The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-27
Sam psOn.

It now remains to be seen whether Con-
gress will unite with the Navigation Blu
| reau ring in the latters wild desire to
make that naughty son of the soil, Samp
| son. a vice admiral. We do not think it
! will, but all things seem possible in these
days of violations of the Constitution and
laws by people sworn to support both. and
of national rule by trusts and monopolies.
But, in any event the truth remains that
man who thinks as contemptuously of
fellow citizens originally his social supe-
| riors as Sampson does on that account
alone should be refused promotion. if he
! had not outraged every American sense
of justice and decency in other ways.
| In Directing to the idea of advancing
any warrant officer in the navy to its low
! est commissioned grade of ensign. no
matter how worthy or accomplished the
aspirant may be. Rear Admiral Sampson
brands as unfit for the company of gem
tlemen such ornaments of the service as
Rear Admirals O'Neil. Hichborn and Mel
vile. all of whom, like Farragut and many
others of his time, came up to the
/ quarter deck from the ranks of the
people, and without the natural advan-
tage," as Sampson calls it, of an educa-
tion at Annapolis. That training must,
indeed be severe and effective when it
can take raw young farm laborers and. in
four years lick them into so fine social
form that ever afterward they are too
blue blooded and Iordly to brook the ac-
quaintance of ministers. lawyers ard
IL,
into the service and win its highest hon
ors without first having their vulgar pie
beianism knocked out of them in the Naval
Academy.
AS one of our contemporaries remarked
yesterday. in taking the position that Zone
but gentlemen bred-it did not insist
upon gentlemen born-are fit to wear
epaulets. and join in the exalted social
swim of the wardroom and the steerage,
Sampson refutes himself He is the rest
evidence in the world that given the OPP
portunity which does not come to many.
an American lad with little schooling
can aspire to a rear admirals pennant. al
though his elevation to the naval aris-
tocracy may be directly from mental SER
vice. He is also conclusive evidence that
the polishing and ennobling course at An
napoIis may not invariably cure the def
ciencies of heredity, or do what Solomon
was sure never could be done namely. to
make silk purse out of a sow's ear"
There is no reason for doubling hat
there are plenty of warrant officers in the !
navy today who are SIMPSONS profess |
sionaI equals and his superiors in every
other respect. Gunner Morgan, for e.;-
ample. had he been in command of The
New York hardly would have permitted
such lax discipline on board as to permit
one of our torpedo boats to bump him in
the middle of the night at sea; 5lunder
which nearly led to the blowing up of
the flagship through its being mistaken
for Spanish cruiser We do not believe
that Admiral Hichborn. when he was a
ships carpenter, would have wasted his !
ammunition against the old stone forts
and Christopher Columbus guns of San |
Juan, or on the batteries of Santiago Har- |
Dor. Whether any of these graduates
from the hawsehole would have made way |
move the foundation for despicabIe |
scandal. is another matter. We do not |
think any of them would have consented
to such a service, even IL they had known !
that il would be counted 10 them for |
righteousness. and as a title to the honors |
earned by others.
1t will be remembered that The Times |
has always expressed the opinion that |
there was something wrong about Samp- |
son. Friends who heretofore, have not |
agreed with US on this point will now
be convinced that our suspicion was right. |
He can safely be left to the verdict of
public opinion. and it would be well for
Congress and the President not to ignore
IL