The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-28
NAVY HOLDS
 SOME OFFICERS

Washington, March 23. - Approzi- nateIy one-third of the temporary regular officers who entered the navy from civil life are being held in the service, most of them on receiving ships, despite the fact that they are anxious to leave and have rendered resisnadons.
 The contention has been made that most of these "tennDoraries" who are not to be confused with Naval Reserve officers, are being denied re- lease because they are necessary to sustain temporary appointments to grades higher than their permanent rank held by regular officers. Regu- lar officers, so long as they serve in higher grades, get correspo dingly higher pay, and If they can retain these places long enough legislation may be enacted by Congress making provision for more officers and they will escape returning to their regular rank and lower pay.
 When the matter was brought to- day to the attention of Franklin D. Roosevelt, acting Secretary of the Navy, he consulted a prominent off, cer of the Bureau of Navigation, who stated that it was true that the re- tontion of ''temporaries' from civil life was having the "effect' of re- taining permanent officers in higher grades, but that this was not the purpose" of the decision to hold the civilian "temporaries'' in the service for the present.
 The civilian temporary officers were being held, it was explained, as a reservoir from which to obtain of ffcers for use in the demobilizng of the reserves and for such other duty as might be found for them. This decision, 1t was asserted, was reached after the Bureau of Navigation awoke to the fact that the navy would lose it's reserve officers when President Wilson issued his peace proclamation.
 There are about 23,0oO officers known as reserve officers. it was stat ed. who under the terms of the law which authorized their appointment could not be used after the official armour cement of peace. When it was realized that the navy might lose the services of these reserve officers 1t was decided to hold as many as pos sib1e of the temporary civil officers.
 When the fleet started south for it's Spring rnanoeuvres In Cuban waters several months ago the Bureau of Navigation began stripping the fleet of reserve and temporary officers, and were assembled on receiving ships at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and other points. It has been contended that there are now 800 temporary naval officers at the receiving ship in the Third Naval District and large numbers in other districts who are performing no necessary duties and who have been denied release from the service. A large number of these are anxious to return to civil life.
 The Bureau of Navigation official said there were only a few more than 500 of these temporary officers. takon from civil life, involved in the eases in which the bureau had refused SC far to grant releases and 1t was as- serted that the number on the re cetying ships in the Third District was not as large as 500. The mum sber on all receiving ships and else where in this status was just a frac- ton over 500. The number of item porary'' officers appointed from civil life tota1led about 1852. All but 500 of these had submitted resignations About 4s0 resignations had been ac- cepted, leaving approximately 54C unacceEated, Resfgnatfons were ac- oopted in most urgent cases only, on account of family distress or other well certified exgsncies. This policy would be continued. it was declared for a few months 10 come.
 The exact number of officers in the naval service was not obtainable to- day, but it was learned that on Nov 9, 1918. two days before the armis- tice was signed, it totta1ed 32,474 of fieers and 4S7, ,O30 men. In the regular navy there were 5,6b6 officers desig- mated as "permaDsnt'i and 4,s33 of .ficers designated as temporary" The number of permanent regular of bficers is now about 5,Too on the basis of war Strength. On a peace basis under Existing laws it would be about z $500, without counting "temporaries.