Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-11-28
NAVAL SERVICE
HANDICAPPED BY
PROMOTION RULE
Need of Increased Number
of Officers Above Rank of
Junior Lieutenant Shown
by Existing Conditions.

The number OF naval officers above the
rank of junior lieutenant should be in
| creased, according 20 naval men here
today Under the law of 1899 prescribing
the numerical limit of officers, naval Off
GERS are frequently required to perform
the duties of men of higher rank because
OF failure of the law to provide for the
increase In the navy since 1899
Although the officers under this law
perform duties above their rank, their
promotion is seriously handicapped. IT
is said under the present distribution of
grades the Junior lleutenants of the class
OF 1915 cannot hope to reach the rank OF
lieutenant commander i'm less than 10
years, At that time they will be near
the statutory retirement age of g.
Fully two-thirds of the officers on the
active lists are Junior lieuenants and en-
signs. The Annapolis classes have aver
aged about li5 men for the last 10 years.
During that time promotions have been
made from the rank of junior lieutenant
to lieutenant at the rate of 40 a year
This Is because the law regulating the
number of higher officers prevents an
officer from being advanced to the rank
to which his official duties entitle him."
an officer said.
At the present time a naval committee
consisting of Rear Admiral Victor Blue,
chief of the Bureau OF Navigation: AS
sistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt
and Naval Constructor Taylor are con-
sidering the advisablity of increasing
the number of higher officers.
THE personnel of the navy in both
the enlisted men and the commissioned
officers should be based on the effective
tonnage of the warships on the navy
list" one OF the naval experts said. "The
commissioned personnel should be dis
tributed in the various grades in propor-
.ar1,t
desirable. This would increase the grades
above lieutenant commander slightly
The grades of Lieutenant commander and
lieutenant would be greatly increased
1T is desirable to promote officers after
they have served a certain length of time
In each grade. The time would be de-
termined by the number of officers and
the average age of the officers In the
grade"
Under the law there are IS rear ad-
mlrals, 70 captains. 112 commanders, 200
lieutenant commanders and $50 lleuten-
ants in the navy. The number OF Junior
lieutenants and ensigns is uni lited Pro-
motions can come only from death. resg-
nation or the "pluckIng' OF n superior
officer. No provision is made for the nat
ural expansion of the navy. 1t is said.
This is considered serious handicap to
the service, because an officer will almost
reach the retiring age before he has ad-
vanced above the grade of Junior lieu
tenant. In his annual report. made public
yesterday, Rear Admiral Blue said the
possibilities are that all officers fit for
service will be ensiEns and junior lieu
tenants. The high officers would only be
officers that had recently stepped up from
the rank OF worn-out Junior lieutenants.
and would be almost ready to retire.
Rear Admiral Blue believes that Con-
gress will remedy the situation, and urges |
that speedy action be taken.
About so per cent. of the lIeutenants |
are now performing duties that should |
be performed by lieutenant commanders" |
he says, while only about 10 per cent. |
are performing watch duty. which should |
be the normal duty of the grade.
"The recent Mexican situation created |
an emergency that made great demands |
upon the commissioned personnel. II par
illustrated the shortage of the