New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-01-25
oU,prFp- NECK PRIVILEGES

wiring tbe brow, is he not Minstering Angel,
with his tournquets, saws, scalpels, splints,
probes. lancets, and, moreover, with the skill
70 use. for the saving of life or the alienation
of pain, all those ingenious implementsf III
line officer should be grievOusly wounded ana
should require instant manipulation, would nc
consider it to be intrusive on the part OF the
Surgeon to rush upon the quarterback to attend
to his case3 On the contrary, would ne
not welcome the Doctor with delight 1t
seems, however that the professional person
age is not good enough for those sacred planks.
One would think that in many cases his COM
papy would be sought Cor the sake of his con-
versation: that well-bred officers would be
pleased to show him merited attention; and
that a sentiment of gratitude would save nm
from insult and neglect. We whose fortune 1t
is to live upon land, make much OF our phySl-
clans when they bring us balm from Gilead,
and good chat with q good doctor is often
found to be much more sanative than all his
pills and powders; but seafaring, we suspect, is
not promotive of the bander virtues AT any
rate, the Naval Doctors have sent complaint
to Congress that they "are not allowed the
privileges of the quarterback and the cabin"
and a proposition to remedy this evil is now
pending in the House of Representatives We
are ashamed to say that to the passage OF this
measure, which their own ill-manners alone have
rendered necessary, there is an organized oppo-
stion on the part of the line officers, who are
signing and sending in petitions i'll support OF
their dignity. We have before known commo-
dores to ill-trcat their chaplains, but we should
have supposed that common prudence would
have kept them from thus rashly offending
those to whom their very lives may at any
time be committed. The surgeon is not only an
officer, but one of the most important officers
in the ships company; for occasions may at
any time arise which will make him response
BILE in some degree for the lives of the men
and the consequent safety of the vessel I'm
questionably the result of degrading the office
must be TO drive able medical men out of the
navy.
While we are perfectly well aware that GER
tain distinctions of rank are necessary for the
discipline of the ship, we are quite unable to
see how the good of the service is to be pro-
NOTED by rigid adherence to the rules of
puffcd-up and pOmpous etiquette. In the Army,
during the late war, there was always a reason
able degree of familiarity between the officers
and the rank and file, and we have never heard
that the latter fought a mOrsel the worse for
il. good officer knows how TO secure the
respect and obedience of his men without snub-
bling them and an Admiral who IL afraid OF
losing his dignity by encountering Surgeon
on the quarterback must have precious little
dignity to lose. At any rate, he will hardly
help matters by treating with disrespect one
to whom a majority Of the crew are com
manded to show a studied Difference.
If our public ships were commanded by
Earls, with Barons' sons for Licutenants,
and Baronets' sons for Midshipmen, some
might think it proper enough TO remind the
Doctors of their low degree. But if we have
democracy everywhere else, what reason is
there why we should not have a little of it in
our war-shipsi 1t is easy even for landsman
to see that sometimes the word Of an officer
must be imperative, and that it would never
do TO call town meeting to consider the pro-
priety of reelng topsails So, too. if a surgeon
is ordered to do something, he must obey,
or disohey at the peril Of Court of
Inquiry All this, however, has nothing
to do with the social intercourse of the
ship. An Admiral who thinks it discred-
liable to have a staff officer on his quarter
deck might send him to mess with the men, or
might mast head him for making his physic a
little too nasty. And it is simply because there
il natural tendency in mankind to abuse au-
thority that we find some sea-captains treating
their seamen like dogs, and running the risk
of damages on getting ashore Instead of falling
into this fault we believe that cOnslderate naval
officer since he is forced sometimes to be peremp-
tory, will temper the austerites Of his place by
judcious courtesy. A sensible man will
know how to do this without in the least lessen
ing the weight Of his authority. We may be
sure that if the great man be boOr in his
manners, those under him in rank Will follow
his example, until the beardless MILDLY will
feel quite at liberty to snub the Surgeon,
unless the gallant boy happens to have the
belly-ache. If any Admiral Of the Rear, or
other description, can prove to Congress that
the presence of Surgeon on the quarterback
endangers the ship then we are in favor of a
law fOrbdding the said Surgeon to set foot
thereon, under penalty of being straightway
knocked down. If line officers think that the
service is not good enough for them, with
mere Doctors admitted to the privileged place,
perhaps it would be well to abolish the Doctor
altogether. and give up the crew to the medical
mercies of the gunner and boatswain. But
while tho Doctor stays in the ship at all, we
insist that he should be treated like a gen.
tleman
The political craniologists who hold that per-
sons of African descent should be regarded as