New-York tribune., 1883-11-04

An alleged gentleman has just been arrested and
roundly fined in England for persistently pulling
cigar in nOn-smoking railway carriage. A rude
shock is thereby given to the pet hobby of Mr. La
bouch6re, who fondly expects to SEQ smoking be-
come as common as breathing among both sexes, at
church, in the ballroom, everywhere But the
average nOn-smokcr in this city is moved to wish for
few similar sentences upon offenders here. There
now seems to be no retreat where is altogether
secure from the fumes of cabbage-leayes. There is
platfonn-tho very place where particularly in mild
weather, it Is sure TO be most offensive to those
within. In ferry houses signs prohibiting smoking
are vsible-when the smoke isn't too thick for
vision, which is occasionally tho case. On ferry
boats onehalf tho space is roputed to be reserved
for non-smokerS, but he would be bold and mag
NATIVE Tomancer who dared assert that the rule is
seriously enforced. Even the Bridge cars are in
yaded by smokers who carry lighted cigars but not
daring openly to puff them, allow their fire to
shoulder and go out, thus filling the air with pc
Culiarly stale aud nauseating odOr. Perhaps the
most annoying feature of the situation is the fact
that the agguevod persons have no redress. Any
one who made bold TO ask gatekeeper or policeman
to enforce the rule against smoking in ferry house
would probably get laughed at for his pains, and
direct appeal to the offenders would have the same
eifeCtcr something worse. If ii were generally un-
derstood that smoking in places where the practice
is prohibited might be punished as misdemeanOr
10y fine OF imprisonment, and that all gatekeoperS,
conductors etO., wero officers of the law, bound in
duty to enforce tho prohibition the common rights
of nOn-smOkerS would be made secure And it
should be bOrno in mind that nOn-smokers are an
overwhelming majority of the community, and
therefore have full title to demand the maintenance
of their rights
Probably few who read the recent announcement
that after November the Military Department of
the South would be abolished and Governors
Island become the headquarters for the South as
well the East, stopped to think of tho historical
interest of the change For many years the Depart
ment of tho South a real military division and
not geographical fiction. Its history is that of
the entire period Of reconstruction. General SCklcs
was the first commander after the war with his
headquarters at Hilton Head. They were after
ward transferred to Charleston, where they re-
mained until 1868, when Meade took command,
with headquarters at Atlanta. General Rugcr and
General Terry succeeded him. II 1871 the
headquarters were removed to Louisville but five
years later were set up again at Atlanta. General
RugGr took them to Columbia during the exciting
contest of lS7G-'77, but they were brought back
again 10 Atlanta. In 1873 tho Departments of the
Gulf and the South were consolidated, and the new
headquarters were put at Newport Barracks Ky.
In all these troubled years there were no doubt
some questionable uses of the military power, but
the presence of the Army was necessary 10 tho sue
cess Of reconstruction and to the preservation of
peace even later. 1t will be no moro possible TO re-
verse the verdict of the American people upon this
point than it would be upon the abolition Of
slavery.