The St. Louis Republic., 1905-09-10

captains. FOR then public opinion would
bc overwhelming that no avoidabl. risk
such as here cn, ,,il,.i should IL. tolerated
1t Is pure sentiment. natural enough
which now stands III the way III the
swcrIinS removals that ought to II.
instituted.
Th,>.. veterans are Of course the sur
v;vnrS oi r!:.nv. They have served
faithfully. h"n"rahlv and we'll for from
,hrr;y-ivr /" iur,y wears. II is true
that To- retire them probably means t"
deny them any further opportunity for
distinction. II not. as they put II. I"
/ .:Si,, their Careers Il; the end. Tha;
their country has :, tender side for them
Is inii>ru,..llc. and however much crit
icis,n may Ia lcvrlri AT the ridiculous
Isn>i"ninS "ii ii their Younger brethren.
few will cIvil at whatever expenditure
MAY L.. involved in cu,nysl,>.,tiny them
i'll - I.,cun,ary sense i"r their di>arIrint-
ncnt. None of them in anv wise ap-
breaches scnili,v or suffers from any dis
;,hl,ng incaIacitv. .AS u body they are
physically probably as sound AS any
equal n,,nirr "f individuals chosen from
amy other profession which undcrgocs
like exposure To wind and weather.
They of c,.ursc have the inability which
affects all men over fifty III greater "r
less degree. namely. diminished physical
endurance. and this under conditions
which even IN Is..,cctiinc might well strain
the r,.>"urc,.> oi 'nvn much Younger. The
main trouble with them. however. Is
IT.; physical. bu, military They are too
near the statutory retiring age. They
have not sufficient time lit "n the active
list I" enable them I" ls.cuinc educated
:,> airIir.,l> I" the extent Necessary io
insure the efficient, handling III ",;r fleets.
There are three .,i'nr.ls whose attain
,n-n;S ar,. ;" we'll known. wh,,>c ,iiicicncv
i So thoroughly demonstrated. AMI W ho q.
the sane time are voting III thought
AMI hAii, and generally vigorous f"r
their Wears. ;hLt ~ :, matter oi simple
cN,..ii,n,y they should Ia exempted
from the :,.r-r-iirIrS limit This prob
ably cannot ic done directly. h;i, i, can
IL effected indirectly 10y Yvcrc..tiny the
-r.,i,. "f vIcc-..iIur.l which existed
.irr,n. and after the Civil War and WAS
he'll III turn tv Porter and Rowan. W.
ned Nic,-.t.!mir,l> t. command RESPECT
ivclv the .AiL,n,,c. facr,ic ani .>S,,,,c
fleets. AMI I" r,i.n..,c "ur own grades
with 'ho>c "f other Nations. our VICE
:.,;'uir..l>. like ",,r al'uIr.,l> (Farragut.
Porter and D,wrvi. have ALWAYS lsyn
unlimited :,S I" ,". ci retirement. and
h.nc,. the revival ui the grade and the
appointment 4" II "i Rear. -.\lnirals
Evans. G""!r!ch and Bruwns"n would
accomplish nI"rc than one useful I,,,r-
I'">c.
Saving thc>, three. the whole of the
i're>en, adrn,ral>. CAPTAINS and mos, "i
the commanders should Ia retired with
ont any needless DELAY The Younger
officers should ir promptly advanced {"
the higher grades. and the three vice.
ai'ni;al> set I" work I" break then. III ;o
their new places. Ii the Vacancies ere
a.cd ~ the bottom, "' the list ar. larger
than the Naval .lc..i,,nv can supply
with sufficient ccf.r!,v. they should t-
il-i. ,.r>, III -i'- specialized ''rdn.h,~--
ordnance. engineering. ''C-vith g.ad-
uat,S from the technical school and
III The IloIl->:-c.tl.z,-i branches from the
Younger variant officers ..n.! the enlisted
fore.