Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-01-21
REBUEE TO NAVAL OFFICERS.
LINE AND STAFF ADMONISHED
BY SECRETARY OF NAVY.
Issues Statement That The Department
Does Not Need Their Views
Relative To The Per.
SOnneI Bill

Secretary of the \ avy Metcalf has
issued statement 10 the press con
cerning legislation in the interests of
The personnel of the navy that is real
ly n warning To staff officers, or at
least by those who talked about il, il
is SO considered, to keep their hands
off and their mouths closed about the
pending personnel bill in Congress.
IL is simply another chapter of the
vigorous fight now on between the
line and the staff of the navy. Ma
val officers are divided into two
classes-line and staff. The line has
to do with the running of ships and
fighting. The staff is composed OF
the medical department, paymasters,
civil engineers and naval construc-
tors.
The whole difficulty of the thing
is that the staff officers want the use
of naval titles. AS ii is now sur
geon is called n surgeon, but he has
the rank of tenant-commander, but
he can't call himself n lieutenant-eom-
mander. So il is throughout the
staff. The surgeon wants the title,
and in such n way that he can work
it. So does the paymaster, the civil
engineer and the naval constructor.
The quarrel had spread itself out
over sevreal years, but it is worse
than ever now.
Last summer a personnel board ap-
pointed by the Secretary of the Navy
after a long period of study and con-
sideration fixed up personnel bill,
with recommendation for action by
Congress. The staff was invited 10
make recommendations and the stall
officers unanimously took their chance
and asked for titles. This was not
what was wanted, and that portion of
the deliberations of the personnel
board was withheld from Congress.
Consequently the stan officers were
angered.
The personnel bill was received AT
the Capitol, but it has not made much
progress. staff officers have been
accused of trying TO obstruct the
measure out of a spirit of revenge
because they did not have their
recommendations adopted. Word was
passed back and forth, and finally
there was q White House warning
that if staff officers tinkered with the
bin before Congress they would be
court-martialed. That was a week
or two ago.
Something must have happened since
then, for Secretary Metcalf took ac-
ton for the first time Saturday. He
is heartily in favor of the measure
now before Congress. This is his
statement to the press:
1.-The staff board will be convened
as soon as practicable and will make
recommendation of any changes il
numbers, promotion, titles, etc., Il
increase the efficiency of the stat
corps. AS the numbers and promotion
in the staff corps depend largely
npon the number and rate of promo
tion in the line any recommendation
with respect TO the staff must depend
upon the act of Congress Ga the linz
bill al.euly llara before Congress
bv the President. When action II
obtained on this bill the Department
will submit to Congress its recon
mendations relative TO the staff. Tn
Department sees no necessity for OBJ
tanning the views of staff officers rel
| ative to the line bill, now the view
/ of line officers relative to the stat
bill."
| This is construed by the staff Off
| GERS to mean that they have no chanc
of getting anything at all aside from
titles, and that the intimation in
tended TO be conveyed in the state
ment is that they should pitch Il
| and help push the personnel bill
through and after that the Department
would consider doing things for III
staff.
When the staff officers saw the state
ment they were surprised, chargnie'
| and angry. They say that Will
they are being admonished TO sa,
nothing about legislation, the officer
OF the line are openly attempting I
get the personnel bill through Con
gress. This is in violation of the reg
nlatioas. 1t is known that letters ar
being sent TO Congressman from lin
J officers asking the passage of the bill