The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-09-07
ARMY AND NAVY NEWS
Best Service Column I'm city,

Secretary OF the Navy Daniels soon will
start work on report to be submitted
to the next session of Congress concerning
the largest battleship that can be under
taken in the United States in the present
state Of the shipbuilding and engineering
sciences and arts.
This report is required by a clause in
the naval appropriation act Of August ~.
It was suggested by Senator TlIlman, who
last year sought to have some such
authoritative statement from the Navy
Department as a basis for Congressional
authority for the construction OF the big
gest battleship in the world
There are numerous features necessarily
entering into such problem, and in order
Ito obtain accurate Information upon
which some definite action could be taken
at the next session. Mr.! Tillman obtain
ed the assistance of the naval experts in
drafting the clause.
1t Is proposed that the report shall give
consideration to the present and prospec-
tive depths and other limiting dimensions
Of the locks and harbors OF the United
States and its possessions and OF the
locks of the Panama Canal
The report will impart the chief char
acteristics OF this maximum ship, includ-
ing displacement, number and caliber OF
guns. thickness Of armor. speed. cruising
radius, and cost These details will, OF
course, be furnished by the chief con-
stIuctor. the chief Of ordnance, and the
engineer-in-chief. OF Importance also will
be the departmental comment on the de-
STABILITY of building one or more OF the
proposed vessels. a. a guide to Congress
on determining whether the military stu
alton justifies the provision of such a
ship
The comptroller has decided that
time served by members of the Army
! Dental Corps without commission al
contract or acting dental surgeons
is to be counted in determining The
length of service they have had fol
purposes of promotion, under the pro-
visions of section 10 of the nationaI
defense act.
The decision is adverse to the ruling
of the Judge Advocate Of the Army
on the same question, but the Wal
| Department will not request a recon
sideration.
Accounting officers have no jurisdic'
| ton in ordinary cases Of promotion &c
definitely established offices. but this
is not a case that comes wholly with
in that principle. It is not merely g
question of filling an established office
but of increased rank and pay based
| on length of service. The accounting
officers would have the authority tC
inquire in the case of the promotion OF
dental surgeon whether his services
entitled him to the pay OF the higher
officer. and IL he has not the required
service. the accounting officers would
be bound to deny the officer the in
creased pay incident to his unauthori'
zed promotion. In that event the pro-
motion would be a nullity.
Under this view Il was appropriate
to obtain the comptroller's advanced
decision as to the rights OF the denta1
surgeons under the statute.
The appointments in the dental
corps are postponed until It is possible
| to examine in this country-as IL
lnecessary-the dental surgeons now II
the Canal Zone.
Changes may occur in the War De
partment's assignment of officers fol
duty as instructors and as students al
the various postgraduate institutions
such as the Mounted Service Schoo
at Fort Riley, the Army Service
Schools, at Fort Leavenworth. and the
Army War College. in this city. The
situation in Mexico will be the de
termining factor.
1t was intended that the service
schools should reopen September 10
| The date now has been changed tc
october Is, and even this date is tenta'