Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-03-01
officers and Privates.
[Inter-O Ocean.l

The persecution of Private Dell F. Wild by Lieutenant Steele, the out rageous farce of the trial of Wild by military court in which Steele acted as witness and prosecutor, the lnjudicious approval of the sentence of that court by General Ruger, and the prompt reversal of judgment by the President of the United States in his capacity as commander-in chief of the army, have stimulated the chronic dissatisfaction of the people with the prevailing methods of the regular army. Some thing is wrong when assertions are the rule rather than the exception. Something is wrong when recruits have to be gathered from the slums and saloons of the great cities. Some thing is wrong when officers, educated at the public expense and taken, for the most part, from very humble cir cumstances, assume the role of lords and princes over the private soldiery.
 It is all well enough to talk about the needs of military discipline. But military discipline should not require private soldier to empty the captains slops or to shine the lieutenant's shoes. These are matters of civil rather than of military economy. If an officer can hire a servant to wait upon him well and good; if not let him wait upon himself. A private learns nothing of warfare by cleaning the colonePs dog house or by brushing the majors pantaloons. Before entering the army tits quite possible that the. major or the colonel knew more of the meniaI duties of life than the private. For, despite of the singular unattractive- ness of soldiers life as 1t now is, some men of good family and education do enlist.
 We had great war, for which tens of thousands of well-bred men enlisted. Scores of such developed into capable generals, hundreds into efficient regi- mental officers. In that great strug- gle the officer was not afar off from the private. There was discipline enough, but there was no servility. The officers of the regular army seem to expect servility from the privates. We hope they never will receive 1t from American citizens. It is "the uniform of the service," the "army rank" that is saluted, not the person wearing it. Lieutenant Steele, of him self and by himself, seems to have been a person of no better birth, breeding, or requirements than Private Wild.
 We maintain but small regular army. By so much the more should it be Of first rate material. First rate material will not be servile material. We need what Bismarck called "the thinking bayonet" in our regular army; we had it in large quantities in our volunteer army. To get 1t we must make the conditions of service desirable; there must be chances Of promotion from the ranks. West Point is needed, but West Point never did and never will i'll all the military needs of the Nation. No military school ever has filled the military needs of any nation. Most of Nopo- Icons generals graduated in the camp. And what generals they werel We need also to pay our private soldiers well, to furnish them with goods and clothing at reasonable rates, to keep them in, good heart, and to let them know that while subject to strict discipline as soldiers, they are bound 1 to no menial service.