Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-09

Prospects are looming on the horizer
of another fight in Congress for thu
adjustment not only of the pay OF nava
officers but to get the Navy divorced
| from the general service pay act which
was passed in 1922, and which was in
tended to equalize the pay of all thf
services. 1t provided a general base
! pay scale for the Navy, Army, Marine
! Corps, Coast Guard, Public Health Serv.
ice and Coast and Geodetic Survey.
In an effort to adjust the troubles
which are causing no little dissensior
in the naval service because of the al
legations of inequity, the Navy Depart
ment some time ago appointed board
of officers consisting of Rear Admiral
Luke McNamee, Brig. Gen. George
Richards. NJ. c.; Capt. j. v. Ogan. U. S
NJ: Capt. j. r. Hornberger, U. s. N,
and Lieut. Comdr. S. P. Fullinwider
u. S. NJ, to attempt to iron out the dill
ferences and to determine what steps
should be taken to correct the alleged
evils.
While the commissioned officers, and
particularly those of the line who are
graduates of the United States Naval
Academy are seeking increases, never
theless the greatest bone Of contention
seems to be the pay allowed to former
enlisted men who have reached the
commissioned grade and are now lieu
tenants Whatever the board deter
mines on the matter, there appears to
be little doubt that the fight will be
shifted to Congress If a proposed change
in the pay law is recommended which
will take away from these former en-
listed men any of the emoluments that
they now are receiving, for the most
part not for rank but for years OF
service.
Are Well Organized.
These eX-warrants, as they are called
appear to be we'll organized and have
their representatives to watch out for
their interests in any matters before
Congress. On the other hand, the An
napolis graduates usually stand by and
take no concerted action, Tor they insist
on complying strictly with the naval
regulations which say that there shall
be no combinations in the Navy" The
Annapolis graduates do not understand
they say, why the warrants can con-
sistently get away with this action; but
the fact is that they do it, and they
usually get what they want
Generally speaking, the Annapolis
graduates want a special pay law for the
Navy which will provide pay common
surate with the rank and responsibility
assumed. There are innumerable in
stances where these ex-warrants, who
usually fill minor billets on a ship, re-
ceive considerably more pay than the
captain of the vessel who bears all the
responsibility, or in some cases the ad-
miral commanding feet, who is re-
sponsible for its safety to the Amefi-
can people. Under the 1922 pay law
an officer does not receive an increase
in pay when he is promoted, but gets 1t
only after he has served certain num-
Der of years of service. For instance,
an officer may be promoted to lieuten--
ant commander and 1t may be several
years before he gets an increase in pay,
yet his responsibility usually increases
from the day he is promoted, for he may
be sent to command a vessel worth sew
eral millions of dollars.
There are in the Navy $50 officers Of
the grade of lieutenant who came into
the commissioned ranks during the war.
About 500 of them were temporary OFF,
GERS who came into the Navy for the
first time during the world conflict and
remained, and the others are the ex-
warrants. Special legislation was passed
which retained them in the service as
lieutenants without the necessity OF
taking substantiating examination to
show their qualifications for retention
of rank
The Britten bill, which was reported
favorably out of the House committee
on naval affairs, provides that any
of the lieutenants, upon reaching the
promotion stage, who fail to pass
their professional examination for lieu
tenant commander are to be placed on
the retired list with a retirement pay
of 2h per cent of their base pay for
each year of service counted for pay
PURPOSES. provided they are As years of
age or older or have had 20 years of
commissioned service to their credit.
The Annapolis graduates contend that
this is another bit of favoritism for the
mustangs as they are known in the
service, for they will get more retired
pay upon failure to pass the coming
examinations than the Annapolis grad
yates would receive after ten and q
half years In the commissioned rank
of lieutenant commander.
The fight will be a two-handed one
and will be aggravated by another
skirmish, with the bachelor officers on
the one hand and the married officers
on the other. The bachelor graduates
appear to be the lowest paid in the
service and they are objecting.
Married Men Lucky.
While the ex-Warrants beat them out
on pay by length of service, the mar
ried officers get allowances while at sea
for dependents. AS yet the bachelor
officers haven't found anything to do
about this, except to get married.
But even this isn't the only side line
which the board will have to consider
and which later will reach Congress,
where there is little doubt That there
will be strong opposition to the legis-
lative representatives of the ex-war-
rants. who are going to see at least
that none of their emoluments Is taken
away from them There will be the