Arizona republican., 1908-07-07
PHCENIX, ARIZONA, JULY '. 1908.
THE BLUE JACKETS UNIFORM.

THE BLUE JACKETS UNIFORM.
 There are two sides of the matter
 of excluding men in the uniform of
 the navy from public dance halls as
 was done at Avalon on the Fourth
 to. the indignation of the commander
 of the gunboat Alert. In the first
 place it might seem that such places
 which at the best are not very eX
 elusive and many of them not eX
 tremely decent, could not be greatly
 scandalized by the uniform of the
 blue jacket. Raiment is not defin
 itely prescribed and the styles seen
 there are usually in accord with the
 wearer's taste which is apt to be not
 highly refined. Many of the dancers
 are rudely dressed, and what is still worse, they make the cheap perfume bottle supplement the infrequent bath.
 Surely, at first glance it would not seem that the seaman's uniform could lower the general average of the surroundings.
 That is one way of looking at it. From another side there is some ex- cuse for the dance hall proprietor's objection which has nothing whatever to do with the question of patriotism. tinctive dress and not a very hand some one either. One seaman or a group of seamen so clad would at tract attention which might be fol- lowed by unpleasant results in a public dance hall whose habitues are not all ladies and gentlemen and many of whom lack good breeding The exclusion of the uniform from such places must not always be con sidered as a mark of disrespect for it, but frequently as a necessary or desirable precautionary measure.
 It is true that on the cruise of the battleships up the Pacific coast, the uniform was welcomed every where but those were holidays and holiday and hospitable practices pre- vailed. Ladies of society danced during those days with common sail ors. The practices of that brief pe- riod could not be expected to be pro- longed into social customs.
 No doubt, sometimes the objection l to the uniform of the soldier or the | sailor is founded partly on cheap i snobbishness and even for that there | is some excuse in the wide and al- | most impossible gulf between the ed men. This is a gulf between off 1 cers and privates in the fighting force | of every nation and in our country | constitutes, at least theoretically, about the only class distinction there is.
 The commissioned officer of even the lowest grade is admitted into society often for no other reason than that he is an officer. The pri- ' dNc lS never IttOSHlLtu dS d SOCldl equal. He is excluded for no other reason than that he is a private. It It is not therefore greatly to be won dered at that public dance halls should object to his presence in his badge of inferiority.
 We do not think the question of patriotism should be confounded with such sights as are now and then '; offered to the uniform of the pri- { vate soldier or sailor. It is foolish to say that such sights might as well be offered to the flag. We may f say though that if there were two ( flags, one for the officer and one for the enlisted man, the latter flag 7, might not be greatly revered. But I for that the blame would rest less C with those who should show it dis respect than with the fact that the : flags were signs of social distinc- f ton as the uniform of the officer a and that of the enlisted man are now.