New-York tribune., 1900-03-17
NAVAL GENERAL STAFF.
SECRETARY LONG APPOINTS A BOARD
HEADED BY ADMIRAL DEWEY.
my TELEGRAPH TO TIE TRIBUNE. !

,,-.A;rr1on March l6-The most important
a-ol order issued to the Navy since that OF
--ota-,- F3orie esta blishing Admiral Porter in
-. >vs,-, Department after the Civil War is No
81 ,uhlished 10 the service to-day by Secretary
Tonr installing Rear-Admiral Crowninshield as
.hisf of staff and creating a General Board" for
he nuruose of controlling the feet. The text Of
the order is follows;
General Board is hereby established. to be
Doy7nosed OF the following officers:
rta Admiral Of the Navy, the chief OF the
-, az Navigation tie chief intelligence Off
= - his rrincipal assistant. the president of
no Naval War College and his principal assist
sr. and three other officers OF or above the
Grade Of Iieurenant-commander.
Sbould the principal assistant of the chief in
.sTrance officer or the principal assistant of the
,--.eiSert Of the Naval War College be below
- ~ank of Iieutenant-commander an officer or
as.a-e NJ the grade Of Iieutenant-commander or
eLoxa viii be designated 10 fiji such place or
.s..as on the Board.
1-sa n,Irpose Of the Department in esta blishing
.bie BOARD is 10 insure efficient preparation Of
me aeet in case Of war and for the naval de-
7.a Chisf Of the Bureau OF Navigation will be
.be custodian OF the plans OF campaign and war
-,,,ars+ir ms. He viii indicate to the War Col
sn5 intelligence Office the information
..7,,lre6 from them by the General Board and
a. re absence Of the Admiral Of the Navy he
,.-;,I n-esi6e at meetings of the Board and ex-
.iee he functions of president Of the Board.
-rra Board viii meet at least once d month.
s,,e Of its members constituting a quorum. and
fyva af its sessions every year shall extend
,,-or neriod Of not less than one week each,
curing which tine the Board shall meet daily
DUTIES OF THE NEW BOARD
Tnis order constituting board Of nine mem
hers. all lire officers. is understood be in the
nature of an opening wedge in the movement
10 eliminate as far as possible civil control from
the purely military and technical affairs Of the
service. That four other orders are regarded as
essential features OF the plan Is shown by the
memorandum prepared by Captain Henry c.
TAYLOR. formerly president Of the War College,
who IS looked upon as the Mahan Of the active
list and upon which Secretary Longs action is
based. Captain Taylor. in a note accompanying
his memorandum, says
an inqUirr from the Secretary Of the Navy as to
what concrete things should be done at present in
The cevelonn1eTt OF a general stan i, IN re-
sponse 20 this inquiry. should submit a
pete plan covering many years. elaborate in de-
tai and precise as 10 dafes We would Dy TINS only
indicate our own ignorance Of the true nature of
The project hut may with confidence suggest
some measures whose necessity Is now PLAINLY ap-
parent. Al present we perceive certain things;
ana an Office Of Intelligence.
Second-That these two essential elements Of
& rhLri-hat & -, the e Deparf@ment @ appointed tied War
action the need OF general STAFF advice
Captain Taylor then presents five orders, the
Office mutually dependent, their chiefs ard first
assistants with the chief Of Navigation forming
permanent board Of five and stipulating that
one-haIf the Intelligence force shall pass four
months annually at the War College. and one
half the War College force four months at the
Intelligence Office.
The second. which IS practically the one issued
to-day. establishes General Board Of nine mem
bers. five Of whom are named in the first or
permanent board, the others being the senior
officer Of the Navy admiral Dewey. the COM
manding officer Of the North Atlantic feet and
their chiefs Of staff. This General Board is 70
meet To consider the plans Of the board of five
every November and al such other times as may
be desirable
The third order gives the chief Of Navigation
custody Of the approved plans, places the com
bined work Of the War College and Intelligence
Office under his general direction and orders and
designaIes him the representative OF the
Beard in al transactions with the Secretary of
the Navy.
The fourth order is drawn with sufficient elias
ucity eventually 10 supplant the Naval STAFF.
the Marine Corps and all the civilian authorities
OF The Department II provides that when
matters Of constructing. arming, equipping
manning the feet are necessarily deduced from
the plans. and require action Of the De-
partment and its bureaus in supplying ships and
their accessories. they shall be submitted 10 the
Assistant Secretary. who shall consider them
and transmit them to the Secretary of the
Navy
The nth order provides for enlarging the force
Of the Intelligence Office and War College. and
places the selection Of officers for both details in
the chief Of the Bureau Of Navigation, in his
capacity as chief OF the General staff"
IMPORTANCE OF THE STEP EXPLAINED.
Captain Taylor. who now commands the Yer
mont, IS the choice OF the entire Navy the
next chief Of the Bureau OF Navigation when
Rear Admiral Crowninshieds term is com
pleIed April Of next year and the latter
relieves Admiral Farquhar Of command Of the
North Atlantic Station. Captain Taylor's mem
orandum, which brought about ro-day's gen
eral order and which fully explains the I'm
portance Of the reorganization is as follows:
The need for general staff liz our Navy is not
ashore experience the same necessity as 10 ali
business eIlteflflses IN civil life, though under
i7L lanes t4h thsl oi general staff The
T. q Ealc u railroad ten miles long. connecting
etisii ana sofhr lechIllcal SKIN, DuI when such
railroad. having grown TO thousands Of miles of
territory Is forced 10 consider the Varvinp @oTdj
tiohs Of agriculture. manufacture ana navigation
enough for it 10 skilled engineers and ac-
2-ntailts, but there must De a group men. who
Foao 10 observe rival lines TO consider the laws OF
towns and States which their tracks traverse and
eoofe al. 10 watch the future and prepare their
y stem 10 draw all possible advantages from events
gFlcLi I1ral, financial ana politcal-as they occur
lLese duties usually performed by boards Of di-
-t-.9is or central committees of mana cement,
- - a- 70 those which, IN military force the
,t 80 or sea, are performed by general staff.
"lelher called by thar name or not.
re functions 4 sUcn q group II officers are de-
Ir.p'en usually by the continuance of wars through
.lilsloera Die periods. although there are exceD-
,.Sls one OF whlch-anc most notable for
Feiless-teing the general staff OF the Ger
s-iE army winch attained iIs excellent efficiency
lrouSa the half century succeeding rlla Napoeonir
Wars A period OF almost unbroker peace in Fgu-