Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-11-30
the WOMEN REGULARS.
The wives Of These Who Serve the Flag on
Land and Sea.

| "My wife is my heroine" A regular
army officer some time ago 50 summed
M his opinion OF the dear woman
whom he had an hour before left. for
an unknown time, to serve his coun-
try in the Philippines. 1t is Of her and
women like her-"the women regulars"
that the following is written:
"All aboard" called out the man at
the gate.
"Wen. goodbye. Patsy" said the
naval officer. STOPPING and kissing his
wife See you in 1902. may be-"
| Goodbye. Jack-Ill count the
hours" said his wife. Then he kissed
| her again. There We're some pretty
affectionate looks between them. but
no tears. The naval officer picked up
his bag, walked through the gate to
the train, the train pulled out and the
two or three years separation between
| one of the most devoted naval couples
| lin the service was over.
We'll, of all things," exclaimed the
friend of the naval officers wife, when
the train had pulled out. How could
| you let him go 50 easily?"
That is a question that is often put
wonderngly to the wives of naval Off
| GERS by their women friends lin civil
| life The wives of officers in the
regular army are also frequently re-
| quired to give some sort of an answer
10 the same query. The civilian wo
man does not understand how the ser
| vice woman can let her husband go.
| without at least some little rain of
| tears, some little parting tableau Dor
| dering on the pathetic. The service
woman doesn't understand why any
thing of the sort should be expected OF
! her.
I'VE must obey orders. mustn't we?"
she replies. wonderingly.
Orders" is the word. 1t is as we'll
! understood by the service women as
| by the service men. The infleXibility
of orders teaches them abnegation.
| They know the meaning Of orders as
| Well as their husbands. Orders. then.
being a stone wall. why. they argue.
should they bruise themselves by try
ing to overthrow it? Why should they
be demonStrative in the face of orders
| Last year, when the war broke out
the wives and families of officers of the
| army and navy did not manifest any
outward dsquiet. The GOODNESS with
which they observed the trend of af-
fairs that brought nearer and nearer
, every day the parting from their hus-
| bands. brothers. fathers. excited the
! wonder of civilian women who num-
| bered service women among their
friends.
They did not bear in mind the fact
that this sort of self-restraint, which
| appeared 50 strange TO them, is. as
! q nf Of iva N m
| the part of women whose male rela-
tives are attached to the land or sea
forces of the United States Self-con-
troll is bred in the bone Of army ana
navy women. In no country in the
world is there so much service inter-
| marrying" as there is in the United
| States. There are extraordinary rami-
fications of relationship by marriage in
the American army and navy. The
result of this was that most of the
women whose husbands. fathers and
brothers We're likely to mix in the
thick of the war for which prepara-
tons We're going forward We're thor
oughly imbued with the spirit of alb
| negation that animated the men, The
| service women are subscribers to a
| code of their own, and the very first
clause of this unwrtten but compre-
| henSive code is that it would be quite
| as Weakened and cowardly for them
| to wilt in the face of trouble as il
| would be for their men TO show the
yellow"
There is. il may be verify believed
no lack OF womanly feeling on the part
of the feminine members of the house
holds of American Army and Navy Of
finarS hai hIla
such as to bring out the strongest com
nonsense of which human beings are
capable when the danger to their men
| becomes most imminent. Their spirit
is such that they would take shame I'M
| to themselves if they interjected any
whimpering into the preparations for
departure of their men on any mission
| whatsoever, however hazardous The
service women broke out their hus-
bands and fathers and brothers ac-
coutrementS with undeniably heavy
hearts. but rarely with any exterior
parade of woe. There are many Mrs
Major ODowds among the wives Of the
older officers of the United States ser
lVice-that is, they resemble the lOvable
plucky spouse Of the redoubtable little
Irish Major Of Thackerays story in
the quality Of their smiling self-repres-
sion in the teeth of trouble. Inciden-
tally ii should be added that in the
households of the enlisted men in the
1 United States service there is no lack of
Ibrave-hearted Dinah Shadds.
| The wives of numerous old-time Of
ficers of the American army and navy.
at the beginning of the Spanish war.
sent their men away for the second
time in their married lives. They babe
them goOd-by when they We're eager
headed fellows, matter of nearly
| four decades ago. and last year, with
silvered hair and that long gulf of
peace between, they gave them an
other God-speed. These older women
of the service We're mainstays for the
young wives who had not been born
brought up and married in the service.
and therefore had not been schooled in
the wretchedness Of partings: had not
| thoroughly mastered the adamantine
meaning of that word ORDERS" The
young officers in the two services who
had taken girls from civil life for wives
had the most difficulty in departing for