[No. 146] FOR THE RELIEF OF CERTAIN OFFICERS OF THE DENTAL CORPS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY (H. R. 16214) 00/OD/P17-1(270113) L. NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, February 12, 1927. The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Replying further to the committee's letter of January 13, 1927, transmitting the bill (H. R. 16214) for the relief of certain officers of the Dental Corps of the United States Navy and requesting the views and recommendations of the Navy Department thereon, I have the honor to advise you as follows: The purpose of this proposed legislation is to authorize for precedence and promotion active service as a commissioned officer in the Dental Reserve Corps. The general purpose of a reserve force or corps is the creation of a body that may be called upon in an emergency to assist and augment the regular establishment. The Naval Reserve Force, the Medical Reserve Corps, and the Dental Reserve Corps were used on occasion and with the consent of the officers concerned for active duties not in time of emergency. Further, the Dental Reserve Corps was, from March 4, 1913, to August 29, 1916, the only avenue of entrance to the Dental Corps in the Regular Navy. Active duty, whether in actual dental work or under instruction preparatory to examination for the Dental Corps of the Regular Navy, was thus a voluntary act on the part of the officer concerned and a means of fitting himself for a commission in the regular Dental Corps. The precedence of officers in the Dental Corps has been fixed by law, as in the line and in other corps, on the basis of the dates of their initial appointments to the regular establishment. If service in the Dental Reserve Corps should be credited for precedence purposes, a parallel might readily be drawn to authorize credit for active service in other reserve organizations. For instance, the reserve officers of the line who were given instruction in the special school established at the Naval Academy, subsequently commissioned as temporary officers, and then later commissioned as temporary officers, and then later commissioned permanently in the line, might claim credit for their prior reserve service for precedence purposes. Similarly, officers of the Medical Corps with previous active service in the Medical Reserve might well, on this basis, claim credit for their prior service. The enactment of the proposed legislation would not directly result in any increased cost to the Government. It would, however, advance Lieut. Commander John R. Barber, Dental Corps, United States Navy, to a position where he would be eligible for selection for promotion to commander as of September 1, 1926, instead of, as in his present position in the Navy list, about January, 1929. If he should be selected for promotion there would result for such period an increased cost of $840 per annum. The bill H. R. 16214 was referred to the Bureau of the Budget with the above information as to cost and a statement that the Navy Department contemplated making an unfavorable recommendation against this bill for the reason that it is not for the general good of the naval service. Under date of February 7, 1927, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget advised the Navy Department that this report would not be in conflict with the financial program of the President. In view of the foregoing and particularly in view of the dangerous and broad precedent that would be established by the enactment of this measure, of counting for precedence previous active service in other reserve organizations, the Navy Department recommends that this bill be not enacted. Sincerely yours, E. W. EBERLE, Acting Secretary of the Nary. A BILL For the relief of certain officers of the Dental Corps of the United States Navy Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all officers of the Dental Corps of the Navy who, on July 1, 1918, were regularly commissioned in the Dental Corps of the Navy and who had previously served on active duty in the Navy as assistant dental surgeons, Dental Reserve Corps, under the provisions of the act of March 4, 1913, shall be credited with the time so served on such active duty as assistant dental surgeons in determining their service for precedence and promotion as authorized for dental officers by existing law: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to increase the pay or allowances of any officer. [No. 147] A HEARING ON THE BILL (H. R. 9464) TO EQUALIZE THE PAY OF CERTAIN OFFICERS OF THE MARINE CORPS WITH THAT OF OFFICERS WITH CORRESPONDING SERVICE IN THE NAVY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee this day met, Hon. Thomas S. Butler (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. General Lejeune is here and desires to make a statement in support of H. R. 9464. General, we will be glad to hear you. STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. JOHN