The Washington herald., 1918-03-13
YNAlks an. ssR TALKs
JOHN D. BARRY
OFFICERS AND MEN.


The. story that one Of our new ma
tionsi army ofhcers had a charge
brought against him for fraternizing
with q private, who happened 70 be
his brother, 10 probably false. Broth
ers will happen In the best Of fGni-
lies and an ofiicer may be excused for
being familiar with q brother who h
in the ranks. even though the famIii-
artty u damaging TO perfect disci-
pline. But, false or true, the story IL
suggestive. IL reminds US that even
an army fighting 20 keep the world
safe for democracy cannot be expect
ed TO be run on perfectly democratic
principles and that differences in
rank may go To extremes that aston
ish the lsyman.
Perhaps one must be Intimately as
sociated with army life TO understand
how real the distinctions are and how
extraordinary violations must seem
to the military point Of view. Occs-
sionally. OF course. a. q result Of the
distinctions. an oficer loses his head
and commits q stupidity. Ike the Of
ncer who. while riding In q hotel ele-
vator with q fellow-psssenEer who
happened 10 be q private, insisted on
being taken 10 the NTH floor before
the private was let out at the second.
He forgot that the elevator man had
not been trained TO appreciation OF
military distinctions and that he was
at the moment in q position where
the usages OF civil life prevailed. 1t
must have been q puzzling and dis
concerting moment for the elevator
man and something Of an ordeal for
|ah g.
occasion to excite wrath. So much
in life depends on the angle OF vision.
In Germany the arrogance OF ON
GERS has long been a subject OF com
msnt- In fact. the German oficer
used 70 be accepted a. the most Of
fensive among men supposed to be
civilized. Since the war, however,
those public displays Of arrogance
have ceased. The ZAbern AFFAIR OF
some years ago doubtless carried its
lesson; and the war has driven II
home. II IL As II the word had gone
q at from central authority: BE care
e 4 OF your manners In public" And
as for the relation between the Ger
man oricers and men, though there is
still a wide difference between them.
the Germans like to claim that the
officers treat the men well in the
army. But the German soldier fears
and often shrinks from the on1cers,
and the German prisoner now com
plains that in times Of danger the
ofiicers desert the front trenches for
safer positions in the rear.
Only a German oficer could have
been capable OF the stupidity that eX-
posed a spy in this country a few
months ago. When a man dressed
like a workman was observed riding
in a chair car he naturally excited
some curiosity and the curiosity led
TO his detection. When asked why
he chose TO ride in that car instead
Of the ordinary coach a workman
would naturally take he expressed
some Indignation and made a refer
ence 10 the privileges that went with
his rank. He was altogether too un-
imaginative and too enslaved by his
vanity to keep in his part, like many
another poor actor.
In the British army Il has been
felt to be important that distinctions
should be strictly maintained for the
sake Of discipline. as well as for the
recognition Of social lines. Precedent
has doubtless been strong here, de-
scending through the centuries. The
army has been closely related to the
British aristocracy, Offering oppor-
tunity for careers Of public service.
Practically every great English fam
lily has been represented there from
generation to generation. Tommy At
kIns. coming from the masses, had
his rightful place. and he was taught
TO keep it, on this subject Kipling.
lover OF army life and OF Imperialism,
is very knowing and amusing. He
understood and appreciated Tommy
Atkins both as a British asset and as
an independent human being.
When the war of 1914 broke out
Englishmen OF all ranks. joining the
army. blended naturally into the aC-
cepted military ways. But when the
Australians used to informal rela-