Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-16
|SEEkS EARLY PASSAGE
| Of OFFICERS RAISE BILL
Representative Olney Declares
Army and Navy Are Demon
allied by Low Pay.

| Strong plea for early passage by
! Congress of the increase in pay for
officers of the Army, Navy. Marine
Corps and other service corps was
\ made in the House yesterday by Rep
resentatiye Richard Olney. democrat.
of Massachusetts. who is a member OF
| the military affairs committee. He
said he expects the conference COM
mittee will soon report a compromise
agreement, although the Wadsworth
pay bill. providing for a $50 100000 in
| crease, is considered.
! Representative Olney insisted that
| while the Congress is delaying action
the Army and Navy are becoming de-
moralized on account of inadequate
pay. and that the officers cannot sup
port their families on the present rate
of pay.
Presents Interesting Data.
Some interesting data, new to most
| of the members of Congress. related
| to this proposed increase pay from Of
| ficers. were given TO the House by Rep
! Preventative Olney. as follows:
The impression probably prevails
in this House that nearly all of our
Regular Army officers are West Point
men. That is not true. for since the
| West Point Military Academy was es-
tablished. 118 years ago. there have
been less than 5000 graduates, and it
| is safe to say that there are less than
today in the Regular Army.
Now. since the armistice was de-
clared there have been EASE resigna-
| tons of officers from the Regular
Army. and there were 100 in the month
of March. due primarily and emphati-
cally to the fact that these officers
! cannot maintain their families on the
small pay received from the govern
ment
Demotions Offset Promotions.
! Preference has been made in this
House to the fact that these officers do
not need an increase of pay since they
received promotion from. say. cap
| taincy to majority. or even to a briga-
der Reneralship. in time of war But it
| Ii a fact. according to statistics obtain
ed from the War Department. that
! while there were in promotions 2 per
cent during the war of all officers in the
| Regular Army. since the armistice was
signed they have all been denoted ex
cept 25 per cent, and these men will
gradually be denoted at the end OF the
fiscal year-June 80, this year.
| "As to enlisted men and non-com
missioned officers there have been H.
0S3 assertions from the Regular Army
from March ]. 1919. to April 5. 1920.
refer here to the necessity of increasing
the pay, too. of the enlisted men, and l
charge that these desertions are result
ant from the fact that the enlisted man
Is not getting the pay he deserves.
There has never been time since
the west Point Academy was establish
| ed when there were so many vacancies
at this academy as there are now. Then
the statement was made by the major
ity leader on the floor q few weeks ago
that this increase in pay OF officers
pristion of 500. 900, 900. He did have the
| Sxrrce a few days later to revise the fig
nres to SIS 900. 900; but, as a matter of
fact. the Wadsworth bill provides for an
increase in appropriation of $4,000. 900;
.r6 that includes increased pay for all
TIE oficers Of the Army. Navy, Marine
csrps. Coast Guard, coast and geodetic
survey and the public health service"