Evening star., 1927-11-27
NAVY PROMOTIONS
BILL IS PLANNED
New Measure of Britten De-
signed TO Speed Up
Advancements.

Another effort to arrange the com
n1issioned personnel of the Navy, to
prevent stagnation in promotions and
provide for officers being inVolun-
tarilya separated from the service 10
make way for promotions Of the ef-
fiCient, is to be made in the coming
Congress. il is announced at the Navy
Department. Representative Fred y.
Pritten of Illinois. ranking Republican
member of the naval affairs commit
tee, will introduce and sponsor a
mea sure to replace ono which has
heen before the congress for several
Wears.
The provisions Of the bill have been
source Of thorough study lN the
Navy General Board. the Bureau of
Navigation and special board. It
was pointed out that the Navy lin"
officer list is composed of a number
Of Naval Academy classes. with a
saw non-NaVal Academy officers inter
spersed at irregular intervals. and
with three large groups of such Of
ticers between the classes, respect.
fully, of 1918. 1919. 1920 and 1921. il
was added that under the present law
promotions are made by seniority up
TO the rank Of lieutenant commander
and by selection thereafter.
Long periods of service in the lower
ranks will result under this system,
with consequent short n2tiods in the
higher ranks before reaching the re
tiring age Of Ga.
Report on Personnel.
To quote from the report Of the
line personnel board; 1T is con-
sidered fundamental in any personnel
scheme that officers enter each rank
at the time of life and Of service at
which they are by experience and
mental and physical visor best suited
TO undertake the duties appropriate
TO that rank. Within reasonable
limits, any such stated periods to
under the duties of the various grades
are empirical.
However, there is some such period
applicable in each rank. The Navy
being primarily. in time of peace,
training institution in constant prep
aration for war. it is further fact
that officers should not remain in a
grade unduly long after they have
become thoroughly proficient in the
duties of that grade. This principle
fits in with the first principle. III that
If the entry into any rank is de-
layed beyond the proper time of life
then the officers value in the rank
which he has held longer than neces-
sary begins from that moment to de-
crease, and further training in that
grade is uneComical. The consensus
of many well-informed opinions is that
even periods of seven years in the
various ranks are best suited for this
purpose.
1t is further pointed out that the
next fundamental personnel requisite
is that every officer, regardless OF age
or the number of cotemporarles on
entry into the service. should. at ap-
proximately the same stage in his
career, have the same opportunity tor
actual ard effective consideration, not
only as his contemporaries may have.
but also as any officer may have under
the normal functioning of the person
mel scheme.
The proposed bill is designed TO ac-
complish these general fundamentals.
1t provides for selection down to lieu
tenant. junior grade, and for the
transfer to the reserve of officers not
selected, with a provision for a small
annual pay. 1t is estimated that the
proposed new law will result in a
saving over the present law of S10,-
1905 annually.
Would Increase Cadets.
There is an indirect cost, how
ever, in the necessary early increase
lin 1929 of the Naval Academy to
five-appointment basis, in order to
supply the additional number of en-
signs needed annually under the pro-
posed law. On the other hand, under
the present law the loss by retirement
will be so great in the year 1910 and
subsequently that the Naval Academy,
which on a three-appointment basis
will probably fall slowly behind in
supplying enough ensigns to maintain
the Navy at strength, will have to
he increased to a disappointment
basis in 1898. Accordingly, the in
creased indirect cost of the proposed
law due to the enlargement of the
Naval Academy will be effective for
nine years only This cost has been
recently estimated at 1894 1853, which
will reduce the total net saving in
favor of the proposed law to 49,,
1863.
On the basis of annual appropria-
tions, the comparative direct cost of
the operation of the two systems,
for the II years covered by the de-
tailed analysis. shows a lesser cost
for the present system of some Sl3,-
subsequent years shows that this
balance will be absorbed in eight more
years. or % years from the passage
of the act. and there will thereafter
he a saving, by the proposed law, of
nearly two million dollars a year in
the annual appropriations necessary.
A further advantage of the proposed
law, developed from the analysis
cited, is the additional officer person
mel it provides both on the active list
and on the retired list and transfer
list, whose members are available for
emergency mobilization. Despite the
decreased cost Of the active list, the
proposed law will provide an esti-
mated average ION July of each YEAR,
of 5.476, s against 5.401 for the pres
entL Law. with average annual salaries.
including allowances, Of $4,20S.50 and
$i,3I8.30. respectively.