Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-03-02
NEW PROMOTION
PLAN FOR NAVY
Selection Instead of Seniority Rule
Urged in Congress.
DANIELS SENDS IN BILL
To Give Younger Officers Chance to
Rise---All Men Above Rank Of Lieut..
Would be Subject to Advance
ment by Selection.

Promotion OF naval officers by Sc
lection instead of by seniority. an in-
crease of so per cent. in officers of all
grades. creation of a war reserve list
and restoration of the popular old rank
of commodore are proposed in a bill
drafted by the Navy Personnel Board
| and transmitted to Congress yesterday
by Secretary Daniels
The measure. the result OF two
years of study and work by the board
is designed 10 increase the efficiency
| of the service, put able men in com
mand at an earlier age and open the
way for the rise OF subordinate ofd-
GERS now virtually barred from hope
of promotion
Under the plan. an officers above
the rank of lieutenant would be sub
ject TO promotion by selection upon
passage of the bill, the selections heing
made from each grade by officers of
the ranks above. The board reported
that after careful consideration it was
convinced the system Of promotion by
seniority must be abandoned.
We believe said the report that
The principal merit of the system we
recommend is that having accepted
the principle that the navy itself
should 90 the selecting. we have car
ried this out in a logical manner nv
requiring in each case that as many
officers OF the navy as possible take
part in this important work so that
no officers passed over can feel or al
lege that the prejudice OF one or two
superiors has blasted his prospects.
Attached to the report is an appen-
dix dealing with the need of the ma
rine corps brought about by increases
in the navy personnel This proposes
that the total number OF enlisted men
of the marine corps shall be increased
30 20 per cent. of the total authorized
strength OF the navy and that the total
number Of marine officers shall be
per cent of the authorized number OF
enlisted men.
The war reserve contemplated I'm
the bill would be established by trans
ferring to the list officers who attain
ne prescribed age in grade without
being selected for promotion. Such
officers would be assigned war sta
which they might be detailed not ex-
ceeding two months each year. They
would receive graded pay based upon
| their rank and years Of service at the
time of their transfer from the active
| list of the service.
The bin makes 800 new places above
the grade OF lieutenant and provides
that the number of lieutenants of the
| senior and junior grades and ensigns
| shall be governed only by the output
| of the Naval Academy. The increase
| from 400 to 720 in the number Of off
GERS senior TO lieutenant is spread
| equally over a period Of FIVE years and
! the flow OF promotion regulated TO
/ make it necessary to begin selection
4 prior to July I, 1921
To show the generally unsatisfacto-
ry results Of promotion by seniority
/ the board points out that
BY June of this year the navy viii
have about $50 junior lieutenants. OF
/ whom under the present system, only
about fifteen can be advanced to lieu
tenants, the remainder having no adj
vancement in prospect before reach
ing the retired list The average age
OF the captains TO he advanced to rear
admirals during the next year is about
sixty years
The condition, the board declares
sends the higher-graded officers to the
retired list before they can acquire tht
necessary training in handling th'
feet that would prepare them to dis
charge their war duties