The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-03-06
Sampson ShOrn of His Strength.


One can easily believe that an adj
minietration elected by the people, a
Congress periodically chosen by the
people, and navy department the crea-
ture of law enacted by the representa-
tives of the people, Will never subscribe
to the exclusive and aristocratic propo-
sition which Rear Admiral Sampson
sets forth. Whether they should or
should not, they never will. The Eagle
is free to say that they never ought to
do so. Indeed, to bring the matter
down TO it's elements, there is no abso-
lutte assurance whatever that an ap-
appointment to Annapolis or to West
Point and education there insure gen.
tlemanhood among officers. Rufians,
swaggerers, habtual liars, towards,
shirks men dismissed for robbery, cor
rupdon, loOting, immortality, pecue-
ton and all forms Of dishonor have
been graduated from Annapolis as well
as from West Point and have been dis
houorably dismissed from the service
The percentage of such unworthy ones
has been very small, but it has been
larger by far than the percentage of
the increase Of officers by six a year
propo, ed from the best class of enlisted
men to be found out by the examina-
ton, under the idea of the Secretary
and the Admiral of the Navy. More
over, the brain average, the culture
average and the moral average of the
Staff in the Navy, selected from the
people at large, have uniformly been
higher than the same average in the
Line, created by Congressmen's APP
! pointments.
Admiral Sampson is a gentleman,
when character, accomplishments, val
or, education and manners unite in the
definition. He is not a gentleman,
when to those qualities the require
ment of generations of ancestors of re-
| finement and culture be added, as in
the opinion of Oliver Wendell Holmes
and of other writers they should be
added. The father of Admiral Sampson
was an entirely honest, generally shift
less and always resourceless village
! peasant Back of the father, his an
cestry is not known. The Admiral
himself worked his way against diff
culties, over obstacles and by manual
labor to a creditable place in public
school. Then kind and influential peo-
| pie induced member of Congress to
nominate him to cadetship at An
napolis, and by hard study h4 passed
the entrance examination and was
graduated with creditable marks on the
conclusion of his term at the academy.
The Eagle regards him as gentleman
in true sense of the term, but it be-
lieves he would have been Just as much
| 80 haI hn 1ol
on his own initiative, entered the navy
as gunner, instead of entering it on
the initiative OF member of Congress,
as student at Annapolis. 1t is bad to
forget the rock whence we were hewn
and the pit whence we were digged.
That old Bible admonition should never
be lost sight Of.
Continuing an essentially personal
matter, on it's elemental personal
grounds, there is Admiral Schley. His
father, his grandfather, his great
grandfather, and his great-great- rand
father, to time as far back as the be-
ginnings of Maryland, were gentlemen
and officers in the conventional sense
of the word. So, too, were all the lines
of women, whose blood flows in his
veins, ladies in that sense. We do not
say that the fact has made him either a
better or worse officer. But it has
concurred with his becoming the most
unselfish, democratic, sympathetic,
friendly and dramatic officer in the
navy, and with his being the most eff
fusive and practical friend of "the
men behind the guns" the very class
whom Admiral Sampson sprung and
against whom he 80 caudidly and abso-
lutely sets his polished pen.
This is entirely beside the question
whether Sampson ought to be vice ad-
miral, or Schley, or both. But it is
one of those considerations which, un-
der popular form of government,
make the difficulty of doing justice to
Sampson considerable and the tempta-
ton, perhaps, to do more than justice
to Schley, very strong. And the mat
ter will enter into the minds of Sene-
tors, into the press of The country, and
into the oratory of the land. 1t is
alphabetically affected by relation
to the record of Sampson and of
Schley, which have not yet been
argued to conclusion by the American
people. We regard the letter of Samp-
son as unfortunate and inopportune, as
embarrassing aud unwise, however
candid or however entitled to respect
| for its candor it may be.-Brooklyn