Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-09-02


ing Tor expression. forced from Nathan
the very words Woodrow was longing
10 hear and that he lost no time in
rushing off delightedly to tell to his
fellows at the club: There is one mat
Ter you need to be warned about ana
one that, should it come to the ears OF
the commanding officer, may vet sub
Ject you to arrest and court martial
your prominence i'll that riotous, even
inutlnCus, demonstration at the depot
this morning. When officers and men
conspire to cheer person dismissed in
ulsGface from the army, they attack
The administration and are guilty of
gross characterization. l shall not re-
port the occurrence myself because Of
my known antagonism to such charac-
iers as Mr.. Langdon, but You'll be most
fortunate If the colonel does not hear
Of it,"
Now, Woodrow had taken no part in
The cheer-that was matter confined
almost entirely to the enlisted men
but he had nc objection whatever to
Nathan's believing lie did and would
nave openly rejolced had Nathan pre-
TERED charges against him. 1t would
have been bliss to disprove them AS
Tor the captains angry rebuke based
upon the ostentatious disrespect with
Wnlch the party Of subalterns had
charged past his carriage on the I'D
All drive, Woodrow had no defense to
oner. 1T was boyish ebullition on
The spur of the moment, May having
led on with a "Come ahead, feUowsi
I'm not going to trail behind that dash,
ed pawnbroker," and the rest having
mpetuously followed. But it was done. I
and their regrets were on account of
Efhe regiment, not for Nathan. It was
bad form, as they owned, to show to
Civilians contempt for a brother officer,
no matter how much they might feel it.
These episodes growing out of Lang
don's departure We're the talk Of the
club and indeed of every household on
the post the rest of the week. The in
,spector general could not help hearing
them, but said not word The colo
mel commanding was sorely pcrturb-
ed man. He felt that if he did not
punish somebody-do something to vim
dictate the good order and discipline of
his command-there would be a ran
from department headquarters, posi-
bly, from Washington, and this was
more than candidate for the star of a
general officer could contemplate with
equanimity. He excused himself the
moment dessert was over at Nathan's
dinner party that evening and, though
1t was after tattoo, began an investiga-
ition of the affair. A dozen of the bat
Iterymen ard all the junior officers
present at the station were summoned |
to the adjutant's office, and in five min
utes he had the facts. There was not |
the faintest attempt to equivocate or /
dissemble. Lieutenants May, Wood I
row, Sparrowe and LIE Due said they
heard the call for three cheers, and |
May said that, though he didn't shout,
he swung his cap and had all the ap-
pearance of it. He disclaimcd any dis
respect for the court, the reviewing
authority, the president or the post
commander. Mr.. Langdon was his
best friend. He was sorely distressed |
at his dismissal, and he did come with
in an ace of cheering, only he knew
Langdon himself would have disap-
proved. The colonel used some rasp-
Ing language, in the course of which
as cayalryman he reflected on the
sense Of subordination and discipline
that did not appear to prevail in the
batteries, thereby antagonizing every
gunner at the post, and then, dismiss
ing the officers with no little asperity
In his reprimand, he summoned Ser
seant Rancey, an Irish idol in Battery
D, and whirled on him with the stern
query, SIS it true you called for three
cheers for Lieutenant Langdon, the
pest officer in Battery DIP"
2 'True as shootin, sorr," was the
prompt reply.
go to your quarters in close arrest,
sir" said the colonel, and without the
luiver of muscle of his sun tanned
ace the Irishman spun on his heel and
'talked out. Then Sergeant Blossom,
down east Yankee, was summoned
n.
odd you join in the cheers for Lieu
enant Langdon?" asked the colonel.
eyes, sir" was the emphatic answer.
"Didn't you know that was tanta-
Mount to mutiny?"
"No, sir. There was no such thought
r intention. We meant to show our
for beloved officer and an
Unfortunate man; that was ALL"
The colonel wheeled impatiently in
lis chair. He loved the old style sol
Ter, who knew nothing beyond the
vill of his superior officer. These mod
IN eyolutions of soldiers in the ranks,
len Of education who read and :,
bought for themselves and spoke bet a
ar English than some Of the officers. q