New Britain herald., 1916-03-23
NUTMEG SENATOR'S
 WITH LOSING SIDE
Mclean and Brandegee Favored Amendments to the ArnOr Bill
Special to the Herald ]

! voted for the Week substitute for the | Tillman bill providing for a govern- l ment armor plate plant to cost $11,- | 100000. The amendment, which was l defeated, provided that the govern- ' ment should divide it's contracts for
 armor plate during the next years l among the three private armor man. 1 utacturers and pay them the cost of l production plus 6 per cent.
 The Connecticut senators later voted against the Tillman bill.
 Promotion of Officers.
 Representative Tilson's amendment to the Hay army reorganization bill, to provide a new system of promotion for army officers was rejected by the house of representatives after some discussion. MT. Wilson made a
 speech in favor of the proposition. which had many Interruptions and
 was in part as follows:
 I will say, MT. Chairman very
 briefly, that this amendment simply
 provides that man shall serve four
 years as second lieutenant before he
 can be promoted to first lieuter ant;
 that he must serve 12 years altp- gether before he can be a. captain;
 that he must serve 21 years before he can be a major; that he must serve
 26 years before he can be a lieutenant colonel and 30 years before he can be a colonel. This would cure all the OK lsting defects, so far as promotion is concerned. Hereafter there would need be no occasion for fights be- tween different arms of service. and I am quite sure the combined arms would be in better situation to fight the enemy.
 We have had this situation pre- sented to the Committee on Military Affairs: We have had one arm of the service come to us, presenting their case and showing how necessary lt was that their arm should be in creased, incidentally giving them considerable promotion when the in crease was granted. The next con- gress would see another arm of the service come in presenting their case ana using the better situation of the Increased arm as an instance of in justice to them unless correspond ing increase should also be given them, thereby securing an increase of their own arm and incidental pro- motion. Army officers are human, like the rest of us, with all the weak nesses and frailities of human nature.
 
 ing an exalted opinion of the import 1 lnce of his own arm, especially ii 1 hat opinion will aid in giving him | promotion.
 MT. Heating. May ask. the gen leman whether the committee on l Affairs ever received a depu- ation from the enlisted men ciamor- ng for additional pay and greater | privileges?
 MT. Tilson. I do not llno '; but 1 lnow that the committee would be 1 glad to receive them in case they presented themselves.
 MT Heating. The only applica- tions for promotion and increased pay that were made to the com- mittee came from the officers, did they not? Mr< Tilson. I may say that the pressure has not come from officers for promotion. but for an increase in their particular arm of the service. The fact is, however, that increases make vacancies, and of course, va cancies make promotions. By tho plan I have proposed here they will not be looking for dead mems shoes or vacancies at all. An officer will be required to serve a fixed number of years faithfully and then pass the required examination before he can be promoted. By the terms of either the house bill or the sen- ate bill, unless some such provision as this is made. there will be men not yet in the service who within two years time will be promoted. In the field artillery arm of the service men will be prom oted to high rank after very short service, whereas in the infantry, and especially so in the cavalry, men of long service will still be serving in the lower grade.
 MT. Taggart. Has the gentleman reference to the peace conditions at this time, or would he deny the off, cer of the army who performed par ticular service in time of war or time of military activity in the army, such as we now have in Mexico, promotion for brilliant service rendered?
 Mr. Taggart. You can make no distinction. then. between con- spicuous service, rendered perhaps under fire, which we may have any day in Mexico. and the ordinary hum drum of routine service.
 Mr Tilson. If I could have my way. I would make a great deal of distinction: but we do not under our present law and we do not in this bill
 MT. Taggart. There would be no l exception, then, under your amend | ment?
 Mir. Tilson. This amendment l would not change that feature of l the law at all. It would still be by ! length of service, whereas now 1t is l simply by seniority and a vacancy. 1 It would promote a few extra otfi- 1 cers. especially in the infantry and l cavalry who have not received very much promotion recently. It would ] promote few extra officers. who of | course, could be put on the extra l 1;c+ of oHicers and he assigned to l