The Washington herald., 1916-05-05
By T.. d. JOHNS.

BY change number six in the
navy regulations an important modifca-
ton is made in the organization Of the
fleet The personal stan Of the com
mtnder-in-ch of the fleet and the fleet
STAFF are consolidated. The designa tons
{ personal staff and fleet stan" are
abolished and the officers who now COM
pose both OF them will be known as the
staff.
What is known now as the personal
stan consists Of the chief Of staN. flag
secretary, the fleet radio officer. the flag
lieutenant and the aides. The fleet stan
consists Of the fleet surgeon. paymaster.
naval constructor and marine officer. Tn
der the existing regulations the com
mander in chief selects his personal stan,
while the fleet staT is named by the
Navy Department. I'nder the new reg
ulauons the commander in chief will
designate who will be his staff
The staff will occupy the same status
on the fleet as the personal star of the
commander in chief does at present. In
CHeniIy this change in the naval regu-
latlons will bring about a radical rear
fdnsement Of quarters of officers on
board ships. At present the fleet staff
mesSes with the wardroorn officers bur
under the new arrangement as members
OF the Etaf they may mess with the
commander in chief A flag officer may
assign quarters in his own cabin to any
member of the staff. and while so accom-
modated he will mess with the flag Of
GCer
For some time there has been disSat-
lslaction among members Of the fleet
stan because Of certain privileges that
We're enjoyed by the personal staff which
were not accorded the fleet staff. The
new order IT IS thought will do much to
harmonize relations between the line and
STAFF officers.
In a circular which has been issued
oy the Navy Department. Secretary OF
the Navy Daniels outlines a plan for
the mobilization Of yachts and motor
boats in conjunction with the ships of
the Atlantic fleet Although 1t is not
essential, the Secretary of the Navy
/ expresses the wish that the motor boat
owners, who intend to participate In the
maneuvers will take the training with
the civilians on the fleet from August s,
until September u. The civilians on the
afloat.
The date Of the mobilization Of the
power boats has not been fixed. but the
Secretary requests that owners who wish
to participate in the maneuvers make
/ their, application before July l.
The object of, the weeks work" saws
the Secretary, 'is to organize in a gen
eral way the motor boats of the navy
districts and to give the owners an idea
of what will be required of them in time
of war. To be eligible for enrolment a
boat must be seaworthy, self-supporting
and able to carry at least four people
for a period of forty-eight hours.
The ideal type of boat the department
realizes, cannot be secured in great num-
bers at present, but it will take ad-
vantage Of the patriotic spirit that has
prompted owners of yachts and motor
boats to offer their services to the gov
ernment, and will assign boats, whatever
their speed, to duties they are best
qualified to fill. The duties can be
divided according to the locality into
harbor duties, harbor entrance duty, and
sea duty. Motor boats can be used in
time of war as dispatch boats, harbor
entrance patrols, off shore patrols. guard
boats for capital ships, submarine de-
stroyers, mine layers. mine sweepers,
mine field patrols cooperative with sub
marines, cooperative with air craft, and
cooperative with land forces"
While making plans for the mobiliza-
ton of motor boats and yachts in connec-
ton with the "Plattsburg Camp Afioat'
the Navy Department is making an ef-
fort to develop a standard type Of patrol
boat This type of boat will probably
be known as submarine destroyers.
| Armed with from one to three-pounders