The evening times., 1901-05-17
NEF NAVAL COMMISSIONS
They Will Not be Made From the
Old Steel Plate.

This Relic 10 Be SuppIanted ny an
Engraving Almost n Counterpart
of It-PrOtcsts Against Change of
the Design in Use for sixty Years.
The Navy Department has just made
public very interesting decision, which
VIII qffect eyeTy man WIG receives =
tt5mniss5ffo!l in tie navy during the com
ing half century. The decision resulted
/ from a strong fight made by the send-
mental tars in the service, who de
manded that the good fortune which
has followed American naval vessels in
/ two wars should not be cast aside by
( a change in the commissions issued to
+ officers
! The steel engraved plate from which
+ has been printed every commission is
sued to naval officers during the past
sixty years has been judged to be worn
/ out and unsuitable for further service,
but despite all recommendations to the
/ contrary, the new plate, now being en-
! Eraved by the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing viii be an exact duplicate OF
/ the old one.
J Despite modern battleships and i'm
proved 13-inch rifles. the commission of
/ the coming lieutenant and admiral in
/ the navy will contain pictures Of the
/ old sailing frigate and sloop-of-war and
/ the historic Long Tom of 1S30-1646.
/ Not a modern feature will be introduc-
! ed, and the rear admiral of the future
viii receive as his credentials just such
a commission as that handed to Porter.
7 Stewart Farragut Decatur. cambridge
! Warrington, Adams, Foote, Gushing,
and others whose names have been en-
/ blazoned in the annals of the navy.
For some time the old plate has been
! doing very bad work, and the last few
/ commissions printed have been mere
/ blotches. Complaints were brought to
/ the attention Of Secretary Long, and as
! soon as the latter made a suggestion
/ discarding the old plate there came
/ storm Of protest from all branches Of
! the service. Rear admirals and cap
tains desired the plate retained because
I of historic associations, and Junior Of
/ ficers desired the plate retained because
/ they wished their future commissions
TO be printed from the block which had
sent so many gallant men out to do
/ battle
Secretary Long realized that the plate
must be changed.
As result TIE Bureau of Engraving
and Printing has received an order to
make & new plate, as nearly a copy of
/ the old as can he done without violat-
/ ing the rules with reference to coun-
/ terfeiting. As il is. the plate will be a
reproduction, with the exception of a
few changes n shading in certain por-
I tions. Several chiefs of bureaus de-
mandec that the obsolete frigate and
Long Tom be replaced with modern
! batdeships and rifles. Secretary Long
would not permit this, however, and
the plate remains unchanged
| The old plate Will, within a few days
be laid away among the sacred relics
/ in the Navy Department library. It
was made by the American Banknote
/ Company Of New York in 1880, and at
| the time was considered the finest ex-
ample of steel engraving ever produc-
ed. It came into service in good time to
make David Porter a commodore. and
furnished commissions for the civil and
/ Spanish wars. For its long and faith
full service it is reverenced by the en-
! tire Navy Department
| The plate contains q Beautifully de-
signed conception Of Neptune and Ne
reid ploughing the waves with their
star horses At the top sits very hun
gry-lOoking and savage appearing
eagle, altogether a foreigner when com
pared with his fat. looking
/ brother on the modern banknote
Around the sides are old sailing frig-
ates and sIoops, with here and there a
clumsy Long Tom" Flags. boats and
other naval equipment Of the period of
1880 are profuseiy scattered
It has been decided that the naval
commission of the future will be the
same that has brought fortune 20
American vessels for more than sixty
years