210 



CONGRESS. (NAVY PERSONNEL.) 



lieutenants (junior grade) and ensigns: Provided, 

 That each rear admiral embraced in the 9 lower 

 numbers of that grade shall receive the same pay 

 and allowance as are now allowed a brigadier 

 general in the army. Officers, after performing 

 three years' service in the grade of ensign, shall, 

 after passing the examinations now required by 

 law be eligible to promotion to the grade of lieu- 

 tenant (junior grade): Provided, That when the 

 office of chief of bureau is filled by an officer below 

 the rank of rear admiral, said officer shall, while 

 holding said office, have the rank of rear admiral 

 and receive the same pay and allowance as are 

 now allowed a brigadier general in the army: 

 4 /id provided further, That nothing contained in 

 this section shall be construed to prevent the re- 

 tirement of officers who now have the rank or 

 relative rank of commodore with the rank and 

 pay of that grade: And proridcd further, That 

 all sections of the Revised Statutes which, in de- 

 fining the rank of officers or positions in the navy, 

 contain the words ' the relative rank of ' are 

 hereby amended so as to read ' the rank of,' but 

 officers whose rank is so denned shall not be en- 

 titled, in virtue of their rank, to command in the 

 line or in other staff corps. Neither shall this 

 act be construed as changing the titles of officers 

 in the staff' corps of the navy. No appointments 

 shall be made of civil engineers in the navy on 

 the active list under section 1413 of the Revised 

 Statutes in excess of the present number 21. 



" SEC. 8. That officers of the line in the grades 

 of captain, commander, and lieutenant command- 

 er may, by official application to the Secretary 

 of the Navy, have their names placed on a list 

 which shall be known as the list of ' applicants 

 for voluntary retirement,' and when at the end 

 of any fiscal year the average vacancies for the 

 fiscal years subsequent to the passage of this act 

 above the grade of commander have been less 

 than 13, above the grade of lieutenant commander 

 less than 20, above the grade of lieutenant less 

 than 29, and above the grade of lieutenant (junior 

 grade) less than 40, the President may, in the 

 order of the rank of the applicants, place a suf- 

 ficient number on the retired list with the rank 

 and three fourths the sea pay of the next higher 

 grade, as now existing, including the grade of 

 commodore, to cause the aforesaid vacancies for 

 the fiscal year then being considered. 



" SEC. 9. That should it be found at the end of 

 any fiscal year that the retirements pursuant to 

 the provisions of law now in force, the voluntary 

 retirements provided for in this act, and casual- 

 ties are not sufficient to cause the average vacan- 

 cies enumerated in section 8 of this act, the Secre- 

 tary of the Navy shall, on or about the first day 

 of June, convene a board of 5 rear admirals, and 

 shall place at its disposal the service and medical 

 records on file in the Navy Department of all 

 the officers in the grades of captain, commander, 

 lieutenant commander, and lieutenant. The board 

 shall then select, as soon as practicable after the 

 first day of July, a sufficient number of officers 

 from the before-mentioned grades, as constituted 

 on the thirtieth day of June of that year, to cause 

 the average vacancies enumerated in section 8 

 of this act. Each member of said board shall 

 swear, or affirm, that he will, without prejudice 

 or partiality, and having in view solely the spe- 

 cial fitness of officers and the efficiency of the 

 naval service, perform the duties imposed upon 

 him by this act. Its finding, which shall be in 

 writing, signed by all the members, not less than 

 four governing, shall be transmitted to the Presi- 

 dent, who shall thereupon, by order, make the 

 transfers of such officers to the retired list as are 



selected by the board: Provided, That not more 

 than 5 captains, 4 commanders, 4 lieutenant com- 

 manders, and 2 lieutenants are so retired in any 

 one year. The promotions to fill the vacancies 

 thus created shall date from the thirtieth day of 

 June of the current year : And provided further, 

 That any officer retired under the provisions of 

 this section shall be retired w r ith the rank and 

 three fourths the sea pay of the next higher grade,, 

 including the grade of commodore, which is re- 

 tained on the retired list for this purpose. 



" SEC. 10. That of the naval constructors 5 shall 

 have the rank of captain, 5 of commander, and 

 all others that of lieutenant commander or lieu- 

 tenant. Assistant naval constructors shall have 

 the rank of lieutenant or lieutenant (junior 

 grade). Assistant naval constructors shall be 

 promoted to the grade of naval constructor after 

 not less than eight or more than fourteen years' 

 service as assistant naval constructor: Provided,, 

 That the whole number of naval constructors and 

 assistant naval constructors on the active list 

 shall not exceed 40 in all. 



" SEC. 11. That any officer of the navy, with a 

 creditable record, who served during the civil 

 war, shall, when retired, be retired with the rank 

 and three fourths the sea pay of the next higher 

 grade. 



" SEC. 12. That boatswains, gunners, carpen- 

 ters, and sailmakers shall after ten years from 

 date of warrant be commissioned chief boat- 

 swains, chief gunners, chief carpenters, and chief 

 sailmakers, to rank with but after ensign: Pro- 

 vided, That the chief boatswains, chief gunners, 

 chief carpenters, and chief sailmakers shall on 

 promotion have the same pay and allowances as 

 are now allowed a second lieutenant in the Ma- 

 rine Corps : Provided, That the pay of boatswains, 

 gunners, carpenters, and sailmakers shall be the 

 same as that now allowed by law: Provided fur- 

 ther, That nothing in this act shall give addi- 

 tional rights to quarters on board ship or to com- 

 mand, and that immediately after the passage of 

 this act boatswains, gunners, carpenters, and sail- 

 makers, who have served in the navy as such for 

 fifteen years, shall be commissioned in accordance 

 with the provisions of this section, and thereafter 

 no warrant officer shall be promoted until he shall 

 have passed an examination before a board of 

 chief boatswains, chief gunners, chief carpenters, 

 and chief sailmakers, in accordance with regula- 

 tions prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy. 



"SEC. 13. That, after June 30, 1899, commis- 

 sioned officers of the line of the navy and of the 

 Medical and Pay Corps shall receive the same pay 

 and allowances, except forage, as are or may be 

 provided by or in pursuance of law for the officer* 

 of corresponding rank in the army: Provided, 

 That such officers when on shore shall receive 

 the allowances, but 15 per cent, less pay than 

 when on sea duty; but this provision shall not 

 apply to warrant officers commissioned under sec- 

 tion 12 of this act: Provided further, That when 

 naval officers are detailed for shore duty beyond 

 seas they shall receive the same pay a*nd allow- 

 ances as are or may be provided by or in pur- 

 suance of law for officers of the army detailed 

 for duty in similar places: Provided further, That 

 naval chaplains, who do not possess relative 

 rank, shall have the rank of lieutenant in the 

 navy; and that all officers, including warrant offi- 

 cers, who have been or may be appointed to the 

 navy from civil life shall, on the date of appoint- 

 ment, be credited, for computing their pay, with 

 five years' service. And all provisions of law 

 authorizing the distribution among captors of 

 the whole or any portion of the proceeds of ves- 



