The Florida star., 1901-03-15
PROMOTION III TIE NAVY.


.e9n navy anu mensurably the Amer.
lean people as the publication OF
Rear Admiral SIMPSONS disapprovai
OF Gunner Charles Morgan's applica-
tion Tor advancement to the rank of
ensign. and, though the Incident oc-
Cured fortnight ago. ike Banquo,s
ghost ''it Awill not down.. but con,
tinues to be topic OF engrossing inter-
est. particularly among naval officers.
So 1t Is likely TO continue for some time
and may proye to be the opening
wedge to a contest quite interminable.
with results more farreaching than Is
now generally realized. II reyiyes the
bitter star and line controversy which
inJuriously affected the navy for SO
many years. and which was supposed
to have been settled by the enactment
or the navy personnel bill three years
ago. The whole matter hinges prac-
tically upon the maintenance OF the
traditional dead line" which divides
the forecastle from the wardroom and
forms the barrier between the enlisted
man and the commissioned officer. who
must first have been graduated at the
Annapolis Naval academy.
Enlisted men. through exemplary
service, could become warrant officers
OF the class TO which Gunner Morgan
belonged. but under conditions which
have for some years existed the door
to further promotion was closed 10
them. With the view OF furnishing an
incentive TO extraordinarily energetic
and capable young Americans to win
advancement on their merits and to
more generally pOpularize the navy.
Secretary Long sent TO the naval COM
mittees OF congress. with a recommen-
dation TO favorable consideration and
also the Endorsement OF the naval gen
eral board or which Admiral Dewey Is
chairman. drafts OF a measure for the
promotion or boatswalns and gunners
90 the grade OF ensign In the navy.
The naval committees thereupon en-
bodied the recommendations In a meas
ure which was attached as a rider to
the naval appropriation bill. but they
went somewhat further than the rec
concentrations OF the secretary OF the
navy and the general naval board and
added the clause "or warrant machin-
ists." which Is perhaps the real .'bOne
OF contention" The measure as sub
mitted by the naval committees read:
Whenever. In view of the vacancies In the grade
OF ensign on July 30 OF any year untitled by grad
uates OF the Naval academy. the secretary Of the
navy shall % recommend. the president may ap-
point 20 that grade as Of July 50 from among the
bOatswains. gunneEs or warrant maehinists not
exceeding ak In any one calendar year. No per
son shall be appointed who IL over IS years Of
age. who has served les than Eix years war
rant of1eer. who is not recommended by q com
manding otficer under whom he has served nor
until he shall have passed such competitive sx
animation may be prescribed By the navy de-
parment-
Naval officers generally were not spe-
clally averse to the proposition for the
promotion OF bOatswains and gunners,
as the exacting restrictions were
thought to be sufficient to prevent any
considerable Influx OF enlisted men.
and they felt reasonably sure that only
men OF extraordinary merit would ever
succeed In securing commissions ex-
cept through the sacred precincts or
the Naval academy. But opening the
door OF promotion to warrant machin-
lists" was quite another thing. To the
commissioned officers II means. and
not without reason, the ultimate reyiv-
al OF the engineer corps By them Ii Is
regarded as the entering wedge which
will spread TO enormous dimensions.
as did a similar entering wedge 30
years ago.
Under the existing personnel act en-
gineers are classed as warrant ma
chInists' and hold common rank with
the other warrant officers - gunners
and boatswains. In numbers the en-
gine force forms one-third OF the ships
complement OF officers and men. Their
duties call for technical skill and
knowledge far superior to those OF any
other warrant officer and are compare
BILE only TO those OF commanding officer.
For instance, 1t was Chief Engineer
Mllllgan's skill that enabled the Ore
gon 10 make her two famous runs-one
from San Francisco to the Florida
coast and the other past all other bat
Sleships on Santiago-eyen more than
the commanding ability OF Captain
Clark.
The machinists' examinations de-
mand fine preliminary education, ana