The National tribune., 1908-01-02

of Congress. The President immediate
ly appointed him Chief of the Bureau
of Navigation. 1t is customary for the
names of recess appointments to go tC
the Senate on its next convening aftel
the appointments have been made. II
; is said that Admiral Brownson did not
believe that his appointment was legal
and that at his request the appoint
ment was withheld from the Senate un-
til after it could be passed upon by the
JudgeAdvocate. 1t is also said that
Senator Hale, Chairman of the Senate
Naval Committee, had notified the Pres
ident that the Admiral, being on the
retired list of the Navy, could not be
confirmed in an active office by the
Senate. 1t is thought that the reluc-
tance of Admiral Brownson to hold the
office and the objections of Senator
Hale both nettled the President some
what, as he felt that he had a right to
appoint his close personal friend to the
office if he desired.
| While the legality of his tenure of
office Was under consideration Admiral
Brownson, who is great stickler for
the rights of the line officer, got into a
controversy with the President concern
ing the appointment of Naval Surgeon
as commander of a sea-going ship. The
story, in brief, is that Rear-Admiral
Presley NJ. Rixey, the Surgeon General
of the Navy, and the Presidents per-
sonal physician, recommended that the
hospital ship Relief be fitted and at
| tached to the Atlantic fleet when it
| reached the Pacific Coast, where the
Relief now is. Admiral Rixey request
ed that the Relief be placed in COM
mand of a Naval Surgeon. with certain
officers of the merchant service as his
| subordinates, and that the crew be COM
posed of regularly-enlisted bluejackets
of the Navy. President Roosevelt who
is extremely fond of Surg. Gen. Rixey,
was greatly pleased with the suggestion
and Immediately proceeded to plan for
carrying it out. These plans had even
gone so far that Surg. Charles +. Stokes
was ordered to prepare to take COM
mand of the ship. When the Presi-
dent informed Rear-Admiral Brownson
| of his decision he met with the first
obstruction. 1t is stated on good au-
thority that Admiral Brownson said:
Don't you know, Mr.. President that
such thing would be illegal?"
When the President made an OBJ
seryation that seemed to demur from
Brownsons opinion it is said that the
Chief of the Bureau OF Navigation re-
sponded yet more emphatically:
L tell you that it is illegal, Mr.. Pres
ident, and is prohibited specifically by
| the law
The President did not heed this OBJ
lection to what the Admiral believed to
be the illegality of his act and proceed
ed to complete his plans for the ap-
pointment of the Surgeon Admiral
Brownson then rendered his resigna-
ton. 1t is said that this resignation
was preceded by very clear, intensely
logical and premeditatedly cold presen-
tation of the reasons why he objected to
the assignment of physician to COM
rnlnd naval ship, even tho that vessel
were exclusively devoted to hospital
uses. This letter the President up to
now has declined to have printed, altho
the STAFF has had it's say very copi-
ously in print. 1t is obviously impossi-
Bile for Admiral Brownson or any of his
line officers to make public a copy of
the letter without mourning a court
martial on charges of disrespect to their
superior officer, the President of the
United States.
Surg.-Gen. Rixey.
Surg. Gen. Rixey springs into the
limelight by giving out a prepared
statement of his side of the controversy
with Admiral Brownson, which led to
the latter's resignation, and it is very
plain to be seen in his statement that
the Surgeon-G General has the sanction
of President Roosevelt for what he
says. And from some of the Surgeon
Generals expressions it is impossible to
escape the conviction that the Presi-
dent is resentful of the radical action
pursued by Admiral Brownson to en-
phasize his adherence to principle
The internal administration of the
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery" saws
the Surgeon-General, has been, in my |
opinion, too much interfered with by |
the Bureau of Navigation This inter- |
Terence has, at times, caused me grave
concern as to how I could meet the |
needs of those under my care"
1t is stated that Admiral Rixey's
statement that medical officers had pos |
tive rank for years-that is, the rank
of Rear-Admiral, Captain, Commander. |
ETC., and not merely Surgeon General. |
Medical Director. Medical Inspector and
Surgeon-will be resented by line Off
GERS. The right of the Surgeon-GeneraI
to the title of Rear-Admiral has been
denied officially, as Surg. Gen. Rixey ac-
knowledges, altho it is generally used
out of courtesy, but he maintains that
IN spite of the absence of the privilege
OF using the title, the rank of Rear-Ad-
miral goes with his office.
1t is said that Admiral Brownson'sl
objection to the execution of the Presi-
dents order to place a Surgeon in COM
mand of the hospital ship Relief was
twofold. In the first place, like every
line officer, he believed that the subor-
uihid tloii VI any iiiis ollicer, no matter
how low in grade to staff officer on
shipboard, was bad policy and subver-
sive of naval discipline. But a stronger
objection in his mind was that the pro-
posed action was clearly illegal, mas
much as it is forbidden by law or naval
regulation to assign staff officer to
command a ship.
Line and STAFF.
AS this naval squabble is likely to
occupy the attention of the public for