The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-05
ROOSEVELT TO OPEN
 FIRE ON THE NAVY.
It is Said He Will Send on Active Duty 61 Naval ofacer-Clerks Who Sit at Their Desks and
 Never Go to Sea.

Washington Special to N. Y. Journal;
 Admiral Dewey called upon President Roosevelt this morning and was closeted with him in his private office Tor an i1o,,, hou, or more It is learned that Presldent Roosevelt will not only clean out the Bureau of Navigation, but that the entlre Navy Department is to be rakcu iore and aft recenstructed and placed upon a sound basis.
 1t has been asserted by anti-Schley offi- cers in the navy that it is absolutely nec- essary to convict the hero or santiago 10 maintain the morale of the service. This notwithstanding the fact that those who talk about the morale Of the service are alleged to have concocted as vlllan- ous a scheme against Admiral Schiey as was ever planned in any navy on earth.
 What the President proposes is to give the Department thorough cleaning out. Admiral Crowninshield has made com plaint that he has not enough ofncers 10 man the ships. President Roosevelt, It is said, will man the ships with the offi, cers who are now doing routine clerical duty in the various Departments.
 The fact that the bureaus are equipped with officers instead of civilian clerks is the very thing that made the plot against Admiral Schley possible. These officers perform the work that should be done by government clerks. They have every chance to know all about the records of all the officers in the service. Letters or reprimand to their superiors are written by them sometimes in the Bureau or Navigation and sometimes in the office of the Judge Advocate. In this manner young lieutenants are constantly inform ed of matters nlaced on record against their superior officers.
 The Harm to the Service.
 This more than anything else has work cd harm to the morale of the service.
 It has had a great deal to do with the vindictive feeling against Admiral Schley
 Here is a list of the officers which Pres ident Roosevelt is likely to replace with government clerks:
 The Bureau of Yards and Docks, off,
 cers doing clerical work. .....:... Bureau of Equipment, officers doing :,
 clerical work ........................ IL Equipment Headquarters, office, officers :,
 doing clerical work. rk.............'..' x Bureau of Navigation ................... Bureau of Navigation, Intelligence .
 office ..................'...'.. ..'....''''' :. Bureau of Ordinance ................... : Bureau of Construction and Repairs. 5 Bureau of Steam Engineers. ........... ' Bureau of Supply and Accounts. ........ 6 Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.....
 Here is a list of sixty-one officers who should be replaced with government It Is probable that in his message to Congress President Roosevelt will recom- mend the appropriation e enongn money to hire civilians in place of these officers They do their clerical work no better be cause of the fact that they wear shou''er- straps. ss
 One of these is Judge Adyocate Lem!V. He went to sea last in May. 1890. His total sea service amounts to tieveu years and half. Others about hiSn have served only eighteen years.
 During Lemly's last service at sea he was a watch anddivision officer He has never been a navigator or an executive officer His~present term as Judge AdVo- cate does not expire until 1905. At this time he will become a commander.
 If Judge Advocate Lemly at the end oi his term should be sent to sea he would be in command of a ship. But what would he be good for. when he has never served his term as navigator or eXecu- tive officer?
 Now. as to Lieutenant Ward. His total sea service has been only four years and two months. Others average seven years, Ward has never made an ensign's cruise, although he has passed through the grace of ensign and junior lieutenant All the sea service he has ever seen has been as a naval cadet.
 This notwithstanding the fact that as soon as a cadet is commissioned as an en- sign according to the rule of the Depart rnent he shall have three years cruise before he is given any shore duty.