Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-12-13
The Army Defaultsrs.

Recent events in connection with ofh
 eers of the army have made these off,
 cers laughing stock for the whole cOun. ! try. Officers who had nothing to back
 them but the fact that they were ''gen. uemen, have gone wrong by becOm-
 ing defaulters, selling their pay three or
 four times over to get money to play
 poker. and skipping out in disgrace
 ful manner. The attention of the whole
 country has been called to the frequency
 with which ''an officer and a gentleman
 becomes guilty of conduct unbecomine
 an officer and gentleman" and the
 country is sick of it. The trouble i. easily accounted for. Youngmen have,
 ia times past. been appointed to West
 Point because their parents were rich,
 or stood high in society or politics, or
 because the young men were wild and
 Eeeded tanning down. The appearance of young man at West Point was 6 sure indication that he was a member of good society, and splendid dancer. and smart at flirting. Eastern society petted the young cadets, and adored them when they became officers, and the fighting that they learned to do. mixed with the dancing they could ac- cOmplish, made people forget the bad habits, the gambling and drinking, and West Pointers have been looked upon as assistant gods, until they got into &C., tive service and didn't amount to any. thing. Late years competitive examin- nations have been held in congressional districts. and the boy who stood the best examination, whether democrat, repub- ican, or anything else, got the place, and in this way the rich young men who are dudes in society, and "dawnce" divinely, are left out. and the son of a blacksmith or a hotel porter, or a farm CT. may go to West Point and become an officer. This is a great blow to the society of the East, which has been toadying for years to blue blood cadets but 1t will be better for the army The son of blacksmith may not mash the daughter of an old family on the Hud- son, and he may not "dawnce" so di- vinely, drink benzine so gracefully. or play poker so nonchalantly, but he will make soldier who will fight when fight ing is the thing to do, and who will not be SO apt to steal government funds to play poker with. These examinations by competent boards, to pick out the most level headed and intelligent boy to make q soldier of. regardless of birth, politics, or terpsichorean accomplish ments, may seem hard blow to those at the East, who have always looked up- on West Point as hot house to train up husbands for silk stockinged fresh young women from Vassar college, but | the country will gain by the change. | There is no sense in the government | taking rich mems sons that are going | wrong. to reform them, and make bean | poles of them for green female bean- stalks to cling to on commencement day. | Let the country have few generations of army officers appointed from the peo- pie, on their merits. without regard to the fact that their fathers were rich and | acquainted with presidents, or power on the stump for congressman, and the officers of tine army will always be true 10 their trusts. The best officers in the army to-day, are those who were ap- pointed on account of being poor, but honest. and the worst are those ap- pointed because they belonged to good iIniiics that wanted to get rid of them. -- FCcSs SNH.