Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-11

urally be no greater justification for
increasing the compensation of COM
missioned officers than for making SINH
lar increases in the compensation Of
the other groups"
The Navy Department has also sub
mitted official comment on the Eff
cheney Bureaus report. 1t says there
appear to be certain misconceptions
with regard to conditions in the serv-
ices themselves and certain factors in
fluencing the comparison between per-
sonnet of the services and those in civil
employ to which attention of that bu-
reau should be invited in order that
in the preparation of its final report"
The Nays reply then goes into some
detail to show that the principles fol-
lowed by the bureau in making its COM
parsons and the actual comparative
figures are subject to question.
Repetition Of Objections.
Many objections raised by the Navy
Department to the bureaus report are
the same as those raised by the War
Department and some new suggestions
are made of the same general character.
1.-THE advantages cited for the edu-
cation at service academies do not seem
applicable to the comparison of pay re-
ceived in the actual professions, mill
tary and civil" says the Navy in its
comment while of possible advan-
tage to the youth in avoiding expenses
at college, they are necessarily not
capable of conversion or evaluation after
the commencement of their career. In
fact, these academies are maintained
solely for the benefit of the Govern
ment, i'll order that the entrants into
the military services may be suitably
prepared for military career"
To account for the higher compenSa-
ton cited by the bureau for service ofti-
GERS, the Navy Department suggests
that the bureau has included tncor-
rectly the extra pay for aviation and
submarine duty, and also medical of1l-
GERS, chaplainS and other officers from
the actual date of their entrance" when
these Officers "enter with an advanced
grade under the law and at a normally
later age, and to place them upon a
proper basis with other officials 1t
should be noted that their rank and pay
is from three to five years ahead Of
others upon their entrance"
The Navy believes these additional
amounts, especially the extra pay for
aviation and submarine duty granted
by Congress only during such duty,
should be either discounted in the COM
putation of the normal pay or some APP
propriate notation made as to their
effect upon such comparison"
Also the Navy calls attention to the
fact that in computing 1857 per cent of
an officers pay and allowances for re-
tirement. benefits-a figure it regards
as hiRh-the bureau should remember
that the benefits allowed do not possess
any loan value, surrender value on sepa-
ration from the service by death or
other cause than ultimate retirement,
nor do they constitute a sum which may
be transmitted on death to the family
or dependents" The normal service
pension, with a maximum Of $50 a
month for a widow, has small effect,
it Is held, on this phase of the question.
Debate" Goes On.
The bureau again replies to the Navy
Department, and so the debate" goes
on. The bureau declares it cannot
agree that the civilian group" with
which 1t made comparisons were ito a
larger extent than the military services
composed of persons unsuccessful in
their careers" and makes suggestions
similar to those in its reply to the
Army.
The criticism that "the bureau did
not take into account retirement and
other similar benefits for the three
civilian groups named" is admitted to
be partially justified" but the bureau
says that only negligible proportion"
OF civilian employees get such benefits.
The bureau denies that its figures
use in comparisons with civilian COM
pensation included special allowances
for hazardous CAPITALIZATION and sub
marine service. 1t does not consider
that the fact that retirement benefits
take the form of an annuity, terminal
ing at the officers death. without sur
render or loan value, has any applica-
ton to the value of these benefits as
made by the bureau" and insists that
if the law provided for continuation of
the annuity after the officers death to
his family or dependents its value would
be substantially greater than the 1857
per cent of pay arrived at as the worth
Of the annuity under existing law"
These examples of the comment and
counter comment Of the Efficiency Bu-
reau and the two services serve to indi-
cate the nature of the debate" that
has been going on. All Of these docu-
ments and others which the special
joint congressional committee has asked
for will be available to Congress when
1t decides the pay question.
When the complete or final report OF
the Bureau of Efficiency will be avail
able. and whether the Army and Navy
departments will be given opportunities
to answer it, are only conjectural mat
tiers at this time, but presumably PreSi-
dent Hoover will not stop the debate"
since he was responsible for starting 1t.