calculation extending over a period of years shows that the saving between the active and retired pay of the officers who will be invol untarily retired will be greater than the cost of the active pay for the replacement of officers appointed in the lowest grades of the several corps. This saving will amount to approximately $20,000 a year. In view of the foregoing, the Navy Department recommends that the proposed legislation as changed be enacted.

Sincerely yours,

CURTIS D. WILBUR,
Secretary of the Navy.

[H. R. 11331, Seventieth Congress, first session]

A BILL To provide for the elimination from the active list of the Navy of certain officers of the staff corps who have not been selected for promotion

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That officers of the staff corps of the Navy of the rank of commander or lieutenant commander who, under the operation of the act approved June 10, 1926 (Forty-fourth Statutes at Large, page 717 et seq.; U. S. Code Appendix, title 34; section 348 et seq.), have heretofore been or shall hereafter be a second time passed over, as defined in that act, as hereby amended, for advancement to the same higher rank, shall be ineligible for advancement: Provided, That if a selection board does not recommend for advancement to the rank of commander or captain, respectively, the full number of officers furnished it by the Secretary of the Navy, all officers who have been considered by that board for such advancement and who have not been recommended therefor shall, for the purposes of this act, be considered as having been passed over.

SEC. 2. Officers of the staff corps of the Navy who are or become ineligible for advancement by reason of having been passed over as herein provided, or by reason of failure on professional examination for advancement after selection therefor, shall be retired upon the completion of twenty-one years of commissioned service in the Navy if of the rank of lieutenant commander and twenty-eight years if of the rank of commander: Provided, That officers who were first commissioned in the Navy in a rank above that of ensign shall be so retired upon the completion of eighteen years of commissioned service in the Navy if of the rank of lieutenant commander, and twenty-five years if of the rank of commander: Provided further, That the commissioned service of Naval Academy graduates, for the purpose of this act, shall be computed from June 30 of the calendar year in which the class with which they graduated completed its academic course, or, if its academic course was more or less than four years, from June 30 of the calendar year in which it would have completed an academic course of four years: Provided further, That officers ineligible for advancement for the above reasons who have on the date of this act completed more than the periods of commissioned service stated above or who complete such periods within six months shall be transferred to the retired list not earlier than six months nor later than twelve months after the date of this act.

SEC. 3. Officers transferred to the retired list in accordance with the preceding sections shall be retired with pay at the rate of 22 per centum of the pay they were receiving on the active list at the time of their transfer multiplied by the number of years of service that it counted in computing their longevity pay at time of retirement: Provided, That in computing the retired pay of an officer retired under this act, lieutenant commanders and commanders who are retired after less than twenty-one or twenty-eight years, respectively, of commissioned service shall be credited with not less than twenty-one or twenty-eight years of such service, respectively: Provided further, That the pay of an officer on the retired list, transferred thereto in pursuance to this act, shall not exceed 75 per centum of the pay such officer was receiving on the active list at the time of his transfer.

TO PROVIDE FOR ADVANCEMENT IN RANK OF CERTAIN OFFICERS ON THE RETIRED LIST OF THE NAVY (H. R. 14806 AND 15206)

OR/P17-2(280503) L.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 29, 1928.

The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Replying further to your letters of December 6 and 13, transmitting the bills (H. R. 14806 and H. R. 15206) to provide for advancement in rank of certain officers on the retired list of the Navy, and requesting the views and recommendations of the Navy Department thereon, I have the honor to advise you as follows:

The purpose of these two bills is to advance to the next higher grade on the retired list, 8 captains, 8 commanders, and 13 lieutenant commanders, who, after selection for the next higher temporary grades, served therein during the World War, but who were not selected for permanent advancement and consequently upon retirement were retired in the respective grades of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander.

These officers were selected for the temporary grades of rear admiral, captain, and commander, as among those best fitted for the performance of the duties of such temporary grades, upon the basis of their records up to and including their service in the next lower grades. The Navy Department does not challenge the action of the selection boards which nominated these officers. Subsequent boards did not select them as among those best fitted to perform permanently the duties of the higher grade. These boards considered the same evidence as those which nominated them for temporary advancement and in addition considered the records of the officers in their temporary grades. The Navy Department does not believe that the judgment of these boards which did not select these officers for permanent advancement should be challenged any more than those of those boards which did select them for temporary advancement.

