Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-13
BY DONALD A. CRAIG.

While making 1t clear that they do
not intend to attack the general pro-
priety and soundness" of the interde-
partanental pay boards recommends
tions for substantial increases in the
pay of The Army, Navy, Marine Corps
and allied Government services, never
theless. many Army officers of the lower
grades are not satisfied with the prin-
ciples upon which the board has worked
out the proposed new pay schedule.
This group expects to have an oppor-
tlInity to present its side of the case to
the Joint congressional pay committee
when that body meets in the near fu-
ture to undertake the serious task OF
revising the joint pay act OF 1922.
These Army officers call attention to
the fact that the 1922 pay law, now in
effect, is based largely on length OF
service, irrespective of grade, while the
nav board has made grade the con-
trolling factor in pay determination"
Promotion Disparity Causes Unrest.
with grade adopted as pay measur-
ing stick" said one Of these officers to
The Stars representative, lit Is clear
that. if there are irregularities or delays
in promotion, then the hardship OF
those promotion delays will be empha-
sized likewise in pay. Consistency is a
poor satisfaction to the man who finds
himself Disseminated against both In
promotion and pay.
There is already seething under
current of unrest because OF the promo
ton disparity, and Congress mas peen
addressing itself to this problem for
several wears, Can 1t be considered
feasible to add pay discrimination TO the
shoulders of those already bowed under
these serious promotion burdens?
"Yet that is just what the proposed
nav schedule does and to the Junior ot1i-
cers-the captains and ieutenantS-
who, the joint congressional commit
tee has indicated, are most clearly IN
need of remedial rather than punitive
legislation" -.
view of this group told the writer that
there is no disposition on the part OF
these officers ito detract from the value
Of the study made by the tnterdepart-
mental nav board, since there is no one
in the service who has not felt the plncn
of poverty in recent years ana VINO mas
not witnessed the decentralization tnat
has followed in the wake OF lnaoequaVe
pay"
ForeseeS Further Loss Of Morale.
Nevertheless" he continued, ut is
the opinion of a large group OF oncers
In the Army that enactment OF the pro
11osad nav Schedules on the principles
as nronosed bv the board will cause still
further loss of morale among those VINO
will find themselves again the VlcGiIns
of a gross discrimination.
For one outside the services ana un-
familiar with the personnel SITUATION as
II EXISTS in the Army today, the suplecC
Il very 6ificult to grasp in its details.
# is technical in the extreme, since ~
involves forecasts as to promotion rates
in the future, which in turn are passo
nv, what can be at the best only an eSLI-
mated attrition, or elimination OF ON
GERS from the service, and because II =
further complicated by the unusuaA
composition of about half OF the COM ),
Ynissioned promotion hst OF Cne al :, ~: :,
Gwen to the layman, however, Salo
the oficer who explained this phase OF
the nav question, sit must be apparent
that in an armed force where promo
tion is by seniority, and seniority oe-
nends entirely on length OF service,
those of about the same length OF SeIV-
ice normally should be in about the
same grade and receive ABOUT Jne sam sam
nav. OF course, there will be varlatlo on
ia both grade and pay because Q! Inc
fact that promotions are not maui y, Wy ,
Iornnally constituted army the diner
ences in progress between the head ana
the the foot of any one group Of practi-
caily similar service will not De pro-
however, in the Army, because OF
the World War, over half OF the pro pro
motion list officers have less IMAM Iwo
wears difference in length OF service
with with the top Of the group recently pro
noted to the grade Of major, the mido ul
inst receiving captaincies and the pal-
opna still first lieutenAntS
"Such a situation will continue Tor
years in the Army, since IL years from tSIn
now. when those at the head OF the
aroup are becoming lieutenant colonies,
the lower half will still be captains,
and. in fact, the lower part will stu
be captains 20 years from now, when
the TOP few hundred will have become
full colonies.
"In other words, according to the
way service is computed nthe Army,
that two years difference in service will
put three full grades between the top
and the bottom of this World War
group, and even the middle of the
group. with only about eight months