, 1884-06-11
CRAZE FOR TITLES,
And the BarbarIc Love OF 'rRegalia"
and Other Toggery.
Contention Among the Wearers of
sword. Epaulets and Chapeau
Pew TItle-H Hunters or
the Gentler Sex.

New York Hour. 49,
The sur vival Of old IDEAS and desires was
never more significantly Illustrated than by
the American mania for whatever distinction
can come from a title. Rich American girls
are laughed at for going to Europe and Civ
ing up home. old associations, their freedom,
their fortunes and themselves for the sake Of
marrying a title borne by some man who has
absolutely nothing else &c distinguish him
from other undressing beings; but only a
minority Of our title-hunters are Of the
gentler sex. Our men, even those of them
whose reputation for common sense is en-
yiable, seem willing to lose time, money and
peace of mind TO any extent, II, by SO doing,
they can be called by any civil or military
title.
/ Lawyers whose practice is very
tive, frequently become judges, at low sal
aries, so as to be occasionally addressed as
"Your honor" Clubs are organized, appar-
emily that some particular man mRy nave his
name appear in print as president; and as for
societies, councils and "lodges," their names
and the titles OF their officers arp iruumc-
able; even the very secret and exclusive
order OF FREQ Masons numbers more
members in the United States than in
any other country, and 1t is impossible not to
believe that many men are attached to it by
the possibility OF attaining official position,
or, at least, OF wearing tho signs of their
order.
One illustration OF the mania for titles has
recently came into prominence in an unex-
pected manner. Nearly all OF tho militia
regiments Of New York ave semi-attached
organizations known as veterans" the said
veterans being men who have served n full
term OF years in the militia. That these old
comrades, some of whom did honorable serv-
ice during the war, should desire to continue
their fraternal relations is quite natural and
proper. But they do not stop at this; they
Organize uniform corps, they wear epaulets
or shoulder straps, they elect officers with
military titles, and they take the numerical
designations OF the regiments with which
they have served. They are in no way re-
cognized by law, a~lthoughin at least one case
a governor of New York issued to one of them
an order that implied recognition; they are
not subject to call for military
duty, and yet, on occasions OF honor
or pleasure, they are frequently found
on parade, always with the regiments
to which their members belonged. or such
n corps" a man who has only been a private
may DO elected colonel, and, whether
"obeyed" or not, he Is respected accordingly"
by civilians who do not understand the
difference between them and officers properly
commissioned.
Recently all but one of the colonies of the
militia regiments in this city signed a protest
against the form Of the veteran organize
tions. Then arose n great hubbub. The
Veterans alleged "snobbishuess," jealousy"
and other unpopular qualities, and some OF
them who had won commissions by hard
service during the civil war, complained of
the injustice OF "parlor soldiers" as they
termed the militia The press and society
took sides in the quarrel; young ladies who
had been partially or fully captured by tho
very tasteful uniforms of the veterans, were
Mortified at the thought OF marrying men
who might have to permanently lay aside
sword, epaulets and chapeau, and, altogether,
the disagreement is apparently too serious to
be settled without much permanent bad
feeling.