Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-08-15
SALUTE, YOU BEGGAR /!
When Is An Officer Not An
Officer And How Can A
Sailor Know Them In
"CitS"
CADDISHNESS GALORE
Bunch 0i Disguised Civilians Given A
Rare And Racy Treat Or Saturday
Afternoon

AiteTH0On
BY heck Court martial and dis
missal, discipline and the brig be
1 darned, but if | were one of those fell
lows that Mr.. Officer would have had
I his face smeared all over thes e
cobblestones, said rough looking
husky lad in civilian clothes on
Saturday afternoon. He was stand ,
/ ing on Church Circle, between West
/ street and Franklin street, and
| the remark was brought forth by
| an incident that caused the hot
blood of disgust at caddishness, and
indignation over paraded injustice,
to flush the cheeks of every manly
man who saw it.
American citizens who are proud
Of their Army and Navy and Marine
Corps and particularly loyal to those
lows v'.o following the Spanish
American war were afrect lnately
dubbed 'the men behind thc guns, "
laugh scornfully at the ov 4ers of
places of amusement who i.r mere
monetary motives refuse enl ed men
in uniforms admission to their places.
But they can see nothing to produce
laugh even when one calling him
self an officer needlessly humiliatcs
those who are placed below him in
rank, by service regulations. But 10
the tale.
Standing in an interested ard
amused crowd of townspeople and
country folk watching the driver of a
pair of recalcitrant oxen couple his
balky team to the tail end Of a modern
chug wagon in an effort to get home
with his Saturdays marketing, were
two enlisted men one a marine and
the other a bluejacket. Sauntering
through this crowd came a party of
several ladies, one gentleman and
this. other fellow. Both males were
in civilians clothes. Nothing in
their bearing indicated that they were
officers. Even had either been in
uniform they passed behind the two
enlisted men whose attention was
wholly engrossed in the comical re-
versal of the usual while, an automo-
bile towed an OK team.
After passing, and quite naturally
not getting salute from men, VINO did
not see him, or even a regular kow-
tow, which would probably have
pleased him more, the fellow whose
actions so disgusted those who have to
call him "countryman, halted his
friends to watch him while he strutted
back to the two enlisted men whose
backs were still turned to him. He
hailed them and both. with a bearing
that indicated they were replying to
a stranger in town, who probably de-
sired directions or assistance of
Some sort, responded. Then such
calling as they got.
Like a Game Cock growing on the
pile of stuff in the rear of the
stable of a farm yard, or a Pointer
pigeon on parade before the females
of the cote he gave those two enlisted
men thorough-going "calling
down" for not recognizing him as
an officer, and saluting him. After
telling Individually and then Jointly
what his little mind figured their
measure to be, he swelled his chest
until the buttons of his Sunday
'cits' were in eminent danger of
being busted" Joined his awaiting
party and continued his parade out
Franklin street
With their hands and tongues figu-
ratively tied by naval regulations, and
with every advantage against them,
the two enlisted men their faces
flushed walked hurriedly out West
street carrying the sympathy and pity
of every man who saw the occurrence.
Hardly one in the crowd would
have blamed an officer in uniform for
rebuking an enlisted man who had
seen and recognized him, had there
been deliberate affront intended by
the lacking salute. But when the
man who claimed to be an officer, and
is understood to grace a Paymaster's
uniform, when on duty, left the opin-
ion of him held by the crowd was way
below that held for the enlisted men
he had needlessly humiliated.