Sunk Again

The Navy's reorganization plan, designed to give new emphasis to airpower and airmen, and to modernize its creaking, cumbersome bureau system (TIME, May 25), was apparently scuttled last week.

Newsmen heard that President Roosevelt himself had opened the sea cocks. He had good & sufficient reason: old-line admirals had crusted over the streamlined plan with all kinds of barnacle additions. The dream of old Navy men is always to devise official ways & means to by-pass the Secretary of the Navy and any other civilians on the staff. Apparently Secretary Knox's reorganization, after the admirals keelhauled it, would have left him out as definitely as a man overboard.

Lost in the scuppers was the scheme to promote the naval air arm by making Rear Admiral John H. Towers, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, a vice admiral and vice chief of naval operations for air. Lost too was a parallel program to relieve a shortage of high-ranking aviators by promoting a number of younger naval airmen on Towers' coattails.

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