The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-27
Strife Between Staff and Line Officers.
 BR0WNsoNS RESIGNATION
Trouble May Be Detriment to Our
 Navy.
Contendea by Line Omceri that Presi- dent Has No Right to Assign Medical Man to Take Charge
 of Vessel.

Washington. Dec. 2e---Now that the legality of the Presidents proposed act ion in the matter of assigning a staff officer in the person of Surgeon Stokes to command the hospital ship Relief has been in question, 1t Is proper to state that the reliance of the line off, COTS Is upon a provision in Section of the navy personnel act of March 3, 1899. That section, among other things. was designated to clear up doubt that ex- isted as to the right of stan officer to assume the title of line officer of a corresponding grade in the matter of pay and emoluments and length of ser vice. Up to that date. stan officers had enjoyed what was called relative rank" with which they were not sat- isfied, so in Section [, the word "rela- tive was struck out so that All sec- tions of the revised statutes which. in defining the rank of officers or posi- lions in the navy, contained the words the relative rank" were amended so as to read the rank of" To this pro- vision, the following important quali- fication was attached;
 ..But officers whose rank is so de- fined shall not be entitled. in virtue of their rank. to command in the line or in other staff corps" ,
 Line officers understand this to mean
 
 shall ever be again commissioned engi- neers), or paymaster or constructor shall be placed in Q position on board ship where he cannot command the action of any person not of his own slaH corps.
 The stan officers for their part hold that this act does not in any sense abridge any privilege or rank formerly enjoyed by a stan officer and careful perusal of the act seems to justify the statement that his provision is open to controversy.
 winsIov Acting Chief.
 There were no developments today in the controversy owing to the absence from Washington of the President.
 Admiral Brownson reiinquished his position as chief of the Bureau of Nav .igation yesterday, and the duties of that office were today discharged by Com mander Cameron McRae Wfnsiow, the assistant chief of the Bureau. Wins low was not designated or appointed chief of the bureau as the result Of re- cent events, but signed all Of his mall as "acting chief"
 If developed today that year ago. when the Relief was put into commits sion. the decision was reached to as- sign a naval surgeon to command the vessel in the event that 1t were man ned with a merchant crew and master Rut in the event that the ship was manned with naval crew, then ha- val officer in the line would be assign ed to the command. naval surgeon in command would have absolute charge just as physician would exer- else supervision of a hospital on land, without, however, Interfering With the work of navigating the vessel. Surgeon Stokes will be assigned to the command of the Relief if the crew and master are chosen from the merchant marine, which. while not finally decided. IS understood will be the case.
 Secretary Metcalf again today de- cl;ned to enter into any discussion or the issues which prompted Admiral Brownson's resignation as Chief of the Navigation Bureau and declared he knew nothing about the statement Of Surgeon General Rixey that the inter- nal administration of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery had been inter- fered with by the Bureau of Naviga- tion.
 Detrimental to Naval Service.
 Not since the days preceding the passage of the personnel law. ten years ago. has the feeling between the line and staff of the navy been so acute as it is today. as the result of the refusal of Admiral Brownson to transmit orders from his superior of- ficer. the President of the United States, assigning naval surgeon to command a vessel in the navy. In tho case of the personnel act, 1t was MT. Roosevelt. then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. who acted the part of paci- fcator, and succeeded in bringing the two warning factions together in sup port of the legislation which. for a decade past, through a makeshift. has served to maintain peace between the two factions fin the navy. In the pres ent instance. however. the efforts of the President to reconcile the surgeons and the line officers has failed. and 1t is probable that the whole controversy will be threshed out on it's merits in Congress. This is much deprecated by conservative officers In both line and staff, as likely to prove prejudiciaI to the navy's interest as a whole. for they believe that in order to succeed in securing from Congress the four great battleships. the cruisers, scouts and submarines which form a part of the years naval estimates. in addition to securing, legislation that will better the lot of naval officers personally. the navy must present a united front, which cannot be done just at the be- ginning of d session If line and stan are to engage in a fierce strife.
 Line officers believe that in common they Sn0uIu also nave a near ing. But they are in an embarrassing position in that respect Admiral RroWnson preceded his resignation by a cold. clear and logical presentation of the reasons why he objected to the assignment of physician to command a naval ship. even though that vessel were exclusively devoted to hospital uses That statement was submitted to the President. and notwithstanding the staff has had it's say in print, ap- pllcations at the White House for this letter are met with refusal. Now 1t is clearly impossible for Admiral Brownson or any of his limo officers to make public a copy of the letter with out mourning the risk of court mar tial on charges of disrespect towards their superior officer. the President of the United States. So they can only look for q change in the executive mind or of the congressional investi- gation which will develop all the facts.
 It may bc stated in the absence of the text of Admiral Brownson's letter that his objection to the execution of the Presidents order to place sur