The National tribune., 1908-01-16
THE NAVY.
A Fine Old Row Brewing in Congress.
The Staff and Bureau Disseasions to
Flame into Public View. ~

The Staff and Bureau Dissessions to
Flame into Public View. ~
Next to currency Congress has Navy
on the brain. There has been no Navy
legislation in either Congressional
branch, but there has been a lot of agi-
tation, and something win be doing be-
fore many days go by. This week the
Senate Navy Committee Is buekling on
armor and preparing efOrps warfare
against the Navy Department. The
House Navy Committee is also of an
inquiring turn of mind. 1t voted few
days ago to ask the Secretary of the
Navy for all the correspondence that
led up to the assignment of Surg. Stokes
to command the hospital ship Relief,
which includes the correspondence
bearing upon the resignation of Ad-
miral Brownson as Chief of the Bureau
of Navigation.
The arrangements are pretty well
perfected for a thoro investigation dur
ing the Winter of Navy administratto ton,
of the Bureau system and of charges
that there are defects in the construc-
ton of our battleShlps. Senator Hale,
Chairman of the Naval Committee at
his end of the Capitol, started the bali
a-rolling a few days ago by offering
bill to reorganiZe the Navy in many
important particulars. He struck at
the Bureau system by requiring the
business of the Department to be done
thru its Bureaus and not thru perma-
nent boards, reports to be made to the
Secretary of the Navy about all busl-
ness. He would provide that only line
officers shall exercise command over
any vessel of the Navy, which provi-
clio IaNty 4 Nx1
Surg. Stokes to relinquish his command
of the hospital ship Relief. But Sena-
tor Hale's bill would also give the staff
officers of the Navy full rank and titles,
where now they have only relative rank
and are not allowed to use titles. He
also provides that only as graduates of
the Academy at Annapolis shall be COM
missioned after a few years. because it
is claimed the Academy is graduating
more young men at a cost of $4,000
each for their education than it can
use in offering the ships. His bill also
would give the officers an increase OF
20 per cent in their pay and the en-
listed men an increase of 40 per cent.
Congress and the Navy in a Hubbub.
This bill, with its numerous impor-
tant provisions, has set the Navy fac
tons by the ears, and all Congress is in
a hubbub over it. Following the intro
duction of the bill there was a debate,
in which Mr.. Hale, answering questions
by Senator TillmaH, of South Carolina,
explained its purposes fully. During
the discussion it was brought out that
the committee was to make an exhaus-
tive investigation of practically every
controversy now rending the Naval Es-
tablishment. This investigation Is to be
begun forthwith, and Senator Hale has
said that he expects it will last thru
much of the Winter.
Hints have come from the White
House that the President would veto
any such bill as Senator Hale intro
would deprive DR.. Stokes Of command
of the hospital ship Relief, and would
justify the stand taken by. Admiral
Brownson, whom the President dressed
down with the finest assortment of ad-
jectfves yet produced at the White
House Offices But Senator Hale is q
practiced hand at having his way, and
If he can carry Congress along with
him some Of the reforms the Senator
proposes in the Navy may be put up to
the President in a form thatlfle cannot
lightly put aside. The Senator has been
interested in the Navy for 40 years, is
regarded as the best authority on Navy
matters at the Capitol. and does not
like to have the President cross his
pathway. aas . 81 -ass.
Elements of n Fine Quarrel
The situation has all the elements for
a fine old quarrel before the session is
over. 1t is doubted whether Senator
Hale expects that there can be much
general legislation for the relief of the
deplorable and disorganized conditions
prevailing in the Navy at the present
time. But he is determined that there
shall be enough of an investigation so
that sensible men can get some authori-
tatiYe idea of what those conditions are
and so that ultimately there can be
some legislation. 1t would not be sur
prising if Senator Hale joined the issue
before the session is over, however, by
putting some little riders upon the
Naval Appropriation bill. He is very
clever at that sort of work, and the
Senate is very likely to back him. He
not only has charge of the Navy ApprO-
priation bill in the Senate, but is one
of the conferees on the bill annually.
There is no man at the Capitol so much
feared in conference as the Maine Sena-
tor. He would come pretty near to
having his own way about some minor
paragraph that money should be avail
able for the maintenance of ships of
the Navy only when command is exer-
cised by officers of the line. Distaste-
full as this might be to the President, he
would nave to veto the entire Navy
bill if he wanted to kill
the offensive rider.
AS a matter of fact the same trouble
is likely to arise before the Navy APP
preparation bill is out of committee
for the Department has no money with
which to put the hospital ship Relief
into commission. A deficiency estimate
has already been forwarded to Con-
gress, and the money must be voted
before DR.. Stokes can sail far with his
floating hospital crew. a limitation may
be placed upon that appropriation, so
that the President would have to veto
the entire deficiency bill if he wanted
to keep DIR. Stokes in command.
Japan's Position.
Meanwhile the Navy is sailing on its
way toward the Pacific, on the other
side of which ocean is Japan, the Ma
ton Europe is exploiting as our pros
pective foe. There has been a revival
Of hostile talk and a flood of newspaper
dispatches which can tend only to in
crease the friction between the two
countries. They started over repre-
sentations that the United States was
wearied Of the delays of Japan in COM
ing to terms about the restriction of
coolie immigration to our shores, and
had offended the Mikado by demanding
that certain verbal agreements about
this immigration should be reduced to
writing.
Tbic To ha faII