The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-23
NAVAL OFFICERS At Odds
Varying interpretations Placed on
the Personnel Act.
The Departments Ruling Declared n
Eisconstrrction of the Intent of
Congress-A Hopeless TapsIe Over
the Question of Promotions.

tine Question of Promotions
There is considerable feeling among lin,
officers Of the navy over decisions of the
department in regard to the intent of Con
gress in enacting the retirement pro
visions of the Naval Reorganization
law, known popularity in the serv-
ice as the Personnel act. The de-
partment has not placed on these
provisions the liberal construction which,
according to the dissatisfied officers. Con-
gress intended. There has been much talk
OF testing the departments position in the
courts, and it is apparent that some such
method must be resorted to in order to
secure change in the present practice of
applying the law, as the Secretary of the
Navy has declined TO refer the question at
issue to the Attorney General for his
opinion.
The Personnel act was the outcome
mainly of the dissatisfaction that existed
in the service over the stagnation of pro-
motion. The Engineer Corps had another
grievance in that its members were not
accorded actual rank and command.
There had been a bitter fight for years
between the line and the Engineer Corps
over the contention Of the engineers that
they were entitled to he captains, COM
manders, and so on, and not merely have
the relative rank of these positions with
no authority to command men.
After Roosevelt became Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy, he was designated by
Secretary Long as chairman of board of
officers instructed to prepare a plan for
the reorganization of the commissioned
personnel. and the outcome was the Per
sonnet act. The act abolished the En-
fineer Corps and transferred its members
To the line with actual rank corresponding
10 the relative rank then held by them.
IT provided also scheme of doing away
with the existing stagnation in promotion
by the retirement of enough officers every
year to bring the annual vacancies up to
forty.
OBJECT OF THE LAW.
According TO some officers who were
prime movers in the effort to reorganize
the personnel the act of Congress was in
tended primarily TO permit officers to
reach command rank before they became
old men. To do this ii was necessary to
create vacancies in the higher grades of
the line so that the condition of stagna-
tion in the lower grades would cease The
act provided generally that there should
he forty vacancies annually above the
grade of junior lieutenant, ana the Judge
Advocate General of the Navy. Captain
Lemly, in an opinion approved and thus
made q decision by Secretary Long, held
that there should be a specific number of
vacancies above the grade of commander,
a specific number above the grade of lieu
tenant commander, and many in the
grade of lieutenant. But the whole num-
Der did not make the required forty.
1t is over this construction that there is
dfGG lsfa or n
contending that the law was intended to
provide that there should not be a specific
number of vacancies in each grade, but
that applicants for retirement should be
retired in the order of their rank begin
ming with the highest and so down the
list of voluntary applications until the
number required to cause forty vacancies
had been reached.
But more recently the Secretary of the
Navy has confirmed an opinion of Judge
Advocate General Lemly, which is an
other blow to the claims of those who
maintain that the Personnel act is not be-
ing applied in accordance with the intent
of Congress. At its last session Congress
enacted law that naval officers ad-
vanced for services in the war with Spain
should, on being promoted 10 the next
higher grade be carried as additional
numbers and should be promoted there
after contemporaneously with The officers
of regular number Immediately preceding
them in each instance.
The Secretary, endorsing Captain Lemly,
holds that the promotion of officers OF eX-
ira numbers creates vacancies and that
these vacancies shall be counted as of the
forty required by law. In consequence of
this decision there will probably be a few
voluntary retirements only at the end of
the current fiscal year, and no retirements
by the compulsory methods provided for
in the Personnel act. The effect of this
decision is to practically do away with
the application of the voluntary and COM
pulsory retirement clauses Of that meas
ure for this year at least.
AT AN ADVANCED AGE.
This matter is one of great Importance
TO the navy and some officers &c so far
as to claim that there is now no certain
ty that officers will be able to reach com
nand rank before they become elderly
men. For the layman to understand the
matter II is necessary to enter into a
more specific explanation than that given
previously, and such an explanation as
will omit legal phraseology, and prove of
service to the many who interested
in the navy, but have been unable TO Sc
cure clear understanding of the inter
nal affairs Of the personnel
Section Of the Personnel act provides |
for voluntary retirement. Section g pro- |
vides for the compulsory retirement OF |
enough officers TO create the necessary |
number Of vacancies, If there have not |
been sufficient applications for voluntary |
retirement These two sections are word |
ed precisely as they were recommended |
by the Personnel Board, of which Theo-
dore Roosevelt was Chairman. This board
was created in 1897 to submit plan for
the reorganization of the personnel and
to provide means for Fastening promo
tion to command rank.
1t was certainly understood at the time
and many officers so understand now, that
the one object Of sections and was to
reduce the age at which officers reach the
grade Of commander, where, for the first
time, they assume the trying duties and
responsibilities of Independent command.
Previous to the passing of the Personnel
act. officers did not reach the grade OF
comma nder until they were between fifty
and hffy-five years Of age having per
formed subordinate duties during the
whole of their service, and leaving them
from seven to twelve years only (as all
officers must retire at the age OF sixty-two
years. In which TO pass rapidly through
the grades Of commander, captain, com
modOre, and rear admiral.
VACANCIES IN COMMAND GRADES.
The Personnel Board realized that the
most effective way to hasten promo
ton to command rank was to make vacan- |
eies IN the command grades. This could |
he easily accomplished if Congress would |
authorize that certain number of cap |
tains and commanders be placed on the |
retired list annually, provided that Of |
bcers would so volunteer But if they |
would not so volunteer what then? The |
only solution was TO compel them to re- |
tire and this was an embarrassing matter
for board of naval officers to consider.
me board found that in order to secure |
command rank for officers at forty-nVe !
about fifteen vacancies would be REQUIRED |
annually, In addition to natural vacan
eies caused by death, retirements for age. |
dismissals, and other causes. The boa rd 1
after much consideration drew up section |
y to induce sufficient number of Of |