in 1911 to $37.999 in 1912, a difference of $1.044 per month per man, or $12.528 per year. For 48,000 men this amounts to $601,344, or a total increase under this item of $701,344.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, what is your enlisted force? How much have you gained in your enlisted force over what you had last year before we allowed the 4,000 increase?

Admiral ANDREWS. We have not gained, sir. We have actually lost.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, if you have not as many now, do you expect during this year to be able to enlist a total of that 4,000 men?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; and those that we are behind in we expect to have before the winter is over. We are enlisting now at an average rate of 300 men a week. We have been losing during this summer and the early fall 300 a week, and sometimes more, but as the winter goes on we expect to have very much fewer discharges and a slightly larger number of enlistments."

The CHAIRMAN. Do you think that you will gain over your discharges during the fiscal year 1914 the 4,000 men and have a total enlistment of 48,000?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; I think that before the spring we will have the total number now allowed by law, so that in 1914 I think we will be full, so that this full appropriation will be no more than necessary.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. You stated a while ago a matter I wanted to ask you about. You said that you had one additional professor of mathematics at the Naval Academy by special act.

Admiral ANDREWS. He is stationed there, sir, but he is not put at the Naval Academy by special act. It was Prof. Calhoun.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; I know that. Now, I have heard that since we passed that special act he had resigned from the Navy and the President had appointed him as a second lieutenant from civil life. Is that correct?

Admiral ANDREWS. As a second lieutenant or as a professor, sir? He has not resigned and he has not been appointed; but it has been recommended by the department that he be appointed after resignation to fill the regular existing vacancy due to Prof. Alger's death.

Mr. BATHRICK. Mr. Chairman, if you will permit me, I would like to take up a short line of inquiry for a special purpose.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Mr. BATHRICK. I notice, Admiral, that we have 975 officers on the retired list, costing the Government $3,189,761 per year, according to this estimate. That is correct?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

Mr. BATHRICK. Now, Admiral, what proportion of those 975 officers do you estimate as capable of responding to emergency service? Admiral ANDREWS. Supposing, for instance, that we should have a war and want to call on them for short duty?

Mr. BATHRIck. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. Or perhaps any duty. Well, sir, I should think possibly a third, though I would not like to make that a very positive statement without looking it over with that idea in view.

Mr. BATHRICK. Well, for the purpose of our inquiry let us assume that out of those 975 retired officers 300 of them are capable of re

sponding in emergency service. Have you an idea of what their ages are their average age?

Admiral ANDREWS. A very large proportion of them are officers over 62.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. Say over .60. Four hundred and forty-eight are over 60.

Mr. BATHRICK. Are there many of them under 40?

Admiral ANDREWS. There are 110. But most of the younger men who are retired under that age are retired for physical disability, and in all probability would not be valuable except for some very light duty.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes. Now, we have also in the Navy-let us see; what is the number of enlisted men?

Admiral ANDREWS Fifty-one thousand five hundred allowed. We have about 46,000.

Mr. BATHRICK. You have about 46,000 enlisted men?

Admiral ANDREWS. Including the seamen under instruction.

Mr. BATHRICK. Admiral, do you think that you would favor the employment of some of these retired officers, now receiving pay from the Government, in the capacity of instructors on board ship among enlisted men, holding certain hours of instruction under convenient circumstances on board ships-under the care of some of these retired officers?

Admiral ANDREWS. I hardly think that would be feasible, sir, because the ships are supposed to be moved about. Of course, these retired officers would be available and could be used at training stations; but we have not so very many training stations, and we have very few officers at them. The instructors at the training stations for the training of the men are warrant officers and chief petty officers. There are very few commissioned officers at any training stations. Mr. BATHRICK. At these training stations are there many enlisted men receiving instruction?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; they vary all the way from 600 to at times 2,000, or even 2,400 at times.

Mr. BATHRICK. Do these squads alternate, so that all men in the Navy are eligible to receive instruction?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes; when they enter the service. When they enlist they go through these training stations, except in very rare instances.

Mr. BATHRICK. They receive instruction in the manual training necessary?

Admiral ANDREWS. And the preliminaries.

Mr. BATHRICK. They do not receive instruction, however, in mathematics, do they?

Admiral ANDREWS. Oh, no; nothing of that sort.

Mr. BATHRICK. Now, Admiral, in our Navy there are many under enlistment who are taking courses from correspondence schools. Are you aware of that?

Admiral ANDREWS. Oh, yes, indeed; I am. It is a very excellent thing, too. I have seen it aboard ship and seen its good results; and I may say also that on the regular cruising ships every encouragement is given to the enlisted men to study.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. I have taken a great deal of personal interest in that myself. When I was on. the U. S. S. Kansas I had at night a large compartment set aside, with tables and benches and a good light, where the men could stay until 10 o'clock at night for study and reading.

Mr. BATHRICK. There is no regulation in the Navy requiring the officers on board to assist the enlisted men in this instruction, is there? Admiral ANDREWS. No; the regulations do not specifically say that, but they do require the thorough instruction of the men. They do not, however, take up the instruction in English studies or mathematics or technical subjects; they do not do that except as it bears upon their Navy work, whatever that happens to be.

Mr. BATHRICK. In other words, if an enlisted man on board ship desires assistance

Admiral ANDREWS. He can always get it, if he says so.

Mr. BATHRICK. Well, there is no regulation to that effect, is there? Admiral ANDREWS. No.

Mr. BATHRICK. There is no organized effort to assist in the instruction of these men or assist them in their studies on board ship? Admiral ANDREWS. No; not in the way you speak of.

