Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-07-05
SUBSTITUTE FOR GENERAL STAFF


ment. which includes all officers hold.
ing presidential appointments in tho
department. The personnel of this
bodE, which came into official being
June -. is Is follows:
Assistant Secretary OF the Navy
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Rear Admiral w. S. Benson. chief of
operations.
admiral Joseph Strauss. chief
OF the Bureau OF Ordnance.
Rear Admiral II. S. Griffin. chief of
the Bureau OF Steam Engineering
Rear-Admiral -. w. Taylor, chief OF
the Bureau of Construction and Repair
Rear-Admiral H. r. Stanford. chief
OF the Bureau OF Yards and Docks.
Rear Admiral Samuel MCGOWAN. chief
of the Bureau of Supplies and Ac-
counts.
OF the Bureau Of Medicine and Sur
gerry
Major-General George Rarnett. com
mandant OF the Marine Corps.
Captain Ridley Mclean. judge-ad-
vocatc-gcneral OF the navy.
Secretary Meyer has seen MT to
criticize the formation OF this council
on the ground that the officers who
are members OF II have not time TO
no their work properly and attend TO
the council work besides. Washington
is wholly unable to see the point of
this criticism and is asking why, IL
this is true Of tho chief administra-
tive officers of the Navy Department,
II is not true OF the members OF the
Presidents Cabinet. In fact. Wash
ington. especially the lay end of II,
. has often wondered why the Cabinet
idea was not extended to the executive
departments by the Cabinet officers
long ago. In the interest of economy
and efficiency and especially with n
view 10 solving the larger problems
~ Il y,t Ft,.,&
advisory council viii! consider The
question might readily be asked, II
Mr.. Myers criticism is good why the
President has not adopted the aide
system in standing off his Cabinet Of
hcers.
fins Held Firnt Meeting.
The new advisory council has held
us hrst meeting and The subject con-
sid""ed was aeroplanes for the navy.
several bureaus in the department are
interested IN this problem, and the
whole subject can certainly b.. dis
posed or In Il general council more
rapidly and efficiently than IL one man
had 10 trot around and interview each
bureau chief separately. especially II
there was conflict OF views Fur
therinorc, the time OF each interested
officer Will be saved by the council
method one OF the questions soou
TO be considered is submarine boats.
in which the Bureaus OF Construction
and Repair. Engineering and Ordnance
are interested. In the meantime
throughout the entire week, the doors
or Secretary Daniels's office will be
open To any officer and member OF the
council who desires to discuss with
lin in advance any question OF adj
Einistration or detail which may or
may not. finally. reach the advisory
council for consideration. In other
words. the routine OF the department
VIII continue as heretofore.
There is no politics, either partisan
| or departmental. in the new Daniels
plan. AS evidence OF this fact, Mr..
Daniels has kept all of the bureau
chiefs on their jobs throughout the
full four years OF their commissions
, excepting only one. Commander Philip
Andrews. former aide for personnel
: whose place was filled when the Of
! fees of chief of navigation and aide
for personnel were combined. 1t is
! the intention Of Mr.. Daniels to keep
| all such chiefs of bureaus on the Job
until their commissions expire, but
not to reappoint them at the end Of
| their terms. At the present time, ma
val officers say he has assembled in
the department the highest grade bu-
! reau chiefs ever brought together in
the history OF the navy. Rear-Ad-
mral Taylor has a world wide repu-
tation as n naval constructor. while
| Rear-Admiral Straus is declared by
the ranking officers of the fleet to he
the best authority on ordnance In the
navy. Their colleagues are OF equal
| ability in their respective spheres.
Secretary Daniels has not been and
| is not martinez on the question of
any particular system. He has seen
| fit TO supDlant, four aides who were
| mere buffers. for eight aides, who are
the men doing the actual work in his
department under him. He has only
one object in view-to get the work
! done as efficiently and speedily as
| possible. He has sought for experts
In each line upon which the navy is
dependent for preparedness and has
co-ordinated them into his advisory
council. The navy thinks the plan is
going to work. but Mr.. Daniels is
willing to be Judged on the results,
and is making no predictions now.