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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (July 22, 1915)
r.uu; voi r Tl-K ( AZ KTTK-TI M KS. HKPPXKK. ORR. THURSO A V. Jl'l.v 10,.-, TH E UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVE V Its Organization Has Been Authorized by Congress and Is Now ProgressingAdds Attractive Feature to Naval Career, Providing For Graduated Retirement, and Has Proved Impetus to Reenlistments v f - , p m ra . 55 Ipn Tit 5? -7 .,;, - ,: ..A - ; TdS riOR piercing -wFSUPERDREADNflUGHT flfEIZONA, LAUNCHED JUfiE l9.HEAVILYfeT ' " i- ST ' PteojecTiLesI "Sl ' .....(iffi, , ,- , ftjflRH0RED trip C)BRYINO TWELVE 14-INCH GUflSO fraJ8 m-W.w.... ,TI .ggdl I Y an act approved March 3, 101", Congress created law which has more fnrreaehing effects oa the efficiency of the navy than any legislation cuacled within tUe 1110111017 of any one who may chance to re d these linos. By this is meant the clause iu the Naval Appropriation Bill crcatiug a naval reserve and making provision for the qualification of Its members. It has boon customary .or the people of our country to measure the strength of the navy by the number of Dread noughts, ilcsl rovers, submarines and other lighting craft. Thoy cither take lor granted (hat the most necessary part of the navy a trainou personnel already exists or that it will be forth coming from somewhere when the alarm of war Is sounded. Trained Men Necessary. H is true now as over in the history of this country that there would be no lark o. patriotic men to respond to a ca.i in defense, of its institutions, but without training in di ipline and with nit previous experience with and an intimate and accurate knowledge of the mechanical appliances so essential in the operation of the suns, the tor pedoes and the mines, as well as the motive machinery of the modem war ship, they would simply be offering themselves as a i-acritice upon the al tar of the country's h imr. 1'ur many years the navy has been i.rndiuiling into civil life annually from u.'MNi to 4, WO well trained and well dis ciplined men-men experienced iu ev ery mechanical art Made use of hi the. modern nian-of war. This is no duiilit a variable contribution that the navy l;uke to the economic development of the country. At the '.,mc time those men represent a gre.it potential value for the nation's defense if properly re claimed and organized. They are scat tered throughout the leiiL'th and breadth of tbe land. Miiny of them are follow ing the same trades they learned in the navy, and it may well lie said that there is no mechanical urt applicable to civil pursuits that may not be learn ed on a modern man-of-war. A Twofold Purpose. It was for the purpjse of milking these men an asset in the nation's de fense account that the Navy Depart ment proposed und Congress passed the bill creating a naval reserve. Tim operation of the law is twofold In its benefits to the navy and the country. Ily offering substantial inducements for reclaiming into organizations these valuable well trained men who have already left the navy to engage in civil pursuits, as well as those who will do ho in future, the law automatically. op erates to encourage these same men to retur to the regular service and those wh: are still iu the service lu remain for longer periods.' This is accomplished by basing the pay of the reserves on a sliding scale increasing with length of service In the navy. In ndiliti n. the lew places a sub stantial value upon honorable, efliolout and faithful service, for no one unless entitled to Itoii'jitihlc dimhingc upon the completion of a period of enlistment can partake of its benefits. Under the operation of the law a man wl'h an honorable record has the option of remaining lu the regular serv 1 p or of entering t lie reserve at stated intervals. His Only Duty. While In the reserve he is free to en gage lu any occupation nnd live where tie chooses within the United States, lie only obligates himself to be amena ble to the navy regulations and re Hp Mid to a cull for active service )n time of war. While active service In time of peace U entirely voluntary oa the part of the members of the reserve, the government encourages them to perform a limited amount by making two months of such service a requisite for re-enlistment fur a subsequent four year period i. the reserve. This re- j quiroment Is made iu order that the reserves may keep lu touch with the duties of the regular service. They may select any time to perform this voluntary service that will suit their ! convenience and while so engaged will receive the full pay of their rating in addition to their pay in the reserve as well as traveling expenses and sub- J sistem e to and from home. j A Reservist's Compensation. The compensation given members of: the reserve is. for those who go in th-s reserve within four months after loav in,; tlie regul ir service $: a venr for tlons lu the various communities in which they live and come under the cognizance of the recruiting officer of the district in which the community is situated. There are some thirty re cruiting districts throughout the United States. The recruiting officers keep the muster rolls of the members of the re serve lu their respective districts and keep iu touch with them. Orders and other correspondence be tweeu the bureau and members of the reserve pass through the recruiting offi cer. By this organization the department can ou short notice and with a mini mum of correspondence mobilize the reserves at any place on either coast. May Transfer to the Reserve. Another feature of the law which is of great importance in increasing the any worthy man is able to obtain lu much less time than sixteen years. If there Is any civil occupation in this country that will insure to the av erage young man after sixteen or twen ty years so great an