Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-02-23
Local Naval Reserve
Officers Study New Bills
Doubt Expressed AS to Whether Measures
Will Accomplish the Results
Intended.
Intended

posed Of transferred or assigned ex.
enlisted men of the Navy and OF a
civilian component Of organized on
GERS and enlisted men in various naval
districts. There is confusion in the
minds OF regular Navy personnel, as
well as members of Congress, in dis
tlnguishing the two components of
the Fleet Reserve.
"The importance of the merchant
and volunteer classes of the Naval Re-
serve has grown well beyond the ideas
conceived by the trainers of the Naval
Reserve act of 1925.
The volunteer communication re.
serve was established as an authorized
organization of the volunteer reserve
in September, 1927, and has since
trained and drilled as an organiza-
ton on large scale.
mo practical developments have
resulted in the merchant marine
Naval Reserve. Correspondence courses
are available to merchant marine
Naval Reserve officers enrolled, but no
drills or training have ever been pre-
scribed by these officers. No enlisted
men are enrolled in the merchant
marine Naval Reserve, nor is any in
structlon or training provided for
them
When the Naval Reserve act of
1925 went into effect there were en-
rolled in the three classes provided
In the Naval Reserve, total of 1913
officers and 24,455 men. On January
l, 1885, 10 years later, there were
enrolled total of 1864 officers and
1926 enlisted men. The number
OF officers and men enrolled have not
increased in the degree contemplated
when the Naval Reserve act of 1925
was passed.
Although there has been an In
crease OF over 5000 officers and $500
enlisted men in the Naval Reserve in
the last 10 years, the appropriations
for the last three years have been
only about 10 per cent of the average
for the 10 years the law has been
in effect.
AN analysis of the yearly estimates
submitted by the Navy Department, in
accordance with the prescribed poll
cles OF the Bureau of the Budget, re-
Veals that in three cases in IL years
Congress made reductions in the
budget submitted, in two cases no
changes were made in the budget. aid
IN six cases Congress actually in
creased the appropriations over and
above that in the budget submitted.
The analysis of the yearly esti-
mates show that the total expenses for
aviation in the Naval Reserve appro-
priation has steadily mounted from
an appropriation of s546.1o7 in 1926
to S5,660.287 for the 1886 Naval Re-
serve appropriation. This has caused
steady reduction in the amount
available for training of seagoing Re-
serves. Furthermore, it has been
necessary to carry the civilian COM
ponent of the Fleet Reserve at about
IS per cent quota in order to provide
pay for the drills and training pre-
scribed by law 1t has been further
necessary to decrease training facili-
ties for the Naval Reserve generally.
THE number of Reservists required
to fulfill the personnel requirements of
the whole naval establishment during
the first 100 days of war is estimated
to be about 10000 officers and 10000
men of the Naval Reserve, and 1891
officers and 44,400 men of the Marine
Corps Reserve.
THE chairman of the House Sub
committee on Naval Appropriations
stated that there has been an insist
ent, widespread urge, bordering on
propaganda, to expand reserve appro-
priations and that however desirable
that may be the subcommittee slas
been advised by the chief OF naval
operations that there are us for any
money, additional to the budget, that
the Congress might be willing to
provide"
The cold weather of the current
Winter has developed more strongly
than ever the great need here of the
construction of a new building to house
the activities of the local Fleet Reserve
battalion. The organization now is
housed in an old store building in the
Washington Navy Yard. and only
frame lean-to for a drill hall.
During the thaws water has leaked
into the building and onto the drill
hall floor, and the temperature Of the
building is so low that it has frozen,
making veritable skating ponds. The
drill hall is only heated during drill
nights. and then only with small gas
heaters, and these have proven made
quate on extremely cold nights. The
main part of the building is heated
from all individual coal stoves, such
as might be found in small home.
Although there is plenty of steam
from the main plant, the lines are
not close enough to the present armory
to extend line without high cost,
and no effort has been made to provide
such heat for the Reserve building.
Despite these handicaps, it was said,
the morale of the organization has
been very high, and the attendance
during the Winter months has been in
creasing. This, it was pointed out, re-
fleets great credit on the officers and
men.
All Naval Reserve officers and Ma
rine Corps officers in Washington and
vicinity have been invited to attend
the first meeting Of the year Of the
local chapter Of the United States
Naval Reserve Officers Association,
whether members or not, according to
an announcement from the Washing
ton secretary, Lieut.. John Cleland.
The meeting will be held in the war
room Of the Naval Reserve armory
in the Washington Navy Yard, Febru-
airy 81 at 8 pm. Lieut.. James e.
Sullivan, president of the chapter and
commander of the local battalion, will
preside.
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