The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1906-02-01


was In absolute want and was too
proud to let any of his old army
friends know the truth. In three days
he received an unexpected offer Of
lucrative employment and accepted the
position. He never admitted that he
had been close to starvation. but when
I visited him In his last sickness he
told his family the story of how his
old boys had helped him, and that the
Colonel and myself had been leaders
in the conspiracy. In the army he
was one OF the most lovable men 1
knew, and yet he could be rs remote
as the Arctic Ocean when occasion re-
quired. Inter-Ocean.
Dull Uniform Due to Lee.
General Robert f. Lee was the
first man who discovered that all
armies were improperly uniformed"
observed well-known army officer,
"and he was so strongly convinced
that he was right that he abolished
the blue uniforms worn by the cadets
at West Point and substituted gray,
which has been worn ever since In its
place. General Lee was in command
of the military academy Mt West
Point some years before the Civil War,
and 1t was here he put his ideas and
reforms into operation. He was, ac-
cording to the records, the first officer
in any army who favored inconspicu-
GUS uniforms.
"The khakis, drab and blue, which
are universally used by the armies
| Of the world to-day as campaign uni
forms, are the direct results Of his
original thought and consideration.
Other officers may have thought along
the same lines with him, but he was
the first to start the reform. OF course
he met with violent opposition, for
soldier people as a rule are in favor
of as much display as possible, but he
never let up. The first organization
that adopted his suggestion was the
famous Seventh Regiment Of New
York City, and which has worn gray
ever since, followed soon by the
equally famous Fifth Regiment Of
Baltimore, Maryland's National Guard.
Others soon fell into line.
"Only recently, in studying over the
reports OH this subject on lille in the
| War Department at Washington, l
ran across the reports of the then
Major Lee. His only fault in the
matter, like those Of all pioneers, was
that he was fifty years ahead of his
| nb al
presume always will be an unpardon-
able sin. In these reports Major Lee
not only urged the abolition Of con-
spicuous uniforms for campaigns, but
he went even further in recommend
ing that arms, accoutrements, cannon
and all the things used in the bust
ness Of war should be without polish
or glisten.
His idea has been universally
adopted by all the armies Of the
world, and to-day it would be vio-
lation of all rules for soldier in a
campaign to have anything about
him, even to a button ON his cloth
ing, which has even the slightest pol
ish or even susceptible of polish. For
play soldiers and dress parade fancy
colors, polish and glisten will do well
enough, but for campaigns it is a
thing of the past. Had the armies of
Europe discovered this years before
they did their lists of killed and
wounded would have been consider.
ably less than what they were.
Mine tenths of the people of the
North and the South think that gray
had some connection with the South
on its own account, never dreaming
that gray was first worn in the North
by the cadets at West Point, where
it is still used as dress uniform, and
by the leading military organizations
of the North, notably in New York
and Boston. General Lee when called
upon to organize the army of the
South put into practical operation the
ideas he had formed long before he
had even dreamed of the Civil War
This explains also the reason why he
was less strict In having the soldiers
Of the Confederate army wear their
pretty clothes during the war. He
had found out by his study and OBJ.
servation that the less show and dis
play meant the less casualties and he
sought the latter. The campaign
uniform of today the world over is
his ideal and he Gid all he could to
carry 1t into effect."-New Orleans
Times Democrat.
JOSH BILLINGS PHILOSOPHY.