Evening star., 1898-10-03
PROMOTIONS IN THE NAVY
Advancement of Officers for Gallantry in
Battle.
Opinion of Judge Advocate General
Lemly Sustains the Method Adopt
ed by the Department.

Acting on the advice of Judge Advocate
General Lemly, the Secretary of the Navy
has disapproved the plan advocated by
Commander Crowninshield, chief of the bu-
reau of navigation, for the advancement of
officers who have rendered eminent and
conspicuous services in battle. The opin-
ion given by the judge advocate general
sustains the action taken by the Navy Da-
partment in the matter of the promotion
of Admirals Schley and Sampson and the
other officers concerned in the destruction
of Cervera's fleet off Santiago, and repre-
sents the policy of the department in other
cases of the same character still under
consideration. The question is one of para
mount interest to all naval officers, and
has been the subject of considerable con-
troversy in naval circles The case is fully
stated in the opinion of the judge aGvo-
cate general in his opinion, as follows:
Section 1906 of the Revised Statutes au-
thoriZes advancements, not to exceed
thirty numbers, for eminent and conspic-
uous conduct In battle or extraordinary
hero!sm,' and section 1907 provides that II
any officer so advanced is thereby thrown
into higher grade, he shall be promoted,
Notwithstanding the number of said grade
may be full
der these provisions of law are discussed
in the bureaus memorandum. The first is
that of making advancements sfmulta-
Eeous!y. Under this method when num-
Der of officers are to be promoted for con-
spicuous services, the promotions are all
made at once, without otherwise disturb
ing the navy list No officers are promoted
from a lower to a higher grade: any en-
largement of such grade beyond the statu-
tory limit which may thereby be brought
about is fully covered by the special pro-
vision of section 1907, above quoted. This
method of making advancements simulta-
neously appears to be the simple and nat
ural method, and was the one actually en-
ploYed when the recent advancements for
services before Santiago We're made. No
specific objection to this method is now
urged, except that its application might
result in giving two officers the same num-
ber-a difficulty easily provided against by
care, which should, OF course, always be
exercised, in apportioning such rewards.
The Bureau Method.
The second method, that now brought
to attention by the bureau. proposes the
making of advancements in the order OF
seniority, and only one at a time. The rule
is thus laid down in the bureaus memo
randum
In making advancements the senior
officer to be advanced should first take his
new place, and consequently his new num-
Der, and all other officers affected by the
advancement should take their new places
ana numbers, respectively. If the officer
so advanced goes from one grade to an
other the promotion necessary to fill the
vacancy should be made in the regular
Tsqrss; %sncsd IAen e. the next senior to be ad-
other officers affected by his advancement
take their, new, places and numbers and
so on through *he list
Whlle upon hrst examination this latter
a n ~.
opinion that it will not bear critical scr1,.
uny. What APPEARS to be a fatal obiec-
tlon to the sche1ne is stated by the bureau
ltseiI. H., In It's menorandum as follows:
lhls nile R the cases of officers re-
Gently sdvanced would work out a coudi-
ton which is probably not anticipated, lie.
the promotion of Captain Picking, as well
as Captain Hsgipson, to commodore
me prsmot1on- of Captain Picking re-
suits not only in placing him upon the
list of commCdores, but in advancing every
ofhcer below him one number This is a
result not intended or anticinated and NOT
contemplated by the law which stands be-
hind the transa ction, since the officers thus
affected are mot advanced for eminent
and conspicuous conduct in battle or ex-
traordinary heroism,' but merely as an ac-
cldent or incident of the peculiar method
advocated. Moreover their advancement
results in a list CT eleven commodores
Captain ----:ing standing as No. II on thai
list. how can his presence there be Jus.
titled under sections 1906 and 1907 unless
his DroT- ion Is made for eminent anG
consDiC>Jo' S conduct? 1t is true that the
bure", ;, memorandum explains this by
stating - at, t king up the cases of tn.
officers 20 re promoted according to senior
ity and advancing them one at a time afte.
one of the advancementS-that of Commo-
dOre Sampson-it will happen that for thu
moment the commodores list will consist
Of nine officers only. As ten are allowed
by law the bureau argues that the general
pnti hac
mediately to operate, and Captain Picking
being No. l on the list is advanced ac-
cordingly to commodore, bringing the num-
Der in that grade up to ten. The flling
of the grade, however, in this regular man
per does not, according to the proposed
plan, bar proceedings under the special
authority contained in section 1901 ana
Captain Htgginson is subsequently ad-
vanced to that grade and placed above
Captain Gn the case supposed commodore
Picking.
An Intricate Process.
This process seems intricate and in
vckes in the first instance the special au-
thorty conferred by sections 1867 for
making promotions for eminent and con-
spicuous services and makes one advance
ment Hereunder. 1t appears to contem-
plate a stop after each advancement and
If at any time in the process a state of
affairs is brought about upon which the
ordinary rules of promotion will operate
such rules are invoked to make one or
more promotions, after which the special
advancements are resumed. If many spe-
cial promotions are to be made, the result
will be, incidentally, the advancement of a
number of officers whose promotion was
not intended, which will operate in some
cases to unnecessarily enlarge certain
grades beyond the limits prescribed by
law. In the very instance under consid-
era ton the result of the method proposed
would O place all officers uDOn h.