The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-28
Senator Hale Supports
 Course of Brownson.
STOKES WILL BE APPOINTED
Staff Officers Find President Sus-
 taining Their Views.
views sf Senator Hale Are Prononaeed --Thinks it Detrime.taI to Ser vice to Allow Any stan on-
 CT te esComma.a vesseI.

siening Surgeon Charles F, Stokes to the command of the hospital ship Re- Itef are expected to be signed soon. 1t having been definitely decided. accord ing to Secretary Metcalf. to appoint him to that position. With this end in view. every effort will be made to obtain merchant crew and master for the vessel. Failing to man the Relief { with . crew from the merchant marine drawn on and . line oricer assigned as
 The scheme of having medical oti- cer command the Relief In the event a merchant crew is secured is to have a { trial for at least six months and if the experiment proves satisfactory then tho expectation that the appointment to command hospital ships win be a permanent feature.
 Admiral Brownson's relinquishment of his poSition~as chief of the bureau of navigation, carrying with it as 1t, did, the, ex- ofiicio connection with the Naval General Board. will result in a considerable loss of pay to the officer. Being entirely out of duty and on the retired ,ist his Income will be dimin- ished by the loss of 2S per cent of the full pay of an admiral on the active list. namely. s7.500 year. Also he will no longer receive the allowance of sl,50o q year fer quarters and $500 for heat and light. It so happens. howev- er. that Admiral Brownson is man of independent means and able to disre- gard financial considerations. N
 Stan officers of the navy have discov- cred a precedent for placing one of their kind in command of a ship. This precedent was found in, the period of the civil war and lons before the pas seEe of the naval personal act upon fafr lfs. ft,x~
 their contention that such assienii1enf to command ts Illegal The civil war records show that Ninian Pinkev. naval surgeon, Was In absolute com. n1and for q considerable time of the Mississippi steamboat Red Rover. erri- ployed as hospital craft during the war. 1s
 The formal order dated December ss detaching Rear Admiral Brownson from duty as chief of the bureau of navigation was made public at the Navy Department, today. The same or. der detaches from from his member ship in the joint army and navy board. Commander Winsiow continues to act as the President of the bureau pending the selection of a permanent oflcer.
 Senator Hale. Chairman of the Sem ate Committee on Naval Affairs, when seen today spoke very frankly in sup port of the admiral's course. sI think that Admiral Brownson has acted with praiseworfliy courage and tromp.nsss in rendering his resignation" said Senator Hale. T have always sus- tained the stan officers in their fight for positive ranks and complete re- cognition such as are received by. their peers iq the army and I now have a bill pending which gives them such recognition throughout the service, But in that measure there is q pre- cautionary provision against giving them actual command of any naval vessel This is the continuation and extension of the fight between the two branches of the service. That fight is the crux of the present controversy and because think he is right my support is given unreservedly to the admiral as against the contentious of Surgeon General Rixey. It anay be that on some occasions staff officers have been in command of vessels but I Know of no instance when such of- ficers have been given command after the point was raised and both sides were heard. I do not believe that the contention for command by staff off cers has been pressed seriously at any time in the past. Indeed am of the opinion that the old stan officers would never have ask ed for s,ich recognition.
 Think what might happen if the command of the vessels should be turueu oNer u a cpdpFdin pr even y paymaster and 1t is just as reascna- bic to put the crews of maya. vessels under the charge of those officers as it is to place them under the com mand of a surgeon. Evidently Ad- miral Brownson recognized this fact and being a man of character and de- cision, he did not hesitate to resign his position when as the active head of navigation has view of law and of tho best policy in the interest of the ser vice was overruled. He will not lose anything by his manly course either in the navy or with the public"