New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-01-01
In ARMY AND NAVY
To Relieue Stagnation in Nara
Personnel.

Washington. December %
MIR MEYERS PLAN-The naval gen.
eral board has been at work for some time
on plan for the relief OF conditions pre-
vailing In the naval personnel ard within
the next two weeks Secretary Meyer will
present to the President the eomprehen-
sive plan which has met with his approval
and which Is TO be sent 70 Congress with
special message urging legislative action
In general terms the object OF the pro-
posed legislation Is to promote officers 20
the higher grades. especially those Of cap
tain and rear admiral. at period earlier
in their careers than is possible under the
present conditions. BY this means effcers
will command ships and sauadrons and
serve commandments at navy yards for a
longer time than has been the case Nth
erto. Accordingly. il Is believed. they vii
take greater interest in the duties de-
volving on them than when thew are des-
tined to serve only year or two. This
can he brought about by system OF elm
ination which causes retirement in the dr.
ferent grades. II will mean the extension
to nearly all grades of the system OF an
nual selectiOn-out now exercised by the
.'plucking-out'' board which meets svsry
June 10 has oeen asserted that this can
be accomplished without increasing the
these circumstances II is believed IL will
appeal to the favor OF Congress
Another factor which enters Into the cal
citations of relief Is the staznation which
COnfrOnts lieutenants Of the navy. With
the present output Of the Naval ACADEMY
the graduates are becoming lieutenants az
unprecedented rate. After they reach
that grade they must await vacancies IN
the higher grades before they can be al
vanced. This has already caused a stop
page OF promotion and tt will have even
more serious results in the next four or
E five years. One Of the features of the
lief plan is that which renders much need
ed aid to these blocked Heutenants-
To DIVIDE PACIFIC FT.EET-Or sc-
count of the growing Importance OF Ameri-
can interests in the Far East and the dr.
hculty of administering the whole feet "a
now constituted. the Navy Department has
decided to divide the Pacific feet into two
separate branches. TO be known as th-
Asiatic feet and the Pacific feet. The
commander in chief Of the new Asiatic nsst
will be Rear Admiral John Hubbard. who
will relieve Rear Admiral Giles b Harbe-
in a few days at Yokohama Rear Ad-
miraI Harder some time in February will
relieve Rear Admiral Uriel Sebree as com
mander in CHIEF OF the Pacific feet. tn.
new Pacific fleet will consist OF the Ternss-
see. the Washington. the California. ths
South Dakota. the West Virginia. the
Maryland. the Pennsylvania and the Cole
RADIO The Milwaukee and the ST. Louis.
now at the Bremerton Navy Yard, Wash
ington. will join the new Pacific feet as
soon as their repairs are completed.
The new Asiatic fleet will consist OF the
Charleston. the Galveston. the Cleveland
the Denver. the Chattanooga. the Helena
the Wilmington. the Csllao. the Samar. the
Villalobos. the Arayat. the Pa-azua- the
Mindora and the Monterey. The torpedo
vessels on the Pacific Coast will not be al
tached 10 either fleet except when especial
ly ordered The smaller vessels on duty
in Central American waters will not be
sidered as attached to either fleet except
when especially ordered Their movements
ordinarily will be controlled by the depart
ment direct An Asiatic torpedo heet il
constituted under a torpedo feet com
mander. composed of the torpedo vessels
and submarines now in Asiatic waters.