The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-12-18
ORDERLIES, ETC.

0SAAANNi c~Js Gnu ~ We Al - SCAN SA4cAL
young French girls are detailed as Or
derlies for young American officers.
The duty of an orderly is to hold an
officers horse, polish his shoes and
do such other mental performances.
For very shame!-Banner.
AS we know the Banner is a very
good friend of the soldiers, and is
really worried over what it believes
to be the state of affairs it depicts
above, and as, moreover, its statement
may worry some good folks who
have sons in the army, or whose sons
will sooner or later have to serve in
the army, we take pleasure in assur~
ing it that it is greatly mistaken.
In the first place it is impossible
for French girls to be detailed as Or
derlies for the American. army. In
the part of France occupied by the
Americans there may be good many
girls who take, care of the quarters
of American officers, do their laun-
dry work and perhaps polish their
shoes. They doc the same for their
own officers, and the only difference
perhaps is that the Americans who
are more highly paid than the French
give them more money, and it is like
ly that the French women and girls
are glad to do the work and glad to
receive the pay. We do not see any
dishonor to either side in the ar
rangement.
If the Banner win consult the regu-
lations of the American army it will
find that an orderly is not an Off
GERS servant but his clerk. He is ga
private or non-commissioned officer
who attends on a superior officer, to
carry orders and messages"
Officers generally choose for or
derlies men whom they believe to be
faithful, intelligent and we1l-educat-
ed, and it is a sort of promotion
rather than a disgrace to be so chos-
EN-.
An orderly may have to hold a
horse sometimes, but in the army it
is not disgrace but duty to hold a
horse, and any man who supposes that
orderlies are kept as hitching posts
to horses, doesn't know much about
army life. In camp, an officers horse
doesn't stand in front of his tent with
it's reins in a private soldiers hand.
If another officer rides up for a few
minutes visit, he generally leaves his
horse in the care of the nearest SOL
der. But if a private soldier brings
message, his horse must be attend
ed to in the same way. The truth of
the business is that it isn't the Off
Ger so much as the horse that is to
be considered, for horses are rather
valuable in an army and good SOL
der doesn't like to see one lost or
suffer for attention. In battle, ma
neuvers or on the march, if an officer
dismounts, it isn't always a private
soldier who holds his horse. It's the
most available man, and that man
sometimes is another officer. When
a detachment, a squadron or a regi-
ment of cavalry dismounts, every
fourth man holds horses-his own and
three others. He may be holding
horses for his officers or for his
bunkies-in either case he does it, not
to serve nor oblige any person but t.
serve the whole force by taking care
of the horses.
Another thing the Banner and some
other papers should learn is that no
American soldier is required to black
Tor rather shine) an officers shoes,
nor do any other mental work Some
times a soldier is willing to make ex.
ira money by doing odd jobs for an
officer, but if he does. he does it of
his own free will. The only time d
private soldier can be compelled to
do mental work is when he is under
punishment for disobeyirg orders,
and then he does it for his whole
company and not for the officers in
particular
We have noticed lately in some of
our exchanges good deal of stuff
calculated to worry, not the soldiers,
who know better, but their relations
and friends, first about its being a
degradation to private to salute an
officer; second, this almost similar
stuff about privates acting as SER
wants for the officers. The salute is
oU-oU, IL private SaIuCeS an Ofncer,
the officer must salute the private.
And the servant matter is just as we
have said; if private doesn't want
to be servant, no officer in the
United States army can make him a
servant. And it looks tosus like this
line of talk, like almost anything else
that is alleged against the army and
navy, has been started by German
sympathizers, and the Banner and
some other loyal papers have picked
it up without stopping to avail them
selves of better information that was
probably only across the street.
We were gratifed Saturday to print
a card of thanks from Mr.. A. T.
Thomas, successful candidate for al