The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-01-21
MANY MEN INTERESTED
WHAT COMING NAVAL OFFICER
WILL BE.
Nm Engineer Must Unite Technical
Skill with Executive Ability--pro-
motions VIII be More Rapid.

Uncle Sans naval officers now in
Honolulu are taking the livcliest in
terest i'm the bill for reorganizing the
naval personnel Secretary of the Ma
w Long has received for consideration
the results of the labors of the spe-
cial commission appointed by him to
inquire into and report upon the con-
dtions of the naval personnel
Assistant Secretary Roosevelt, who
conducted the proceedings, has sub
mitted bill with one of the most
complete reports on the subject of
personnel that has ever been presented
to the navy. The bill represents the
opinions of the best elements of the
line and engineers as to what should
be done to relieve the evil of stagna-
ton and place the navy on a basis
where the flow of promotion will be
more even. and the inequalities which
have long prevailed be corrected.
The new measure makes the most
complete change i'm the present sys-
tenn of promotion that was ever before
suggested by any committee or Off
cials designated to take the subject
under consideration. 1t wipes out the
makes the course at the naval acade
my four years, provides for eighteen
rear admirals where there are now
but six. insures the same course of in
struction at Annapolis to all cadets,
no matter for what corps they may
enter. and makes other radical chan
ges in the whole system.
The grade of commodore is abolish
ed and the term 'midshipman,' Civ
en- up some years ago for naval ca
det," is restored Ensigns, under the
bill. may be promoted after three
Years, whereas. of late, officers of this
grade have served from nine to eleven
wears before advancing in rank.
The board recommends that the line
officers and engineers be amalgamated
and that rs the number of officers 10
he promoted is so far in excess of the
vacancies as to cause stagnation in
the service. the requisite number of
vacancies shall be caused by wedding
out the men who are least fit to meet
the heavy requirements of modern ma
val duty: that the enlisted men aboard
ship be given the same reward of pen
sion and retirement enjoyed by their
brethren ashore.
Every officer on modern war YES
sci i'm reality has to be an enginecr,
whether he wants to or not" says As
sistant Secretary Roosevelt. Every
thing on such a vessel goes by ma
chirerv. and every otncer whether he
is dealing with the turrets or the en-
CINE room. has to do engineers work.
There is no longer any reason for haN-
ing separate body OF engineers ne
sponsible for only part of the machin-
cry. What we need is one homoge-
neous body. all of whose members are
trained for the efficient performance
of the duties OF the modern line otli-
Ger. The midshipman will be ground
ed in all of these duties at annapolis,
and will be perfected likewise in all
of them by actual work after gradu-
alton. We are not making a revQlu
ton. We are merely recognizing and
giving shape to an evolution, which
has come slowly but surely and natur-
ally, and we propose to reorganize the
navy along the lines indicated by the
course of the evolution itself.
Nevertheless the difficulties in the
way of realizing the proposed scheme
are in reality altogether shadowy. The
engineers are now taken from precise
ly the same class of men. with pre-
cisely the same ideas, as the line Off
GERS, and when their duties are made
those of line officers they will show
precisely the same capacity for COM
mand. The line officers in turn are
already of necessity continually doing
more and more engineer work. Elec-
tricity, for instance, is in the navy
purely in the hands of the line Off
GERS. who have developed it to high
degree, while the ensigns on our tor
pedo boats, are in fact, although
not in name, detailed as engineers
aboard them, and have a training
which guarantees their thorough Elf
cheney hereafter in the engineering
part of their profession"