The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-21

ache, jaundice, constipation, etc. Price IS cents
The only Pills 20 take with Hoods Sarsaparills
ried man and it is difficult to see how
he can manage to make his account bal
ance on the right side of the ledger at the
end of a year.
Long wait for Glory.
More discouragng to the efficiency of
officers han scanty pay is the prospect of
an almost intermiuab.e wait for promotion.
If man Is at all fitted for command he
is better ftted for il at forty or forty-five
than az hfty-dve or sixty when he IS al
mosj ready to retire. The problem OF an
adequate system of promotion is a difficult
oue to solve satisfactorily; but certainly
an organization which, like our present
one, has kept two-thlrds of the iieuten-
ants in subordinate positions for twenty
five years or more cannot be expected 20
result in the highest efficiency.
Next Congress TO seek Remedies.
This question Of the novy's organization
is one that will come up for the consid-
ering Of Congress at the coming session.
1t is as important as any question Of new
batlcshps or improved defcnses, for as
Capt. Manan has said: Good men with
poor ships are better than poor men with
good ships" If any proof Of the truth of
showing of our ships and hose of Spain
IN the recent conflict would be sufficient.
Congress attacked this problem at its
Sc ssion asst winter, and provided fairly
satisfactory solution of it in the navy per
sonnet bill, which was thrust aside, with
many other bills, in the closing weeks of
the session by the pressing measures de- |
manded by the war. II is likely that the
bill will be passed substantially in its
present form. The majority Of the naval
affairs committee favor it. and, although |
it is opposed by Chairman Boutelle and |
Speaker Reed, il is believed that sufficient !
pressure VIII be exerted to bring about its
consideration, and that the House will |
pass it.
The feature of the navy personnel bill |
which has been most discussed is its pro- |
vision for the amalgamation Of the en- |
gneers with the line-that is, to give the |
engineer officers the same rank and stand |
ing as those who may be designated as
the officers of the ships fighting force. At
present the engineers are a separate or |
ganization. They have come into exist
ence, or at least into Importance with the !
development of the modern sea fighting |
machine which has taken place since the |
present act was passed.
Pay of Naval Men to BE Raised.
Really the most important effect of the !
personnel bill, however, will be TO remedy |
the two evils above referred to- The |
matter Of pay is easily settled The bill |
simply says that the navy shall receive |
army pay, rank for rank The following
table will show what that is:
Correspond Ar
ing Navy my Present
Army Rank. Rank. Pay. Navy Pay
Second 1t. Ensign ISL, 400 81. 200 to !. 400 !
(ir 0
Captain ....lLieut. ...... 1880 2.400 to 1900
Major .....Lt.-Com. -. $500 $500 to 5000
Lieut.. Col. .Com'dr . 5000 $500
Colonel .....Captain 80. $500 1880
Brig. Gen. Com dore e. $500 5000
Mai. Gen..,Rear adm1. 1850 5000
On the face of it this does not look like
any great advance In the navy's pay ex
cept in the case of commanding officers.
But the army law provides that officers be-
low the grade of brigadier general shall
receive an advance of 10 per cent. in their
pay for each five years of service, pro
vided the total amount of such increase
shall not exceed forty per centum of their
yearly pay" There is also an allowance
for quarters as in the army quarters
i'm this technical sense standing for a liv-
ing abode The new bill provides also a
slight increase in pay for all the 800 Off
GERS now In the service as line or en-
gineer officers and of course applies to
the 100 new officers provided for by its
terms.
Reform in Promotion System.
The bill also attempts to provide more
equitable system of promotions 1t in
creases the inducements for voluntary re-
tirements and provides for compulsory re-
tirement on the usual three-fourths pay
whenever that may be necessary. The av-
erage age at which officers viii be pro-
NOTED or retired out of the various grades
is as follows
Rear admiral ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Captain .................. .....,..,..........5Sl2
Commander Observation-Disclosures. ........52
Lieutenant commander ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Lieutenant ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ..........3S
Lieutenant 0unior grade) ................29
Ensign ............... .......................25
Midshipman (naval cadet ...............22
The new bill is not all that naval Off
GERS could desire. but 1t is at least an inn
provement on the existing state of affairs
Under it the young officer may be rea-
sonably sure of enough to live on after
reaching middle life and. what is even
more important in his opinion. he may
he reasonably sure of ultimately reach
ing some grade of command rank.
Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant sec
rotary of the navy was chairman of the
DOafu WNlcn grated tne personnel Dill In
submitting it to Congress he said:
"The personnel is the vitality important
part Of any navy. IL pays to wear out
the material in improving the personnel
for the result Is that the personnel
reaches such a pitch of perfection that IL
can respond 90 any possible demands nut
upon it. 1t is wise to eXpend money freely
upon the tools with which the officer
works, and the most important of these
tools is the officer himself.
"All that is done-the building of the
ships. the training of che men, the edu-
cation of the officers, aud the continued
struggle TO perfect armor and Instruments
of war. for which millions upon millions
are being yearly spent by all the nom
effete nations of the worlds for one plr-
pose Al efforts focus to the one crucial
point, the hour of battle. where, when
once started, the one miud-that of the
captain alone-decides whether the VAST
machinery of the battleship responds wen