The sun., 1904-07-20
8oNes IN Army LIFE.
Tho Standards Of Social Honor In Army
Life Discussed by an Onloer's wife.

To TIE Ep,goR or TIE sus-Sfr: A re-
cent woman writer has declared that In so-
dety generally honor between man and
man Is an Insignificant equation as compared
to honor between officer and ofioer In tho
army. To illustrate her point. she said that
good fellowship and comrades ip exist be-
tween officers and the wives Of other officers
without any fear or suggestion Of scandal
(real or imagined) such as invariably accom-
paniea the same relations In civil life. This.
according to her. ID due TO an intense loyalty
bctween brother officers.
My impr ssaions. gathered during several
years Of army life. are different. This woman
writer must have seen things wholly from the
outside, or Through glass darkly.' There
10 certainly considerable esprit de corps in
the army--although little, II any. regimental
loyalty is nowadays discernible--but II is
an allegiance to the army as an American
institution rather than from one officer to
smother ofaoer
II 10 safe to assstt. az first premise. that
our army is neither better nor worse. morally
and mentally. than any equal number Of men
and women iD moro or less the same strata
Of life outside the army. Army officers being
in the main from the ranks OF the fortunate
middle class" ("upper middle" they say In
England, the moral, and probably the mem
tal standard presents q fair average OF what
this country has to give; but 1t is standard
produced by the excellence OF the unit and not
due or subservient to military prestige |
mean to say. that the average well conducted
army officer would be equally well conducted
In any sphere Of life In which he might find
himself
Possibly II we arc honest-and can endure
the charge OF cynioism-we will admit that In
the army. as In all this modern world. there
Is crime forbidden by the unwritten law OF
the twentieth century against which Moses
and the prophets were nevor warned. some
times II Is called the Eleventh Commandment.
and It is: Thou shalt not be found out.
II there actually Is any higher moral standard
in the army (which doubt>. 1t is unauestion-
ably because OF this crime Of being found
out It Is difiicult In army life to cover ones
tracks; things are known and proven more
quickly and easily than out in the world. and
the punishment for being found out is more
apt to -ft the crime"
In civil life. short of capital crime, men
suffer only slight discomfort as a result
Of their social orenoes-especislly for Of
fences embodied In the first section OF the
Tenth Commandment-and often nothing
happens to them at all. In the army similar
offences. IL discovered. mean not only social
I serious % matter. nat @ and the fear Of i, acting like
the tabled sword Of Damoolss: keeps ps.n many
narrow pssh Ths fsaS of
human or eternal-is probably the strongest
Of all motives governing mankind: and 10 the
possibly the standard OF excellence is pro-
portionately higher. J., ,,.,o
as against class error. Such a standard
of honor is. however. no more common ~ the
Individual trait. and not due to any sense OF
obligation toward the, army. or toward other
shfs thsPRsa to es q
h h III sSs Ess ed sre
toaohnsly as He' Of + the IRE relations between army
nocuous nature. Of the attentions Of onicers
Is really too absurd. In the army a mans
attentions to another mans wife mean ex.
ty what they do in T f
the army as out OF it. but not more so.
In one sense this writer is correct. There
civil life. except among those known as the
smart set" with whom such freedom OF
conduct Is mat matter Of oouse ,Ss In mst ssrrse oes
for months at stretch rely exclusively upon
each other for all social intercourse-as, for
sirabe posts in this Gountry-.people BECOME
iowshlp E enEendered which would be I'm
poHs'Is IL most etse earrsons also there is much
larger proportion q men than women. .,sina snd
COn8euuCnCS
attentions which, under different circum.
stances, might be more senersally dtstributeSn %
Such attentions have ,ashon' nS ,ms IN woa,o osE
rison ea life they inevit ably become marked and
subject for gossip. although often ghtc
snoh T"IS ann ns IS drawn ' t Is eher question
of limited attraction or n sense OF honor N tho
individual.
himself hin as a man OF principle and honor, does
80 s oev he Is thu same D if lis
dealings were wit men and women not bound
to him by any tie OF military brotherho3Sdf; @ hSfa
capable Of exactly the same thing IN the
and ! the s s. h bs oeer soud
4 mans code Of honor i curious thtnE,
That We While flea man nan usually Hnds it impossible
to betray his friend he will often not hesitate
to Ss ~ or the
as o. IN the other. But even this discrimination
whom have never seen or heard Of each other
Il would be difficult to find in civil NE ,e more
OF a' The Individual than exists in our army.
where, though friendships are true and strong
Ssn SGFn laei Of sympathy
OF Justice or true comradeship are as hu::
manly frequent as In any otnef sphere OF
There may be extreme cases where man,
having q limited sense Of honor or OF RESPONSE
bility toward his neighbor MS human being.
Will vet belle his nature and create for him
eeli a totally different standard. because his
neighbor Is his brother officer; but such casee.
II conceivable, are very rare Ether a man
does his duty as man to man, or as friend
To friend. or he does not do H. and the fact that
he wears a uniform will not protect him
aRainst his own limitations.
conduct becoming an officer ana GENTLE
mani We arc all familiar With that phrase.
if being an army officer were synonymous
with being gentleman, the latter ,appellation
would be unnecessary. Precisely because
the terms are not synonymous we say that
the conduct must not only become a man
wearing the uniform Of his country's army
from whom much is, OF course. expected
hut must also he l,Nconing a gentleman, which,
after ali, covers the whole ground.
All gentlemen are not army onCers. and
ali army officers II bow alphabetically to any
who for obvious reasons are undulv sensi.
tiys, are, more's the pity. not gentlemen: and
We ali know that the one is not guarantee OF i
When a man has II In him to be intellieent.
coura eeous and indomitable and honorable
and we'll bred as we'll. then indeed We recog:
nizs that fne product called an AN, oS1e.r a. and
q gentleman" AN ARMY WOMAN.
MoNTIREI. July 10
ah,r,ins Alfalfa Soil From Kansas to Florida.
From the Erpona Gazette.