Officers on the retired list are subject to recall to duty in emergency. They are then assigned to duties and responsibilities commensurate with their grade. Advancement in rank on the retired list is therefore not merely a distinction for the officer himself, it fixes the character of duty to which he may be assigned on recall to active service. It is to be assumed that, if these officers were not adjudged among those best fitted to perform the duties of the higher grades while they were still on the active list, it would now, after some years separation from active duty and from familiarity with the operation of the Navy, be difficult to assign them to the duties of those higher grades. There will be no additional cost to the Government involved by these bills, since the bills expressly prohibit any additional pay or allowances by virtue of their enactment.

In view of the foregoing, the Navy Department recommends that the bills H. R. 14806 and H. R. 15206, be not enacted.

Sincerely yours,

CURTIS D. WILBUR,
Secretary of the Navy.

[H. R. 14806, Seventieth Congress, second session]

A BILL To provide for advancement in rank of certain officers on the retired list of the Navy

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any officer now on the retired list of the Navy who served as a rear admiral, captain, or commander in the United States Navy during the World War after selection to that rank by a statutory board convened for such purpose, and who subsequently reverted to his permanent rank and was retired in a rank below that of rear admiral, captain, or commander, respectively, shall be advanced on the retired list of the Navy to the rank of rear admiral, captain, or commander, respectively, held by him during the World War: Provided, That no additional pay or allowances shall be granted as the result of the passage of this act.

[H. R. 15206, Seventieth Congress, second session]

A BILL To provide for advancement in rank of certain officers on the retired list of the Navy Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any officer now on the retired list of the Navy who served as a rear admiral, captain, or commander in the United States Navy during the World War after selection to that rank by a statutory board convened for such purpose, and who subsequently reverted to his permanent rank and was retired in a rank below that of rear admiral, captain, or commander, respectively, shall be advanced on the retired list of the Navy to the rank of rear admiral, captain, or commander, respectively, held by him during the World War: Provided, That no additional pay or allowances shall be granted as the result of the passage of this act.

TO REGULATE THE MINIMUM AGE LIMIT FOR ENLISTMENTS `IN THE NAVAL RESERVE OR MARINE CORPS RESERVE

QR/P14 (281205) L.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 29, 1928.

The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: There is inclosed herewith a copy of a letter, together with a copy of a proposed bill to regulate the minimum age limit for enlistments in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve, this day forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I have the honor to transmit herewith a draft of a proposed bill to regulate the minimum age limit for enlistments in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to make it possible to make enlistments in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve at the same age as enlistments may now be made in the regular Navy. Section 4 of the act of February 28, 1925 (43 Stat. 1081; U. S. Code, Title 34, sec. 753), provides that "The Naval Reserve shall be composed of male citizens of the United States and of the insular possessions of the United States, of 18 years of age or over, who by appointment or enlistment therein, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, obligate themselves to serve in the Navy in time of war or during the existence of a national emergency declared by the President.' The minimum age at which enlistments may be made in the regular Navy is 14 years, but if the candidate for enlistment is under 18 years, the consent of parent or guardian must be obtained. The same law applies to the regular Marine Corps. For the past several years the policy of the Navy Department has been to make no enlistments under 17 years of age in either the Navy or Marine Corps.

Recruits obtained under this policy of accepting young men of 17 years of age have been of excellent quality. It is believed that the same age limit would produce desirable members of the reserve. Furthermore, the present law authorizes the appointment of 25 midshipmen to the Naval Academy from the reserve. Midshipmen must be less than 20 years old on April of the year in which appointed.

If the age limit fo. enlistment in the reserve is decreased, as provided by this proposed bill, it will permit a greater number of eligibles for the Naval Academy. It will also permit such eligibles to have a longer period of training in the reserve before being appointed as midshipmen.

There would be no increased cost to the Government by reason of the enactment of this proposed legislation.

In view of the foregoing, the Navy Department recommends that the proposed legislation be enacted.

Sincerely yours,

CURTIS D. WILBUR,
Secretary of the Navy.

A BILL To regulate the minimum age limit for enlistments in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter the minimum age limit for enlistment in the Naval Reserve or the Marine Corps Reserve shall be the same as that for enlistment in the regular Navy.