The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-31
Promotion From the Ranks.

ton Of the army and navy is wrong. In
civil life the humblest man may aspire
to- the loftiest places. "A tailor 3 and a
Woodchopper have been presidents of the
United States. Congress and all depart
ments of the government have an album
dance of men who have risen from the
meanest obscurity and the most grinding
poverty to high places. So it Is with our
state governments. It is rather the ex-
ception when we find In their best offices
any. man who has not risen from the So
cial ranks. In civil life the most insig-
nificant Of men can hold his head high
and look the captain Of industry straight
in the eye, with that splendid self-re-
spect and independence that are the
glory of American life.
1t is this reliance Of each man among
us upon the equality Of our common man
hood that constitutes the great difference
between English and American society.
In England every man knows his place
and has it, and society is pyramid with
the most carefully chiseled courses. Each
rank kowtoWs to the one above and
scorns the one below, and the inferior ac-
cepts the scorn in the same matter Of
fact way that the superior accepts the
kowtowfng. In America, blessed be our
democracy, no man knows his place, be
cause no man has a place. Rare. indeed,
among US are the men who say. to them
selves In youth that they will stay in this
or that grade all their lives. Life Is no
journey on the level to the American; it
is mountain climbing. -.-. >,....-..-,..
But it is vastly different in the army
| and navy. Officers ponder over the for
nlidable number of assertions from the
army in time of peace, assertions that &c
down to nothing when there is a pros
pect Of fighting, and wonder why the men
will risk such dishonor. They and the
discipline are to blame. 1t is almost i'm
possible for a. self-respecting, liberty
loving American to serve his three-yea;
term in the army without being SO humili-
ated and 50 bruised and torn in spirit
| by his experiences with petty tyrants ir
shoulder straps, that he loathes the very
name Of the army. Yet these same mer
will fill acceptably and obediently .theil
places in civil life and submit in gooe
spirit to the reasonable. discipline they
know to be necessary for the successful
performance of the common task. Dis
cipline in the army means to the spirited
private soldier tame submission to in
suit; sometimes habitua1, sometime
studied; from men whom he esteems no
one whit better than himself. There il
scarcely trace in the army and navy O
essential American democracy. ~.
! One way to remedy this deplorable con
dition is to break uptthe official caste
and make the army and navy, like sou
civil life, free and open fields for ever
worthy and ambitious man who enter
| them Before March s, 1901 there wa
no regular way in which man could ris
in the navy to the rank Of commissions
officer. In that year congress provide
that not more than six, warrant officer
might be appointed each year to the ran
Of ensign. Since then. under the mos
discouraging conditions of opposition fror
the official caste, three warrant officer
have risen to a rank that opens up fe
them a clear field to the rank of admira
1t Is strange that with the secretary {
war clamoring for officers to man the ne,
warships that come sliding out of til
shipyards with such amazing rapidit!
congress does not throw down the bal
and provide that any sailor with TIL
requisite qualifications shall be. encoul
aged to seek promotion. 1t should d
; even better than that, ana provide NEAR
Of technical instruction for every man re
vealing the capacity for command. Thel
need be no fear that this will I'LL tt
; offices with men inferior in training I
Annapolis graduates. At the best thel
will never be a great many men qualifie
to rise from the. ranks, and there wi
. always be a need of men especially traine
from boyhood, but Deweys and Farragu
and Porters are not always able to e
! appointments to Annapolis. The Anne
r lean idea revolts at the thought that
born Nelson must be kept from commar
: because he knows not Annapolis. It
significant of the coming of a day wl1e
7 the old aristocratic notions shall !
J driven from our navy, that Admiral Ere
3 mantle, .of the British navy, aristocrat
and exclusive as it is, recommends tn;
r provision be made for the advancemel
t Of warrant officers to places as commit
! stoned officers.
In respect to promotion from the ranl
the army is in much better condition tina
the navy. It is substantially correct
! say that any American soldier Of INTEL
gence and energy can raise himself fro
the ranks to shoulder straps, but IL
treatment Of the men by the officers
such as to discourage ambitious, but sci
! respecting young men. from entering tt
army with a view to climbing to the top.
Regulating Automobiles.
: The legislature is discussing the lin