The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-05-24
TOO MANY OFFICERS
nv NAVY AND MARINES
Difficult Task of Reducing to Conform
with Size Desired by Congress
Is Being Met.

Washington, d. c., May 24.-Ways and
means for getting the navy and marine
corps strength down to peace time
basis has been the subject of several
conferences between Secretary Daniels
and his bureau chiefs during the last
few days. The problem is regarded as
one of the knottiest postwar puzzles
now confronting the department and
although great progress has been made in
demobilizing the navy proper since the
armistice was signed, thousands of Off
GERS and enlisted men still must be re.
leased before normal strength is reached.
Officers concerned believe, however, that
at the present rate of rehabilitation the
numerical strength of the havy will be
well below the 250000 mark set by the
secretary at the end Of the fiscal year,
July /.
On May |, there were 2S5,000 officers
and enlisted men in the service, 10
duetion since Nov. ii of 5000. The
figure set for the reduced strength Of the
navy in the Senate naval deficiency bill
Of the last Congress was 250,000, and in
the House bill the number was placed at
225000 Based on a total strength of
250000 men, naval officials are con-
fronted with the necessity for reducing
the officer personnel from more than 20,-
600 now on duty TO less than 10000 by
July /.
The question Of adjusting the rank of
officers of the regular navy on the basis
of the peace time strength is another
puzzle. To meet the rapid increase of
the naval establishment during the war
practically all the regular officers were
temporarily promoted one or more
grades. Getting the navy back to a peace
time basis means the majority of these
officers must be returned 10 their former
rank.
While a majority of the line officers
are said to favor a permanent peace
strength much in excess of the author
lied 1877 900 men, there is nothing to in
dicate Secretary Daniels viii ask Con-
gress TO increase this figure and at a re-
cent conference with his advisors the
secretary is reported to insist that the
program must be carried out as planned.
His promise to the reservists after he
returned from Europe that all reserve
force members who desire release will
be returned to civil life by August, is
taken to indicate he intends to abide bv
his decision.
Major General George Barnett. com.
mandant of the marine corps, said to-
day the marines will have little diff
Guilty in reducing to the normal strength
of 2s,300 officers and men by July i.
I'VE are only waiting for the ma.
rines to be sent back to us from the other
side" said General Barnett, "before con
tinuing to discharge men. We have re-
leased every man we can spare from the
forces in this country and as fast as the
10000 marines abroad are sent home, we
will get them out of the service"
Like the navy, problem confronting
the marine corps is what to do with near
ly a thousand excess officers who must
be disposed of within the next month.
Most of these officers rose from the non.
commissioned grades and will revert to
their old status to be selected for pro.
motion to officer rank In the future as
the needs of the service require. All
of them are graduates of the marine
schools and most of them saw service at
the front.
General Barnett said the plan adopted
early in the war by the corps of draw
ing officers from the ranks rather than
from civilian life has more than iusti-
fled itself and that it probably will not
be necessary to seek officers from the
outside for many years.