Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-10-24
COLONIES.
A High Priynte's Views ON the SUBJ
ieef 81 Military Titles.

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jeei 81 Military Titles.
To the Editor Of the Ledger:
Did II ever strike you, sir. that the
custom, now so common, Of addressing
people by military titles, isinexpressibly
silly and in execrably bad taste2 You
can hardly walk the streets without hay
ing your ears outraged by the eternal
Dining into them of such stuff as Colo
mel" this, Major" that and Captain"
the other, applied, in eight out of ten
cases, to persons who have no more right
to these titles than the King of Dahomey
has to be called His Most Christian
Majesty. Many of the men who are
thus addressed, and who, if they pos
sessed the right sort of self-respect,
would punish their insulters by treat
ing them either with silent contempt
or an application of boot-leather, as the
case may seem to demand, never had
sword in their hands in their lives. If
persons who apply these titles to others
not entitled to them mean to aatter by
so doing, it is the most miserable de-
scription of fattery to which n courtier
ever descended-flat stale and unproit-
able in superlative degree. just look,
my friend-you, who are eternally at it
yourself-at the foolish and degrading
custom from the standpoint Of disin-
terested looker-on. Here, for instance,
is case in point: Smith, the bnilding
contractor, who was plain boy in gray
during the war-a good soldier and all
that, but only private but who has
made a good thing out of various jobs
he has had since the war, and is sup
posed to be rich--a modest man who
has not turned fool because he has been
lucky-s addressed by perhaps fifty |
people every day as Colonel" Smith,
and every time he is so addressed it
gives him a twinge of pain as well as
does violence to his plain, manly self
respect. He is only carpenter, it is
true, but he is man of good, solid COM
mon sense, and he wants no handle to
his name, any more than he wants any,
thing else to which he has no right If
Smith could do as he feels inclined
about it, he would probably collar the
first man who "Colonels" him, and give
him a short lecture upon the subject,
winding up with benediction in the
shape of vigorous kick. But Smith is
the victim of custom"
Again, while we all hold in honor the
men who so CALAMITY led us through
four years of hardships, dangers and
privations, and are ready at all times to
show them all reasonable respect, or
even to defend them in person or char
acter whenever assailed still we feel that
it is little too much to require of us to
have it thrust in our faces on all occa-
sions that they we're at one time our
superior officers. The war is over; the
cause for which we struggled is, for the
time, defeated by the arbitrament of
arms; we we're all crushed together; and
the apparent effort to build up a pseudo
military aristocracy upon the ruins of
fallen cause is piece Of folly calculated
to breed ill-feelng at least. Can any
thing be more disgusting than to hear
everywhere and on all occasions the ever
lasting application of military titles to
plain citizens2 A stranger at distance,
reading the newspapers just before the
Lee obsequies, would have thought that
all the officers of the late army of the
" so-oalIed had come to live at Mem
phis after the surrender. An intelligent
Englishman asked the writer Of this if any
private soldiers of the Southern armies
survived the war-observing that he had
heard and read of enough generals,
colonies, majors and captains here in a
few days to lead all the armies under the
sun. This nonsense extends through all
the ramifcations of business and social
life. Go into business house TO make
a purchase-ask for the proprietor, and
ten to one you are introduced to some
quondam general, colonel or major. So
al private and public parties, public
meetings, etc. 1t is doubtful If meet
ing for the organization Of a charity fair
or fishing party would be success un-
less It was presided over by a colonel at
least; and the very idea OF ward polit-
zeal meeting addressed by plain Mr..
is preposterous.
In this state of things cannot some
one devise plan by which these gentle
men may be enabled to dsmount, with
out violence. from their high horses and
take their places among the common
people once more2 HIGH PRIVATE