The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-17
ADMIRAL O.NErLL's REPORT.

Iuo annual r-pOf OF humifal " Ntiis
Chief OF the Bureau Of Navigation Of the
Navy Departments position analogous
To that Of Adjutant- tienersl OF the Army
ts OF considerable interest. even In the
routine matters which II Discusses. and
contains much 81 importance In It's rec
o~mmendauons. some Of which will cause
discussion. while others will Re rccog-
nined generally as beneficial 20 the navy,
Discussing tho subject Of the enlisted
personnel of the navy. Admiral NELL
notes that ON IN ~. the end Of the wear
covered by his report. the enlisted force
numbered 1855. OF tho petty officers.
81 per cent are native born. ~ per cent.
nAturalized. Of the men. 7? per cent are
native born. II per cent. naturalizsd This
shows n pleasing change Ia the last four
wears. for not longer ago than 1897. ?. per
cent. % the petty officers. and IS per cent.
OF the men were Aliens. OF the apprentices
W per cent. are native born. The number
Of apprentices. too. Is larger than ever
before, tho Newport station having i.i1s.
and the san Francisco station $50. ON june
~. During the year. i.iss landsmen we're
enlisted.
Turning 20 the question Of commissioned
officers. Admiral O'Neil recommends
that no cadet be appointed TO Annapolis
who would be below Is or over Is On Oct.
l Of tho year no enters this Naval Academy,
and that cadets he graduated and COM
missioned ~ ensigns after "a course of four
years At present. cadets enter between
the ages 81 IS and 20. and are not graduated
until after sin years. The average age
when English officers reach commissioned
grade IL 20 wears and y months, says tho
Chief % the Bureau Of Navigation. Tho
average age In our service II about IS years.
which II too late for a young man 10 he
made n responsible officer The change
In the length Of tho course u urged further
as a matter Of justice 10 the naval cadets.
on tho ground that the present system
places them two years behind tho cadets
Of West Point. who enter NJ the "a me time
that they do. and that as In many cases
they now perform the duties 81 commits
stoned officers. tho change will give Thorn
the pay II those officers. and at the same
time will help the Department. which
can assign officers 10 more responsible
duty than 1t deems advisable In the case
Of cadets
The need OF increasing the number Of
line officers has hesn felt this year moro
strongly than before. 'lS the Department
were suddenly called upon 10 man for war
service all The vessels available In the
navy YARD SAYS Admiral O'Neill. 1t would
bs confronted with a requirement impos-
sible 20 meet. II u a fact that there an. not
enough hns officers 20 man tho vessels
already constructed THIS lack OF officers
will he felt more acutely with each new
vessel constructed; at present. comparing
vessels % the same class In the navies OF
the United States. Great Britain. France
and Germany, II IL found that We have II
officers 10 the British 30. some of whom are
midshipmcn. 20 tho French -. OF whom
some are m~idshipmen. and 10 tho German
20. Wa vessels arc useless by them
selves they need trained officers. and
tho authorization % new vessels. without
provision for manning them when com
plo,ed. weskens rather than strengthens
a navy.
To remedy this existing state Of Affairs,
Admiral o'Neill suggests that tho number
Of cadets az Annapolis DO increased 20 800.
whom the changes at the Academy can we'll
accommodate. To provide these, he would
allow each Senator and Representative to
appoint two cadets. and would authorize
the President 10 appoint one cadet for tho
District Of Columbia. and ten cadets at
large each year. Al present the average
number Of graduates il Al Tho Admiral
meets ths Objection that he foresres may lie
made 10 this increase. that 10 will create a
hump that will prevent promotion, by
calling attention 10 tho fact that tho present
law provides for a fixed number Of yearly
vacancies above each grade In proportion
"a tho grade il increased. and says very
truly that this will prevent tho formation
Of any hump"
A Recommendation Arrears in the report,
that the grade OF Nice-Admiral be revived,
with four officers Of that rank. and fourteen
instead Of eighteen Rear Admirals. Adj
miral O'Neill Nays that had We had an-ofi-
Ger Of such rank on the ChinA station last
year, his position In tho council Of allied
Co-mmanderr-in- Chief would ha va been OF
greater dignity and weight. and moro
commensurate with tho power and int.r-
es,s OF this country The United States
are often placed In a humiliating position
on important occasions abroad 10y reason
OF tho low rank Of their IA al representa-
tives. Officers take precedence accord-
ing to rank. and thus our Representatives
are frequently proceeded by those OF coun-
tries far inferior in power and prestige
While IL IL true that countries not Of our
rank have tho grade 81 Vice Admiral In
their navies. We think that the occasion
when our Rear Admirals have had Ia allow
precedence to vicc-Admirsls Of such smaller
Powers are few and far between. We do
not agree with this recommendation.
In conclusion. tho Chief Of the Bur-au Of
Navigation urges the need Of legislation 90
provide a national naval reserve.
CHARGES Al lINST An ATTORNEY