Omaha daily bee., 1884-06-03
NEW ARMY COVE rs MARTLAL.

WI W mn 1Ntth
The conclusion of the Swain court of
inquiry, at Washington, will shortly be
followed, as is generally believed, by the
order of Secretary Lincoln converting
courts. martial for the trial Of Judge Ad-
~vocate General Swain and Colonel A. p.
Morrow, on the charge of conduct un-
becoming officers and gentlemen. In
the case of General Swain the charge Is
based upon dishonorable monetary trans
actions with q Washington note-shaver
named Bateman, the scandal connected
with which has forced into official notice,
what the public has had reason to be-
lieve tor q year concerning Colonel Nor
rows duplication of his pay vouchers.
The simultaneous publication of this
double army scandal will doubtless afford
the papers, whose business it is to pick
flaws in our present military morals and
management, an excellent opportunity to
resume their TRADE against the regular
army and the officers who command it.
We may expect to have the cases of Reno
and Ilges, of Simpson, and Cummings, of
McKibben, and Robertson rehashed with
all the variations on the old key of ''rot.
%tenness in the service" The proportion
Of offenders to the total number of officers
on the roll will be carefully suppressed,
the fact that fewer officers are brought
before general courts-martial now
than formerly will not be mentioned,
and no ~allusion will be made to
what is well known, that the publication
of the army by the expulsion of UNI
worthy officers has been accomplished
entirely by the army itself, that the
charges have been made by brother.
officers, end hat the accused have been
tried and sentenced and expelled by the
very class against whom such sweeping
and general charges of dishonesty and
corruption are 30 hlppantly made. These
are items which must be set against any
general bill of indictment drawn against
the service.
1t may be said, at the outset, that,
perhaps, the public expects too much Of
the army, or, rather, of army officers as a
class. On some accounts, it is natural
that this should be 80. The honor of the
country and the honor of the soldier are
often very closely connected, and the
rank of an officer and the qualifications of
a gentleman are presumed to go hand-in-
hand. This feeling is nowhere 30 strong
as in the army itself, and it is due to its
} strength among the officers that the de-
velopments of the past year in court
martial cases have come to light. In
each and every case brought to trial
prompt justice has been measured out to
the accused, and the honor of the army
has been preserved by the dishonor of
the offender.
There is no reason to doubt that the
same infexible sense ofjustice will assert
itself In the cases of General Swain
and Colonel Morrow. Honorable officers
everywhere, assertions to the contrary
notwithstanding, the great mass of army
officers are honorable, have been scandal
lied by tho developments of the past
month in Washington. Secretary Lin
coin will give no faint hearted support
to every effort to aid the service of men
with whom brother officers feel it a dis
grace to be compelled to associate. A
mistaken executive clemency, which in
the past has forced back into the army
%roques expelled by court martial, is not
likely to be exercised in behalf of such
offenders by President Arthur. And
prominent officers have not hesitated to
express the opinion that if the scathing
and often unjust criticisms of irregulari-
ties in the service have done no other
good, they have at least rendered difficult
in the future the exertion of political in
huence to restore to rank and command
men who have been branded by their
army associates as unworthy to associate
q with officers and gentlemen.