The sun., 1897-11-07
Tho Personnel OF tho Navy.

The Personnel OF tho Navy.
One more effort has just been made to
solve the difficult problem OF reorganizing
the navy personnel. A very capable board
has been assembled to consider this sub
| ject, the line members being Capts. SAMP.
SON, MCCORMICK, EVANS, and CRowN1N.
SHIELD, Commander HEMPHILL, and Lieu.
| tenants Commander WAINWRIGHT. while
| the staff members are Chief Engineers
MELVILLE, RAE, and KEARNEY and Passed
Assistant Engineer MCFARLAND. The
President 10 Mr.. ROOSEVELT and the Re-
| corder is Lieut.. KEY of the Dolphin.
The original purpose of the move was to
| procure u report upon the Hollis bill, which
| deals almost wholly with the line and
Engineer Corps, and only those branches
of the service are represented on the board;
but the chiefs of tho other staff corps are
invited to be present at its meetings, and
to lay before 1t any propositions of their
own, 30 that the report may cover a re-
| organization for the entire personnel.
What is the chance of reaching o sat
isfactory conclusion, after 30 many fail.
ures7 The chief hope, whether we'll or
i'll founded, is undoubtedly based on
ties which has been put forward. This
measure, proposed by Passed Assistant En-.
gineer HOLLIS and then revised and pre-
pared by Lieutenant-Commande VAIN.
WRIGHT and Lieut.. SHARP, has, it will be
seen, both line and staff advocacy, which is
in itself a novelty. 1t is also, we must con.
fess, opposed both in staff and line; but Mr.
ROOSEVELT Is understood to favor its
principle, and it does certainly contain a
new method Of settling the question of
staff status and titles, so long bone of
contention.
The bill, which is suggestively called "a
joint resolution to remove the causes of
friction in the personnel of the navy and
to promote its efficiency on board ship and
on Shore" contains twenty-five sections,
and others will doubtless be added, if the
whole staff is reorganized. Its funda-
mental feature is that Of providing the
same five years course at the Naval Acad.
emy for all cadets, the present course being
so modified as to allow a thorough training
in engineering. Next the graduates, unless
for the Marine or Construction Corps, go
to the line with commissions as Ensigns,
and as such pass six years at sea, half
as watch officers on deck and half in
connection with machinery. Then they
become junior grade Lieutenants, and in
that grade may be allowed "to specialize
in engineering" If they SO desire, and at
length, but not before twelve years from
graduation, may, at their own request and
after suitable examination, be transferred
to the Corps of Chief Engineers. There
they no longer are in the line of success
ko, I.l>, l.
NOTED to the various grades in the Corps Of
Chief Engineers as the officer Immediately
preceding them is promoted in the line"
Chief Engineers perform no watch or divi-
sion duties, watch duties, even in the en-
gine and fire rooms, being discharged by
officers from the line.
Such, in the main, Is the basis Of the new
plan, which then proceeds to deal with the
duties of the Bureau of Mechanical En-
cheering" now known as that of steam
engineering. The title of the Bureau of
Equipment 10 also changed to that of
Bureau of General STAFF, while an important
new duty of this bureau, which is greatly
increased in Importance, Is to "select all
types of vessels" and also to pass upon all
plans of repairs involving a change of type.
To the line the new plan gives six Ad-
mirals and ten Commodores, as now, with
go Captains instead of As, 20 Commanders
instead of S5, 100 Lieutenant. Commanders
instead of "a, and then enough of all lower
grades in the line and engineers to make
the total of the two branches not larger
than now. OF the Chief Engineers, there
are to be lone with the rank of Rear Ad.
miral, two with the rank of Commodore"
and so on down, "all with the title of Chief
Engineer" Then there is to be a reserve
list of the navy, as in previous schemes
based on securing, either by voluntary or
involuntary transfers to it, enough vacan-
cies to allow sixteen promotions annually
among the seagoing officers of the grade of
Commander and twenty TO that of Lieuten-
ant.Commander.
But upon this feature Of the reserve list
| and upon some others that correspond more
| or less closely with those of preceding
projects, we need not now dwell. The chief
interest of the measure which the new
board Is called to consider gathers around
its novel plan for removing friction" be-
tween staff and line.
MIR. Seth Low and Columbia Uni