The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1905-08-15
CAP TAIN TACCART
SPEAKS HIS MIND
FRIENDS SILENT scoRN WORSE
THAN BULLETS.
Tells How His Army Friends Drew
Away From Him From Time
of Honeymoon.

Wooster, O., Aug. 13.-'T have known
what it is to receive an insult and to
feel the flush of shame in my cheeks
when there was no defense that could
make. AS a soldier, | have not seen
| the service in action that brother Off
GERS more fortunate have had. But I've
or cannonball. 1t is the insult that
cannot be resented, the covert look of
a man or woman you respect, the cool
! snub of one who had been your friend.
And to know that some action of the
wife you love was the cause of 1t! 1t
is worse than stab from ambush to
the heart. The helplessness of one to
combat hidden thing when one can
not strike back has been a portion of
my lot"
These words of Capt. Taggart open
story of pathos 1t holds the thread
of the story he will tell in court when
he takes the stand against his wife.
'At school at West Point | formed
many lasting friendships. Between
me and some of the men | knew were
bonds more dear than can tell. Capt
Atkinson, Capt Bundy, Capt. Omar
and Capt Cole were some of these.
when Grace and | were married
Capt. Atkinson and his wife were sta
toned at Lake Champlain, and there
we went on our honeymoon. was
just about the happiest fool there ever
was with bride on his arm and a
commission in his pocket
Then suddenly in the midst of the
entertaining in our honor, and for a
reason | could not fathom, things be-
came different Ladies who had been
the soul of hospitality and men who
had looked on US with that forbear-
ance always accorded a bride and
groom, grew cool with the weather of
that autumn. Unmarried officers /
knew became different in their bear
ing toward me and more attentive to
my wife.
II didn't understand it, for a man,
be he your closest friend, can't look
you in the eyes and say, old man,
I'm sorry for you, but | am friend
and am going to put you onto your
self ind your family You can't ex-
pect them to. They may tell others,
but hey cannot tell you.
wives of officers with whom we had
been on friendly terms began to drift
away / would ask my wife what 1t
meant, but did not learn the truth,
and I made up my mind to let them
go.
Finally Capt. Atkinson, my best
friend. grew cool. | was distracted, but
| assumed an air of indifference that
was hard to maintain. Then came
trouble from the same source with
another officer when / moved to Fort
Thomas, and i narrowly escaped a
court-mal ual.
''At last, slowly began to learn the
cause of it all, but even then l did not
believe anything worse than that the
wife ] loved showed a disregard for
snn.c social rropr'eties. Even my own
brother kept from me what he knew.
Then came the Spanish American
war. With relief cannot express
WtHl Win ic6iuhSht W icuFO SuhiP
gossip and all that behind me.
When we left Fort Thomas, Atkin-
son and were not on speaking terms.
Our estrangement because of the
things have told had brought us to
this point.
"The Sixth saw some service In that
war. There came a day before Santi-
ago. Walking among the dead of my
regiment after the fight. came upon
my classmste, Atkinson. He, too. was
walking among the dead / sometimes
find 1t hard to express myself. Per-
haps an army man is supposed to
know his trade we'll enough to make
up for such deficiency. But there comes
something to mans mind and heart
when he looks on his own dead that
goes deeper and is better understood
than words. There we met His hand
stretched out TO mind, We are friends