The Van Buren press., 1897-09-25
TO WEAR UNIFORMS,
The Passing of Our Pubaic Men from
Citizens to Soldiers.


The recent ruling of the attor'
general regarding the wearing
of the uniform as well as the
title of the highest grade which
they reached in the volunteer service
opens up vast possibilities for large
number of our public men. Our rep.
resentatives at foreign courts have in
times past had to satisfy themselves
with the plain garb of the citizen while
many of the representatives of other
nations at the same court have dazzled
the world with the brillianee of their
uniforms. But now for many of our
representatives abroad these days are
past and they can shine with the diplo.
matte representatives of other nations
Many of our representatives abroad
were general officers in our late war
and these will now be permitted to ap.
pear upon occasions of ceremony in all
the gold lace their rank entities them
to.
| beliye that our public men who are
entitled to wear a military or naval
uniform should be encouraged to do so
Foreigners have been in the habit OF
chasing we Americans as nation oil
farmers and shopkeepers, and the ap'
pearance of American military uni
forms in foreign courts will do much
to correct this impression. There is
only one point that might cause
trouble, and to prevent this we will
have to rely upon the good sense of our
public Xlen. 1t might be unpleasant
for an American minister who was not
entitled to the privilege of wearing a
uniform to have as secretary of lega-
ton a man who had seen service in the
American army or navy, and so entitled
to appear in the uniform of his rank.
AS / said, to remedy this we shall have
to depend upon the good sense of such
secretary should he be put in this
position to pass over his inclinations
| to blossom forth in all the brilliance
of a uniform and so outshine his SUI
periors in the service which he repre-
sents. A man holding an under posi-
| ton who would insist on doing such a
thing, no matter what his previous serv'
/ ice udNl Dttll, SuOull OC a SOOb odDJSS'
| for dismissal.
l can think of no more pleasing sight
! than to see on the occasion of some
great public occasion our dignified SEN
ators and cabinet officers attired in the
uniforms to which they are entitled
! Such a scene would be wholesome les
son to some of the representatives oi
foreign nations in Washington. II
| would also be a lesson in patriotism to
our own people.
| The first person to avail himself oi
| the privilege thus bestowed will be
Brig. Gen. Woodford, who will wear the
uniform of his rank when officially pre-
sented to the queen regent of Spain
l can think of no place where the wear
ing of an American uniform would be
more appropriate than at the Spanish
court, and trust that Gen. Woodford
may find many occasions of ceremony
awaiting him at his new post. The
new secretary of the United States lega
ton at Madrid is Maj. Sickles, OF the
New York national guard, and he viii
also avail himself of the opportunity
offered and wear the uniform of his
rank on this occasion, although the
opinion of the encouragement does
not affect the officers of the national
guard. Washington Correspondence,
| Military Gazette, Chicago.