annuity for life II does not appear obvious to the casual observer. For many years Uncle Sam has boon paying more attention to the material part of the navy than to the personnel. Lately, however, he has boon taking stock of things and realized that a trained ami ellicieut personnel is equal ly as important as Dreadnoughts, and. although it comes high, he has decid ed to go down iu his pockets and pay Hie price. The wisdom shown by Uncle Sam in arriving at this conclusion will be made clear when we review with him m t I A 1 r Sf f tl if 5 M i I y s ' --SW 1 Sv i?. lhP P5TQYC 30 MILES AN HOUR. yVTyA A SECTION oF the, NAVY AVIATION CAMP ESTABLISHED Tte K-7, ONE of UNCLE SAM'S 37 SUBMARINES NOW "at VEHA CRUZ ? YEAR, AGO- i FULLY COMMISSIONED in ACTIVE SERVICE" " men who have had four years' exierl ence, $ij) a year for those who have had eight and iflbfl a year for those of twelve years' experience. All that Is necessary for a member of the re serve to do in order to obtain this pay is to keep (he Bureau of Navigation In formed as to his address and to report at some designated place In his own community once every quarter for mus ter and inspection and to sign the pay roll. Tor this simple and not Incon venient act be will receive $7.o0, $lo or as the case may bo, according to whether his experience hi the navy has boon four, eight or twelve years, respectively. Organized by Sections. This Is the retaining foe the govern ment pays a man of experience in or der that It may count upon having his service In time of war. Tiie rg,;';nv are organized, bj ec efficiency of the navy Is that which permits a mau to transfer to the re serve after sixteen or twenty years' service on one-third and one-half, re spectively, of the total pay he was re ceiving at the time. This i.i a great inducement to retain many desirable men in the service. The most of our men enter as boys at an average age of eighteen or nine teen. Sixteen or twenty years Inter, ! If they so elect, they may transfer from active service to the reserve. A Fine Annuity. At this time, at nn age of thirty-four or thirty-eight years, for the service they have already given the govern ment and for that which they stand ready to give In case of war they will receive from $rt:i to a month for the rest of their lives. The amount mentioned Is that which should come to a chief petty oliicqr, a rate which the situation in regard to the enlisted personnel which has existed for many years. Not Vicious and Unruly. The first thing that Impresses us Is the fact that two-thirds of the entire enlisted force is composed of men serv ing iu their first enlistment. Loss than one-half of these terminate their period of enlistment with an hun vruhte Uncharge, which entitles them to rc-cnlist in the service. Of those en titled to remain la the service ."8 pet cent avail themselves of the opportu nity. The remaining i- per cent gi. into civil life. Those who fall by tlie wayside are not all by any mean vicious and unruly men. All nre spe chilly selected by the recruiting otii cers, which Is obvious from the fact that only one out of six applicant is taken. The natural question U, Why do so many selected men fail to con- tine through their Drst four year pe riod and qualify for re-enllstmont? Of course some are found to be undesira ble characters whom the navy will not have at any price. A great majority of the 011)01 however, are really good men. but the navy has heretofore of fered little Inducement for a future career, while it demands much in the way of hardships and separation from home, lu consequence many of these young men become disheartened and leave the service by desertion, by dis charge, by purchase or by sentences of courts martial for offenses against mili tary discipline. . Something to Strive For. Now that the law places a substan tial value upon the hmiurable discharge by providing that men who are en titled to such may at stated Intervals elect to leave uctlve service for the reserve on practically a pension basis with a substantial rale of pay graded according to length of service In the navy, wo may 'hope to see a great change In the unfavorable conditions referred to. There is something to strive for-a reward for every one who proves faithful to his trust. We can look forward to an improvement in dis cipline, a higher standard of morale ami a resulting Increase in efficiency duo to n creator number of men striv ing for and receiving no lutimrulile dis charge and to a greater number of those re-enlisting for longer periods In the navy, l'nr every ro-onllsted experi enced man In the quota the govern ment saves the expense of enlisting and training a recruit, and the navy gains lu efficiency in duo proportion. The law has been on the statute books only a few months and can hard ly be said to be fully understood, yet the reports of enlistments Indicate that It Is bringing the expected results. Ordinarily recruits on lirst enlistment outnumber the ro-enlistmeiits of ex perienced men in the proportion of firo to une. Since the passage of Un law, however, the reports show that the percentage of re-enlistments anil ex tended enlistments to tirst enlistments was for the month of March til iter cent, for the month of April 71) percent and for the month of May S'i per cent. Official Regulations. Navy regulations governing the na val reserve, have just been approved by Secretary. Daniels. Being based upon the law creating the reserve, the following extracts will convey in a gen eral way Its scope and purpose and the benefits It was designed to effect alike for the greater etllaiency of the navy and the patriotic men who volunteer their services: The naval reserve shall constat of citi zens of the United States who have been or may be entitled to be honorably dis charged from the navy after not less than one four year term of enlistment