Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-10
SUNDAY MAGAZINE for SEPTEMBER 10. 1905
PER ILOUS AGE OF OUR
SENIOR NAVAL OFFICERS
Counnm ed 1omba
Continued from page 4

seven; Massachusetts, Captain Taussig,
fifty-seven; Iowa, Captain Tilley, fifty
seven; Texas, Captain Bicknell, fifty
nine; Ohio, Captain Logan, fifty-nine;
Oregon, Captain Merrell ffty-eight; Wis
consin, Captain Clover, tifty-rine; and
the ages of the captains of the armored
cruisers are: Brooklyn, Captain Hawley,
fifty-nine; Colorado, Captain Kennedy,
Lean, fifty-seven; West Virginia, Cap
tain Arnold, fifty-six; and Maryland,
Captain Ingersoll fifty-seven, Exclud-
ing Captain Bcknell, these captains are
about equally divided between the two
Naval Academy classes which graduated
respectively in 1867 and 1903.
Upon the admirals who command fleets
and squadrons and the captains who
command the battle-ships and armored
cruisers obviously rest the highest respon-
sibilities. In their hands are the most
powerful fighting units and the aggrega-
tions of them, in a word, the battle-line.
And 1t is automatic that upon the ships
of the battle-line and not upon those of
minor power depends the issue of war at
sea.
Protected cruisers and vessels of second
and third rate are intruSted to officers of
command rank, but of lower grade, desig-
mated as commanders. Even among these
the age conditions are abnormal. All are
over forty-six years-forty-three out of
the total list of one hundred and ten have
passed age fifty three Within the next two
years twenty-five captains will be retired
for age, and maybe replaced by the like
number of senior commanders. But what
is gained? None of these commanders
will then be less than tifty-fve years old;
five will be fifty-eight. An English COM
mander is retired at age fifty. The
average age of the japanese commanders
is about forty-one.
In the next grade, lieutenant-com-
mander, there are men at the head of
the list of over thirty years service;
nearly hundred of them are forty years
Of age and over. 1t is in this list that
we first meet officers whose age approx
imately fits their position, and this only
because of the unusual number of volun-
tarv retirements which occurred last July
I. The senior lieutenant-comnande has
Dce1l InlTl N-Onc years Ill llle StlFlCe, I1t
junior lieutenant has served
for nineteen years Officers are now be-
ginning to reach this grade by the time
they are thirty-tive years old.
The net result of examination of the
ages of the commanders and lieutenant
commanders comes then to this: Re-
peating that the considered proper age
for attaining minor command is forty,
for major or battle-ship command forty
five, and for flag rank fifty years, all of the
present commanders are too old now
and even were they all removed the
lieutenant commanders who would sue
coed them by seniority are also beyond
the initial command age of forty. This
condition is steadily getting worse as
time goes by.
1t is interesting, but owing to the
different circumstances then existing, not
SO conclusive as it otherwise might seem,
to note the ages of some of the naval
officers who gained great distinction in
past years. Thus, Nelson, who died at
forty-seven, was only forty when the
ID -. & II. d, 4