Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-11-16
FOREIGN CHAT.
The Strictness Of Military
Ethics in.Matters Of Honor.
lsecret or Two About Queer Will
heImina of Holland.
=, Cars Visit 10 France. Story Of the
Kaiser. Court Bosom.

p,ssident Roosevelt has acted IN ac-
.oraanre with European military ethics
\, xlthholding a commission In the
.,ynlar army from William u. craw-
,orl Of South Carolina. on the ground
,ha- he has lifted his iiancee. Roth
~ late Emperor William and the
arssant Kaiser have even gone a step
,sr,her. and have dismissed officers
f-om the service who had rendered
themselves guilty OF similar breaches
Of faith.
The ground taken is that an officer
must. above everything else. be o man
~ honor. with the most strict. regard
for the value of his word. So irnpiicft
is the reliance placed on the word OF
= commission officer that in Wartime
whom captured, as soonss as Ssever he
ciyes his word not to bear arms again
during the campaign. he is released
.ror confinement. II an officer is
gr,jlty OF breaking his word to any Of
his comrades. such as for instance il
connection with the payment of n debt
of honor he is forced to leave the
ormy II stands to reason, therefore.
that man who plghts his troth to 4
oi-l and then breaks his word TO her
without some very important reason. is
untitled tor the position of Il COM
nissioned officer in the army, since he
has shown by his breach of promise 10
his Gancee that he does not appreciate
IN its proper sense the value Of his
word Of honor.
During the lifetime of the late Car
,hare V as no more powerful and in
nuential officer Of his army than Field
Marshal Gourko, the victorious COM
,nander of the lH-7 war with Turkey.
While governor general Of Poland, his
favorite son rendered himself guilty of
n breach Of faith toward some of his
comrades. Young Captain GourkO was
dining az mess when the conversation
turned on a book published abroad on
the same lines as the "Societe de Ber-
lin" making fun of the great world al
Warsaw, and holding up TO criticism
all the leading perSOnagaS there.
Young GourkO. on hearing about it.
vas eager to see il, although warned
by his fellow Officers that il assailed
both his father and mother. Finally.
he was lent the only copy OF the book
that could b had for love or for
money. after s1lemnly pledging his
word that he would not reveal to any
Cne. least Of all 10 the authorities. the
names Of his fellow Officers. who had
ihe book in their possession. or the
L. u.
whom il had been obtained from
abroad.
Captain Gourko got the book and took
it away with him. But so bitter We're
the attacks against his father and
motneg, which he found therein that
forgAtfnl Of his pledged word. he
brought the book to the notice Of his
father. ana in response to the latter'S
inquiries. told him from whom he had
borrowed IT, and likewis, the identity oi
the bookseller through whom il had
been imported. old Field Marshal
Gourko was very passionate and inn
pulSive and he at once caused the
booksellers shop to he closed by the
police, and had the unfortunate man
slipped Of 10 Siberia. While the COM
mander of the regiment To which both
Captain Gourko ana the officers who
had lent him the book belonged. was
called upon by the field marshal to
consigh them TO arrest for having such
work in their possession.
The colonel had no alternative but TO
obey. The officers Of the regiment got
together however, and came to the
conclusion mat as Captain Gourko had
broken his word Of honor he was no
longer fit to associate with officers, and
with gentlemen. 50 they all, the
colonel included. signed a round robin.
calling upon him to resign. This he
deciiaed 10 90, whereupon he was boy
cottec by every officer. not merr'r of
the regiment itself. but Of the entire
garrison at Warsaw.
Tho situation became so intolara bic
Tor him that ne appealed to his father
who. summoning the colonel before him.
threatened IA place the entire corps Of
officers Of the regiment under arrest
'ihiess the boycott was removed. This
me colonel declined to do. and as he
vas upheld in The matter by the
nilgaHe commander. the matter was re
iHrred to St. Petersburg and was con-
Siaefed of sufficient Importance by tie
iate Emperor to cause him to send his
brother. the Grand Duke Vladimir i'll
person to Warsaw in order to deal ii
MS name with the situation. The
'land Duke Vladimir came. and not
ohN sustained the colonel against the
neid marshal end governor general.
"uc actually went so far as to insist
upon the immediate removal of Captain
''u'Kos name from the army, on the
Sround that by failing to keep his
Hnshted word he had rendered himself
unworthy to associate with Officers
ana gentlemen.' and to hold the Gar $
commission.
Nor could all the influence and power
VI ms father. the field marshal. nor the
magnificent services rendered by the
'"t'er To the empire. preserve the cap
I'm from his fate For the Car thor
oustiy appreciated the fact that the
morale and the honor of the entire
"inE was at stake in the matter.
II England the same ideas prevail.
"Ni by the late Queen Nictoria's per
soAai commands a young officer oi the
navy belonging to the influential house
rohSonby. which is in high favor at
o'uI'' was deprived of his commission