Mr. BATHRICK. Well, now, I am aware that the officers of the ships in most cases are very kindly and attentive in assisting the men who are taking these correspondence courses to solve intricate problems that they can hardly understand without the aid of an instructor.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes.

Mr. BATHRICK. But there being an absence of any regulation requiring them to give organized and regular assistance in the instruction is a handicap to the advancement of the enlisted men, is it not? Or, in other words, let me put it in a different direction: If there was a regulation requiring these officers to give this instruction would it not materially assist the enlisted men to advance to grades whereby they might be eligible for promotion?

Admiral ANDREWS. I think that it might, in a small degree, assist them. For instance, those who might want to come up for boatswain or gunner or, possibly, for commissioned officer.

Mr. BATHRICK. Or ensign.

But

Admiral ANDREWS. Or ensign; it might assist them then. whenever we find any man who is working in that direction it is known at once, and on the ship that he is on everybody turns to and helps him.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. So that I do not think anybody who has an ambition of that kind ever lacks adequate instruction.

Mr. BATHRICK. But there is no regulation requiring them to give this instruction?

Admiral ANDREWS. No; and as a matter of fact the main purpose is to train the men for their duties on the ship.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. And these extra studies that they take up are during their spare moments, their recreation moments.

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes; but we are short of officers, are we not, in the United States Navy?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

Mr. BATHRICK. Well, do you not believe that there are some men with the natural capability, if it was fostered and assisted in the manner indicated, who would eventually assist us in securing a proper complement of officers for our Navy?

Admiral ANDREWS. You mean for that purpose alone?

Mr. BATHRICK. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. I think it might have some effect; but I doubt if it would be very much.

The CHAIRMAN. There is a provision, is there not, for passing into the commission line from the enlisted force?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. There are a few in the commissioned line now who were enlisted men?

Admiral ANDREWS. There are quite a number now; but there are not now very many who will come up for examination.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, one reason why they do not come up for examination is because they have not had the instruction to enable them to pass; is that not one of the reasons?

Admiral ANDREWS. I was going to say that possibly that was one of the reasons; yes, sir.

Mr. BUTLER. How many can come up each year? Is it provided by statute?

Admiral ANDREWS. Twelve.

Mr. BUTLER. Twelve?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes. Not that many apply, however.

Mr. BUTLER. Not that many apply for examination?

The CHAIRMAN. Admiral, you were speaking about the enlistments awhile ago. What about desertions?

Admiral ANDREWS. The percentage of desertions for the past fiscal year was 3.52 per cent, practically 3 per cent; and the year before that it was 4.16 per cent; so there has been quite a steady drop, and we anticipate for this fiscal year that there will be a still further drop.

The CHAIRMAN. Last night, Admiral, I had the pleasure of a conversation with you, and you were calling my attention to some matters that you thought were too severe in the matter of punishment in the Navy.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And this morning I received a letter from a man aboard ship, in which he uses this language:

Courts-martial in the Navy are too severe as regards loss of money, and that is primarily the cause of many desertions. When one is absent without leave, they should be fined as in civil courts, of course; but a fellow should hardly lose $100 for a few days of absence.

That seemed to echo what you were talking with me about last night.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you any suggestions to make with reference to that, or could you incorporate in these hearings any suggestions with reference to the matter of punishments, especially for minor offenses?

Admiral ANDREWS. I doubt if I could; it is a rather big subject, and I have been thinking over it a long time, and I have been con

vinced that the punishments in many directions are too severe; but I would like a little more time to make a specific recommendation.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, I will ask that you bear this matter in mind, with a view to submitting it to the committee at its meeting next December.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That is, when we take up these matters in the long session. I will ask you also what you think of the suggestions made here in this letter? Does the matter of the excess of money fines create dissatisfaction and tend to desertions in the Navy?

Admiral ANDREWS. I think it does; I think it unquestionably does. Mr. ESTOPINAL. But the admiral just stated that the number of desertions is decreasing?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes; it is. But that is due to other causes, I think.

The CHAIRMAN. You think that this is contributing cause to the number that we have now?

Admiral ANDREWS. I think so; yes, sir.

Mr. BUTLER. The number of desertions in the Navy last year has decreased from the prior year?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

Mr. BUTLER. And how do you account for it?

Admiral ANDREWS. I think one of the first reasons, or one of the best reasons, is that instructions have been given requiring a greater scrutiny of the men-that is, to require from them some recommendations as to their character and general conduct; and then I have asked Dr. Stokes to send out word to the medical officers who examine the men to be very particular to detect abnormal characters and those who are likely to show vicious tendencies, as I think they are the class that usually make our deserters. Another reason for the smaller number of desertions, I think, lies in the fact that we are now offering a larger reward; we are offering a $50 reward now; and we apprehend and punish as speedily as possible a very much greater number of deserters than we did before. So that has a deterrent effect; a man is very apt to realize that it is now very difficult to leave without being caught.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, upon that question of punishment for desertion, what is the policy of the department with reference to the character of the punishment? Have there been any changes made with reference to that, or are they sent now for terms of a year and a half or two years to the penitentiary or to detention stations and treated as having been absent without leave, instead of being strictly and technically deserters?

Admiral ANDREWS. In the first place, the law which removed the loss of citizenship is a marked change in policy from the oldtime system, which when a man was convicted of desertion took away his citizenship forever. That is a return to a more lenient system. Then the department's policy within the last year has very materially changed, in that we have established two detention barracks, or disciplinary barracks, as they are called, where the men are placed under detention after being sentenced by a court in accordance with the present laws, which require a certain confinement in prison and certain loss of pay. Prison sentences have been in many

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