A. LEJEUNE, COMMANDANT OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS General LEJEUNE. The bill under consideration is H. R. 9464, introduced by Mr. Darrow, to equalize the pay of certain officers of the Marine Corps with that of officers with corresponding service in the Navy, and provides: That in order to equalize the pay of certain officers of the Marine Corps with that of officers with corresponding service in the Navy, all officers now on the active list of the Marine Corps who were appointed to the Marine Corps from civil life on or before the 4th day of March, 1913, shall hereafter be credited, for computing their pay, with five years' service: Provided, That no back pay shall be allowed by reason of the passage of this act. The act of March 3, 1899, granted to officers of all of the staff corps of the Navy five years constructive service so as to equalize their pay with that of the line officers of the Navy, who were at that time given credit for their Naval Academy service. This continued until March 4, 1913, when the law was enacted which did away with both the counting of Naval Academy service and the counting of constructive service for officers who were commissioned subsequent to that date. So that the Marine Corps officers affected by that provision were those appointed between March 3, 1899, and March 4, 1913. Prior to the passage of the joint pay bill in June, 1922, this constructive service made only a comparatively small difference in the rate of compensation being received by officers of equal length of commissioned service, of the Marine Corps and the Navy; but the joint pay act is based very largely on length of service, more than on the grade which an officer occupies. So that in consequence of that change of policy, a number of officers of the Marine Corps find themselves in a very disadvantageous position by comparison with the men who were appointed at the same time, who have had the same length of commissioned service, in all of the other branches of the naval service. Mr. BRITTEN. How many officers? General LEJEUNE. The exact number I have here; I have not counted them. Mr. BRITTEN. Something over 200, I believe? Mr. BRITTEN. I was told yesterday, General, by one of your officers; that is all I know about it; he came to my office, and he told me there were something over 200 that would be affected. General LEJEUNE. It is a right big list. About 189 officers would be affected. Mr. BRITTEN. The Marine Corps never has had constructive service credit? General LEJEUNE. No, sir. Mr. BRITTEN. So these men came into the service knowing that they had no constructive service credit? General LEJEUNE. At that time it made very little difference. Mr. BRITTEN. But there was no such thing as constructive service credit for longevity pay? General LEJEUNE. When the original act was passed, March 3, 1899, the Navy was full of staff officers who had come in under the same conditions. Mr. BRITTEN. But it never has been the law to credit marine officers with so-called constructive service, which means that they are given credit for four years' service which they have never had. General LEJEUNE. There has been no such law, otherwise I would not be here to-day. Mr. BRITTEN. There might have been one, and it was repealed. General LEJEUNE. No, sir; there has never been any such law. Now, the situation has come to this pass. We have a large number of officers who were appointed in 1909. There was an increase of the corps by an act of 1908, so that in 1909 a large number of officers were appointed, all of whom are in the grade of major. The big change in compensation comes after 23 years of service; there is a big jump. Now, the corresponding officers in the staff corps of the Navy, who get the benefit of this five years' constructive service, will get the benefit this year of the jump; so that our officers who have had exactly the same amount of commissioned service as these Navy officers have had, will find a difference of $1,074 a year in their compensation. Mr. BRITTEN. For each officer? General LEJEUNE. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What will the passage of this bill cost the Government? General LEJEUNE. It will cost the Government the first year a net increase of $80,000; that is, for this year, 1927; for 1928, $95,000; for 1929, $84,000; for 1930, $79,000; for 1931, $60,000; and a rapidly diminishing amount thereafter, amounting to a maximum total of $680,000. Mr. BRITTEN. And it finally goes into retirement pay? General LEJEUNE. When they get their maximum pay for 30 years' service, it ceases to apply. Mr. DARROW. This would only run for how long? General LEJEUNE. Seventeen years. Mr. ANDREW. This is approved by the Director of the Budget? General LEJEUNE. It is approved by the Director of the Budget and by the Secretary. Mr. VINSON. There is likely to be some opposition to the general's position in regard to this bill; it is getting so late in the session, and |