The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-27
REFORM PLANS FOR
NAVY DEPARTMENT
Secretary Meyer Congratulated
on Brushing Aside the An
Gent Traditions.
END OF BUREAU SYSTEM
OFFICERS OF THE LINE WILL BE
GIVEN A CHANCE.
BY RODERICK CLIFFORD.


nshment has brought a reform of the
defective administrative methods in the
navy department which were transmit
ted from a time when warfare on the sea
was far less complex than it is today.
1t is a task which has confronted three
secretaries Of the navy in the past three
years. The interests of those in the
service, whose interests ran counter to
the contemplated reforms, blocked all
hope of relief from the bureaucratic sys-
TEN which had developed. The plans
for mOdernizatiOn met the argument
that they would be an invasion Of vested
rights.
Traditions live long in the navy, and
it is hard to down them, no matter how
antiquated they appear to be to the
analytical mind. A revolution in the
sailors life has taken place, because
floating fOrtresses and Dreadnaughts
have replaced old wooden ships, and
have even placed the formidable battle
ships of fifteen years ago out of real
consideration as elements Of naval
strength.
Meyer Congratulated.
1t has been difficult to fight against
the spirit of naval tradition, which has
its powerful sympathizers in both
houses of congress. Secretary Meyer is
to be congratulated on the courage he
has displayed.
1t is true that the reforms he cOntem-
plates are not nearly so sensational or
far-reaching as some newspapers have
made them out, but nevertheless the
Tine" has won the fight which it opened
some years ago, when the Washington
bureaucrats reached the summit of their
dictatorial intolerance.
The cline" officers have always held
that the men who are to spend their
lives on the battleships ana fight their
cOuntry's battles, should have some
voice in their construction and design.
The justice Of this claim could not be
entirely ignored by a senate, which is
dominated, so far as naval matters is
concerned, by Senator Hale of Maine,
who is STEPPED in bureaucracy and has
blocked all chance Of reform for years.
One of the great defects in our naval
administration has been the overlapping
of the department bureaus and the lack
Of a logical distribution of authority.
Warning administrative elements have
made the secretary OF the navy merely
a buffer or mediator in Quarrels of the
bureaus, which were more interested in
controlling him than i'm helping him to
manage the department efficiently.
New Board of Advisers.
He is now attempting to remove him
self from these fractional differences by
creating a board of disinterested ad-
visers, who are entirely Independent Of
the bureaus. The appointment Of four
personal aides will eliminate the strain
Of bureau friction, which has centered in
his Office, and will do much to promote
efficiency in every branch of the serv-
ice. The Zine" officers, having received
the recognition they craved, are in a
position to exercise direct influence on
the battleship construction Of the fu-
ture.
The bureaucrats anticipated the cur
tailment of their power, for Secretary
Meyer has made no great secret Of his
convictions on the subject of naval re-
form. They have at times frankly ad-
mitted the failure Of the old system to
attach sufficient Importance to the mill
tary ships of naval administration.
Ships were built and manned, but not
enough attention was paid to getting
out Of them the utmost military effec-
tiVeness.
Secretary Meyers plan provides for a
new division in the department con-
CCAAG4 Win LAlC QDUldL4Ul VI tllC MECLs
and its preparation to meet all strategic
contingencies; and it also creates an in
dependent inspection division, charged
with keeping both ships and personnel
up to the required standard. Bureaus
are no longer given the rather prohtless
task of critcising their own work.
Complexities Removed.
The new plan removes many complex
tiles in the organization. The bureau
of equipment is abolished, and its func-
tions partitioned among the other di-
visions. In course of time there viii
probably be only four departmental di-
Visions one dealing with the material
one with the personnel, a third with the
development Of a thorough policy of
defense and Offense, and a fourth
charged with the duties Of inspection.
Business methods are now in demand.
All the points Of leakage in efficiency
are to be eliminated. Many a bureau
crat viii be deprived Of his perquisites,
as the result Of Secretary Meyers ac-
tivities, but Of the great improvement
he has stimulated in che navy there can
be no question. The navy exists for the
country, and not for the officers of the
bureaus, many Of whom have no prac-
teal knowledge Of sea fighting, and are
purely academic in training.
Some question has been raised as to
congress abOlishing the bureau of equip
ments in response to the recommends
ton Of Secretary Meyer. It is asserted
in some quarters that the bureaucrats
viii make a last determined stand at
the coming session, but the best authOri-
ties declare that congress will bow to
public opinion in this matter and there
is no doubt that the public stands solid
ly behind Secretary Meyer in his pro-
gram of reform. In fact, continued ap-
preparations for a greater navy" viii
depend entirely upon public confidence,
for bureaucracy has done more to
undermine confidence in the navy
in the past three years than all
other causes combined. There have been
many charges Of inefficiency preferred,
and Secretary Meyer quickly recognized
that they were not entirely without
foundation. The fact that the Zine Off
GERS" will hencefOrth be in practical
control of affairs is welcome news to all