The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-03-17
COURTS AL.
The Terror They Inspire Ensures Fast
Locked Mouths.

The Terror They Inspire Ensures Fast
Locked Mouths.
AprOpos of recent cOurts-m martial
which have created great deal OF
comment in army and navy circles,
says Kate Fields Washington, an Of
ticer attached to the latter branch of
the service spoke somewhat as fol-
lows:
ssYOu cannot conceive of the terror
in which officers stand toward the
court-martial. 1t is so easy to com
nit a technical error and bring down
upon yourselves the ever-ready wrath
of this grim institution. Thus, in
word and action, the majority of of
ficers preserve an abnormal discre-
ton, which to outsiders appears alb
surd and uncalled for''
AS an instance of the extent to
which this cOnservativeness is carried,
allow me to cite the following story
of naval officer and a newspaper
man:
A trif1e more than year ago the
officer. not then at sea, in speaking
to the newspaper friend of the cruiser
lroquois, remarked upon the worn
and damaged condition of the vessels
boilers. They were really in dan
gerous state, said he; yet no repairs
had been ordered. Naturally the
newspaper man announced his inten-
ton of publishing the story. The
officer hesitated. The latter was too
good journalist to readily give up a
tirst-class subject. Promising that
his infOrmant's name should not be
known in connection with the article,
he proceeded to get it into type and
exhibit the proof-sheet to the officer.
That gentleman during the interim
had been very much exercised in his
mind over what would happen should
the origin of the article be traced to
him. True, every word of it was au-
thentic, but absolute truth would not
remove the danger of a courtmartial;
so, after reading the proof, he re-
quested the journalist to destroy the
article, which was done.
Some critics will say that, in pre-
venting the journalist from publish
ing the story, the naval officer was
guilty of an action almost criminal,
inasmuch as the unsafe boilers ex-
posed the lives of the men employed
aboard the Iroquois; but self-preserv-
alton is strong, and in the service it
is best to hold the tongue until the
government requests it's release.
1t Costs to Keep Dog.
There are more money and time
spent upon useless dogs in this great
city every year than would provid e
comfortably for every suffering human
creature within the same territorial
limits.
No. thoughtful man can walk abroad
in the upper parts of the city without
having the fact, forced upon him.
Dogs require a great deal of atten-
ton in the city. In the country a
dog may take his own exercise and
even find his own food and shelter
But in this great city he must be pri-
vately housed and fed and watered
and groomed and exercised. No single
human being of sound mind and body
requires such constant and careful
guardianship.
On the uptown residence streets
you will see servants, male and fe-
male, masters and mistresses, leading
dogs around every day. They dare
not turn them loose for fear of the
dog-catcher. The dog must have
open air occasionally or he will die
on his owners hands. So you will
see these troublesome pets wandering
up and down every hour of the day
with full grown man or woman at
the other end of their tether. There
are probably 10000 little children in
this city not eligible to the public in
situations who receive less care than
these dogs and who would gladly ex-
change daily food with them. New
York Herald
Suicide in Bombay.
From recent official return it ap-