The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-18
ARMY OFFICERS WIVES.

From the Washington Post.
The wives of army and naval officers
stationed in Washington have it in
heir power to bring their better halves
TO terms in a manner that their less for
tunately located sisters upon the plains
and in out-of-the-way ports can not
avail themselves of. A well known
naval officer, whose record shows rim
10 have had a very large apportionment
Of sea duty blissfully unaware to
this day that he owes the fact to his
wife, to whom, by the way, at home,
he was not inclined TO be indulgent-
The little woman, being of a hospitable
temperament, was devoted to the Civ
ing Of charming little entertainments.
For some time the husband frowned
upon entertaining to such degree
that while he was on shore duty 1t was
almost impossible for the wife TO graf
fly her hospitable proclivities even to
the most limited degree. She was an
influential little body. who endured
things as long as was possible for any
one short of an angel. Finally, how
ever, the invariable outcome of the
her to give some entertainment upon
which she had set her heart was fol-
lowed by his Immediately thereafter
receiving orders detailing him to sea
duty.
Instances in which wives have had
their husbands ordered to sea or out of
the way places at posts where 1T was
almost impossible for their families to
be accommodated when prolonged
sprees have followed upon their being
stationed in Washington are too nu-
merous to be accounted in any way re-
markable.
There are many reasons other than
official ones why officers have been or
dered away from Washington within
the past half dozen years Not the
least interesting of these was the case
of the two naval officers who elected TO
pay attention to the same handsome
young matron. The rivalry finally
reached such a point that the senior
officer, unable longer to endure the
presence of the attractive young lieu
tenant, hit upon the plan of having
him ordered to sea. In the assignment
of duty the utmost care was taken to
insure long absence from the city,
and as one Of the vessels for the relief
Of some Arctic explorers was Just about
setting out the lieutenant was given
the opportunity to cool down his ardor
in voyage in polar waters.
Another interesting case is that Of al
~ell-known member of the medical
corps who after considering himself
comfortably fixed with his family in
Washington was considerably cha
grined to receive orders detailing him
TO duty on the Pacific coast. There is
considerable inside history to this lat
ter case, in which the qualification of a
personal pique was the real reason for
the change. During the latter part of
the last administration one OF the ply
sicians stationed in the west, who from
long residence in Washington had ac-
quired great longing to return, be-
gan to move the Heaven and earth of
his influence to have himself stationed
there.
This he was unab BILE to effect in spite
of everything he could do. Finally, his
VINO phShCo op hck bShcAk ohA
journeyed across the continent for the
purpose of adding her efforts TO those
of her husband. Nothing. however,
availed. The opposition was too strong.
The feminine perception soon discov-
cred that the opposition emanated from
an officer who in some manner unwarily
let fall certain hints that she was not
slow to pick up Imagining himself
sure of his detail in Washington, the
officer gave little attention, if any, to
the fact that the doctors wife was
aware OF his opposition. The affair &C.
CAPPED considerable attention in the
papers at the time, though it was not
then known what was the hidden his
tory of the case.
No sooner had the present admins
tration been fully installed than the
wished-for orders assigning the physi-
clan to duty here were despatched to
his western post Almost simultane-
ously, like a thunder clap, came the or
ders aSSipniop the officer who had op-