The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-03-27
Texa. .coiensls."
no the Edltor Of The HeraId

To the Editor OF The Herald,
In behalf of our much abused Ian.
guage, and as an advocate of justice and
fair dealing toward the civilians as well
as tho titled soldiery OF our country,
aud as an opponent Of sham in all its
forms, | beg the privilege to protest
through your columns against the GUS
tom so prevalent in Texas, especially
with our newspapers, OF depi eciating
honorable military titles by. appropria-
ting them to civilians, who never at.
tanned them in military service, and
many of whom have never smelt gun
powder. So general has become this
custom in Texas that il Is considered
almost disrespectful to mention the
name of n lawyer, ora prominent bust.
ness man, or q man in public life with
out prefixing some military title from
captain to general, according to the
degree of consideration in which
he is held, The plain, old
fashioned, and eminently respectable
title Of Mr." is considered derogatory
when applied to man Of consideration
in the community, and Is generally
used as the designation of only
men of low estate. This Is perhaps
but one of the forms in which the pro.
vial Western iondness for hyperbole
finds expression; another of which is
the custom Of calling our obscure little
grammar schools by the lofty names OF
colleges" and universities but to me
it seems sheer R,mksyism and nob6aH
though many persons unwittingly :aIl
into the custom simply because it has
become so general.
As an instance of this abuse Of title, |
will call attention to the General Order
No, |" published few days ago in your
paper, appointing marshals to assist at
the carnival CD celebration to be hold
in Dallas on the 4th of April (itself an
abuse OF language and time,honored
custom, for who ever heard OF
carnival" after Lent, where we
see the names Of Colonel Walter Caruth,
peaceful farmer, owning some thou>
sands of broad acres, but who never
aspired to any title military or civil;
Colonel Raney, another peaceful citizen,
well off in this worlds goods, but his
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all
his paths are paths of peacei Colonel
+. q. Bower,who served throughout the
late war CALAMITY as a private in the
Confederate army, since then holdinga
commission as captain in tho Texas
militia, his only claim to the title OF
colonel being his election by the late
so-called military convention at Calves
ton to be. colonel OF one OF our mythical
regiments Of State troops Colonel j G.
Eblin, whose right to the title is the
same as Colonel Bowers; Colonel
Dudley Crawford, worthy member Of
our bar and nm estimable gentleman,
who smelt his share of gum
powder during the war, but never
held colonels commission; Colonel
j. s. Mayfeld, o worthy and excellent
gentleman but never colonel This
same General Order No. |, !" proceeds
to name other non-military citizens as
captains" who have no better right to
the designation than the aforesaid "col-
onels." And in communication ap>
pearing in your Sundays issue, from
the pen of the same gentleman who
manifests his fondness for military titles
in the aforesaid General Order No. ~
eur genial and pacific friend, Mr.. jules
Schneider, is made to appear under the
martial titse Of Colonel Jules Schneider
In this guise, jules best friends would
never recognize him, for it is we |
known that he was yet in his "teens"
when the war closed, and has never
sought glory at the cannons mouth.
am sure ii is distastelul to these
gentlemen to have titles appropriated
TO them, to which they lay no claim
and have no kind of right. II would
be more to their taste TO be presented
in the title OF Mister" common to all
gentlemen in this country, and good
enough for any one. 1t, has been re.
garded as a sufficiently honorable dfsig-,
nation for the most eminent men in
this country and in England. Fancy
any one speaking OF Colonel Adams,
CoioneiJ eiferson, Colonel Webster, Colonel
Calhoun, Colonel Clay Colonel Gladstone,
Colonel Dsraeli, Colonel Bulwer, Colonel
Dickens
| Now, Mr.. Editor, you edit the metros
politan newspaper of Northern Texas,
and your paper deservedly has an ex.
tensiye and potent influence in shaping
and directing public sentiment, and in
instituting reforms social as well as
POLITICAL pr cut loose from this GUS
tom have discussed and set an exam
pie to the press and to our people, by
restoring to its proper and legitimate
rank and station in society, so far as
you are able, the time honored. but
latterly lin Texas) despised title Of
Mister and by reserving military
titles to the sole use and benefit Of those
who have won them in the camp and
field. Yours truly,
| PLAIN "MsrER"