The Washington herald., 1908-01-12
a Question Of Naval Education

Another provision of the Hale bill to
promote the efficiency of the navy per
sonneI that is bound to attract attention.
if it does not evoke surprise. is that for
the limitation Of the annual output Of
new naval officers TO seventy-fve. a few
years ago the cry was that the navy was
undermined both as 10 officers and
men. Indeed, so we'll informed news
paper as the New York Herald declares
that the number of officers is insufficient
to-day. AT all events. millions have been
expended on the Naval Academy. and a
plant has been established at Annapolis
Of which the country may be proud. II
appears, however, according to Senator
Hale, that the output of this plant is
about TO far outrun the demand. APP
poinuments Of midshipmen have been
doubled and quadrupled, until there are
now in the Naval Academy and at sea
1854 midshipmen, or goo more than the
entire number of line officers in the navy.
Now the effect of turning out this swarm
Of junior officers will be 10 swell the
lower grades and TO produce a hump
that will retard promotion.
What is Senator Hale's remedy for this
threatened overproduction of naval Off
GERS? II is 10 promote seventy-fve Of the
ablest and brightest of the graduates an
nually 10 the grade of ensign and 10 give
10 all the others a years sea pay and a
certificate that they had graduated with
honor and 10 return them to civil life.
There is precedent for this course in q
former enactment Of Congress. which Mr..
Hale says worked admirably" No hard
ship, We are assured, IS imposed on the
graduates for they are sent back into
civil life fully equipped with a very fine
education" Mr.. Hale tells a very pretty
tale about a young man from his own
State who feels very grateful to the SEN
ator for having had the opportunity 10
obtain a fTst-claas education. Of which he
made good use in earning a living.
Whatever may be the naval view of
educating more officers than are neces-
sary, at public expense, We think the lay
opinion of it viii be about that expressed
by Senator Gallinger, who suggested that
il was not good policy to expend millions
at Annapolis to educate young men for
the pursuits of private life. He hoped
that legislation would be enacted that
would "conhne the appropriation of pub
lie money for the navy TO the needs of
the navy. and not TO give young men a
liberal education at the expense of the
government, and then send them out into
private life" Mr.. Gallinger. perhaps,
overlooked one important consequence of
the policy he proposed-it would deprive
Senators and Members Of n valuable bit
of patronage Senator Hale regarded it
as one OF the merits of his bill that it
provided a means Of stopping the over
production Of officers without taking
away the number OF appointments" Bet
ter, in other words. to give number Of
young men free education at public ex-
pense than. to cut down the quota Of
Congressional nominations 10 the Acad-
emy
We appreciate fully the force Of this
argument. but perhaps there are two
sides 20 it, as well as to several other
controverted naval questions that we
hope viii be well thrashed out and SEN
sibly settled, if that be possible, before
, the end of the present session.