Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-12-19
officer ard Priystes,

otherwise making themselves disagree
able to privates in public places. In
other words. that the young officers of
our new army are feeling their posi-
tions and are putting on airs" we
think the senator may be right in some
cases and perhaps has witnessed an
incident or two that made his righteous
American blood boil, but we believe
that the charge in general is wrong
and unjust.
OF course in the processes Of calling
together hundreds Of thousands of men.
and thousands of young officers who
have had neither military training nor
army experience, must result in some
incidents of the sort, because many of
these young officers would naturally
/ feel their new Importance. and again,
more of them might be expected to
misintrepret the military regulations
and men. But most of these officers
are educated men, taken from various
callings and injected into army life at
ter few weeks Of preparation by way
Of re4ding up on interior guard duty,
and general army regulations. but they
are men of American common sense,
American spirit of justice, and Ameri-
/ can heart
/ The charge that the mobilization of
| the great American army has estab-
lished the folly of class that prevails
in some Of the old countries, we be-
| lieve shows as much indiscretion on
the part of the distinguished senator as
has been anywhere shown by the aver
age officer in his public dealings with
tile men of the army. Indeed, some of
the officers of Maine regiments, who
are in training camps and even now in
the trenches on the west front of
! France, have written numerous anus
ing sketches of incidents that have
come to their attention where upstart
officers have overstepped the bounds of
courtesy in showing off, In public
places and have usually received what
was coming to them" from some other
officer of equal or superior rank, who
/ administered the needed rebuke.
K AS a whole, we believe that the
American officers hurredly called from
all the professions and industries of
great and active America are making
good" as officers on the Job We be-
lieNe that they realize their American
ranks. We believe that as a rule they
are in fun sympathy with the privates
and consider that a big part of their
! duty as officers is to hold the respect
and the following Of every man of the
ranks. We knew it to be a fact that
officers of the lower <; { les of commits
sions stand Loyalty in the interests of
/ the men and their welfare, as buffer
between the ranks and officers higher
! up.
! In mind we have an instance of
Maine lieutenant who called his
majors attention to the quality Of
manhood and education of the boys of
! the line in his company. He re-
marked: Major I think it is up to all
of US to watch our steps or the men of
| the ranks will get u.s. Then he
specially named several privates of his
! company. who not only had military
/ training and intimate knowledge or
/ regulations and drill, but had the
foundation of college education to back
| it.
Another officer in sending home a
group photograph to his family called
attention to some of the men of the
ranks. some thing like this:
I Note the tall, we'll built, handsome
fellow with moustache, number five at
my right. He is the son of a mil
lionaire, a graduate of one of the coun-
I w - ilpol lNeTSltl6S, anu
also the law school of another. He Is
a prince in his own right as an Ameri-
can citizen, and I, as an officer wish
| knew as much as he does about the
army regulations and military tactics.
/ There are several others of his intel
lectual equal, and just as big morally
and physically as he, among the priv
ates of our battery. 1t is up to US Of
ficers to keep on the job every mo-
rnent. and to remember that every
where in the ranks of the American
army are men of that type--quiet, I'M
assuming fellows, who have the ability
to get there and who will il given half
a chance by the government 1t is no
cinch holding an officers commission
when men of that type stand at ones
elbow ready to take his place if he
shows the white feather or falls
I'VE Have no Strikes"
In the course of a most effective adj