Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1911-05-26
UN|'|W|IR|TTEN n ' LAWS
Man Dare Not Place Them Upon
the Statute Books.
THE SHIP CAPTAINS CODE.
1t Demands That the Skipper Shall Go
Down With His Vessel if She Be
Lost, and II Is Held Sacred-The
Iron Law of the Army and Navy.

Lost, and 1t Is Held Sacred-The
Iron Law of the Army and Navy.
There is a class of unwritten law
which does not and cannot become
written law, says Case and Comment,
because it approaches so near the dan.
ger line that man dare not recognize 1t
to the extent of publishing it and de-
claring it as part of the positive law.
1t is the unwritten law Of the sea
that a captain must go down with his
ship. Men dare not write 1t into the
contract. and nations dare not incor-
porate it in their navy or marine regu-
lations. yet the tyrants of the sea know
the law and believe that to obey 1t
betters their service. and there are
few instances of its being disregarded.
1t Is the unwrtten law of the army
and navy that an officer shall not seek
cover or at least shall not show ap-
prehension Of danger to his person In
time Of battle and In the presence Of
enlisted men or common sailors. In
the Franco -Prussian war nearly 1000
officers of the German army were
killed, and the great majority of them
gave up their lives because they be-
lieved In this law of conduct.
In obedience to this law Farragut
bound himself to the mast, Lee rode
at the head of his charging column at
the bloody angle. and Lawton walked
coolly in front of the line and was
shot in the presence Of his men.
The law Of the right Of revolution
has been much talked about and much
written about. Every Intelligent citi-
zen believes that be has the right un-
der certain conditions to oppose the es-
tabished government of his own land
and join in an effort to establish an
other in its place. Just prior to and
during the war between the states
there was much discussion In this
country by learned men on either side
of the right of revolution and the
higher power" and the greater law"
The law justifying one person in the
killing of another has required the
serious consideration of every country.
Every criminal code provides certain
punishments for homicide, and many
of them graduate the punishment with
minute particularly, according to the
circumstances of the killing, so that
any one of six crimes may be involved
In a single tragedy. Such codes also
attempt to define what killing is justi-
fable and what Is excusable and with
their Interpretation by the courts at
tempts to describe the only conditions
under which one human being can kill
another and not be guilty Of crime.
The Hebrew code almost stands
alone in its recognition Of mans desire
to kill and his right to have that de
sire and that climax Of all satisfactlonS
which come to him who under great
provocation slays another. 1t Is not at
all strange that in this branch there
should be an extended code of unwrit-
ten as written law. unwritten now and
always to be unwritten for the reason
that the recognition given by its en-
bodiment In the statutes would be tax.
en- as a license by dishonest jenen and
would result In harm rather than good
1t is an unwritten law among the
officers of the army that If subordi
nate officer kills Il superior officer be-
cause that officer has publicly degraded
him by striking him OF by other action
equally humiiating then the court mar
tial will not convict. During the war
between the states on a memorable oc-
rasion at Louisville. Ky. General Mel
son said 10 General Davis:
How many men have you?"
General Davis replied. "About'-giv-
ing an approximate number.
Nelson said: You an army officer
and say about" Why don't you
know how many men you have|
And with that he struck Davis in the
face with his glove. Davis shot and
killed him. and the court martial ac-
quilted Davis.