or after a term of enlistment during minor ity. Men enllstod In the naval reserve are not required to perforin active service In time of peace except at their own re quest. Enlistments In the naval reserve will ha made In the rating In which lust honor ably discharged from the navy and for a period of four years, unless sooner dis charged by competent authority. No man will be first enlisted In the na val reserve after e'sht years from the date of last discharge from the navy, nor unices ho be found to be physically lit to perform all the duties of the rating In which last discharged. Enlistments In the naval reserve will bo m-ote In two classes: Class one consists of those men who enlist In the naval re serve within four months from date of their last honorable discharge from the navy. Class two consists of those men who enlist In the naval reserve after four months and within eight yearn from data of their lust honorable discharge from the navy. On and after March 4, 1317, any enlisted man of the navy, upon voluntary appli cation at the expiration of an enlistment or extended enlistment for which he Is entitled to an honorable discharge and after completing service In the navy or marine corps of sixteen or twenty or mora years, may be transferred to the naval reserve Ij order of the secretary of the navy. J-' o trtiiMtrrrrrt Kill, VnMrer, ttratitt by the tlciwrtmfnt, particular j In rcttprrt to 1h pcnnuninry of their itatua in the ntiral rcxrrve an entitled men on tlte retired lint of the w-icy, except they may bo called on for active duty In time of peace as hereinafter provided. Members of the naval reserve of Class one who have served less than eight years In the navy will tie paid nt the rate of $30 per annum, and those who have served eight yeans or more and lesa titan twelve ye.irs In the navy will be paid at the rate of $iiO per annum, and those who have served twelve yean or more In the navy 100 per annum. All members of the naval reserve of Clara two will be paid at the rate of IIJ per annum. Members of the naval reserve who have, when transferred to the naval reserve, completed service In tile mivy of sixteen or twenty or more years will be paid at tbe rate of one-third and one-half, rw upeetively, of the sum of the base pay nnd permanent additions theieto, which they were receiving at the close of their to t service in the navy. I'or cortiimttrifi piy in tha unvtil reirrrs ell prrrinti-i ttrrtice in tinri or viutiiw rorn cottit, irhrtb cinrlhutmc ur nut. Men tlnw in ciril life irho hire, hint inTriin itrn iee in Hart or tftrltif mret run cnlht in nnry an't hare (lit briuflt nf titer xt riler rolltittd in (inninitinn jiti! In rrwrre. Vhen nctlvely employed with (lie navy members of the naval rese've are entitled to the rate of pay they were receiving when last honorably disrharircl front thrt navy (base pay plus permanent additions thereto), and, lu adiilion, their regular pay In the nival reserve. Members of naval reserve when nrllve- ly employed Willi the navy ruculvo sub sistence and travel allowances to and from home. Members of the naval reservo of Class one who re-enlist In the navy wltliln four months from tho date of their discharge from the neval reserve are not entitled to a gratuity of four months' pay, but lbAr re-enlitument In the navy shall bo held and considered to have been made within four months from the dale of dis charge from tiie navy for the purpose of continues service pay. Members of the naval reserve who have been transferred to the naval reservo ma be discharged for the purposo of re-cn-listlng in the navy. When so re-enlisted in the navy within four months of tlte date (if discharge from tho naval rewemi they are not entitlel to a gratuity of four months' pay, but their re-enlistment In the navy shall be held nnd considered to have been made within four months front tlte date of discharge from the navy for tiie purpose of continuous service pay. In order to be ellglttle for re-enllstment In the navul reserve a man must have had not less than two months' active service on board a vessel of the navy dur ing the period covered by his last enlist ment In the naval reserve. Men transferred to the naval reserve will bo required to perform two months' active service for each four year period of service In the naval reserve subse quent to the drst four year period unless such service be waived by the bureau of navigation. In time of war members of the naval reeervo may bo required to perforin active service with the navy throughout tho war, not to exceed tlte term of enlistment In' the case of those enlisted In the naval re serve. In the case of men re-enllstlng In the navy after service In the naval reserve tho period of time they were actively em ployed with the navy while enlisted In the naval reserve will, for the purpose of re tirement, be counted as active service In the navy. A naval reserve button, which may be worn with civilian dress, will be Issued to all members of the naval reserve. Large Body of Trained Men. It may therefore be safely predicted that the act creating a naval reserve nnd making provision for the qualill cntion of Its members will opera to to provide a large body of trained and experienced cx-servlce men now In civil life, organized and ready upon short notice to man our fighting ships lu re serve and at the same time to increase the efficiency of the regular enlisted force by . Inducing more experienced men to remain In the navy. The naval reserve feature of a na val career is, therefore, of great In terest not only to men already enlisted, but to prospective recruits as well. It is, however, only one of the many at tractive features of the service, con cerning which the Bureau of Naviga tion, Washington, and any naval re cruiting station will furnish upon re quest such additional information aq may be desired.