF energy. So far as the purposes of
| the bill are ccnceI ned it should be worCied
| IN the beginning like this: The active lis:
OF toe liue of the ravy shall be composed of
Nnhn ball -
| employed III the city of Washington AT an
| annual salary of $1,000 each
| when we come to the provisions of the
bill regarding the various staff corps we
bump up against real richness, and lots of
! 1t. but, as before remarked. there is no use
| TO array facus and practical conditions
against the utter Stiffness of some of these
| paragraphs. After chopping away the lux
| uriant verbiage in which these provisions
are clothed, it appears that the youth who
| produced them considers himself compe-
tent TO be paymaster, engineer. or any
1 thing that comes along, including the sur
geons and chaplains, who are to be re-
duced to make places in which line off,
/ GERS may find employment.
Not I'm the Line Of Economy.
Especially sagacious is the scheme to
abolish the marine corps and replace il
with a like number of blue-jackets The
! marine is by his training essentially the
proper type Of man-of-war's-man for the
modern mastless warship and his paw is
less than one-half that of the sailor; vet
our young friend wishes to do away with
the men already thoroughly trained for the
modern conditions of service and to fill
their places with raw and ignorant material
that will cost twice as much, Indirectly
this will hasten the naval cadet along on
| his way to be one of the twenty admirals
| and as such the scheme is such a pure ex-
| ample of steerage logic that one can almost
detect about ii the odor OF bed clothes fried
eggs, sea boots and beer. Ii will be a re-
lief to the people of Washington to know
that the Marine Band is to be saved from
the wreck OF the marine corps and that IL
is to be reorganized.' Such reorganiza ton
is manifestly necessary, for the band now
necessarily plays marine music which
would be obviously improper after the ma