The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-08-07
BULLIES IN UNIFORM.
National Guardsmen Hu1niliateI By
Regulars.


courtsmartial as officers are. Except
says he, officers sitting on courts
naturally hesitate to credit charges
made against fellow officers who have
served faithfully for years.
Maybe so. Gen. Wood has the
figures at his fingers ends. Every
one knows that Gen. Wood is abso-
lutely fair and square himself. But
is it not possible that he has some
thing of the professional soldiers
point of view? Also, because he is a
big man and a fearless one, it is
possible that things do not happen in
his presence which might we'll be
commonplace where smaller men
morally are concerned.
Lack of Proper Spirit.
My own impression has been that
our regular army is bit Prussian in
it's attitude toward the private SOL
dier. Not all of our regular army
officers, of course. But there are
mean-spirited little bullies in the uni
form and it has seemed to me that
the regular establishment support
ed. them. Time after time l have
blushed for the service at hearing an
officer snarl at fine, clean, up
standing young American who had
volunteered to serve his country.
Somewhere there was a lack of dis
cipline among the officers-or rath-
er somewhere there was lack of prop
er spirit.
"Why don't you click your heels
you national guardsmen?" snarled
brigade adjutant of the Rainbow Di-
vision. Haven't you ever learned
how to salute, you-."
Abused in Presence of Men.
The lieutenant who was being
abused shamefully in the presence of
his men had been on duty in the front
line for 48 hours without rest. He
was covered with mud from heel to
head. His boots were so clogged
with mire that he could not have
clicked his heels in ten minutes try
ing. The adjutant was brown polish
ed aud tailored and natty. It was
his first visit to the front line.
"I'll teach you national guardsmen
something about soldering" said the
professional soldier.
He filed charges against the lieu
tenant, who was an officer in one Of
the companies of the One Hundred
and Sixty-sixth Regiment from Ohio.
It will soon land on this side of the
water. The lieutenant had a good
colonel in Ben Hough, who not only
fought his regiment but fought for
his regiment against the regular es-
tablishment. Hough insisted that his
lieutenant be given a trial and filed
charges against the adjutant.
"I'll find out" said Hough,
whether an adjutant can come down
into my trenches and curse an off,
Ger of mine in the presence of his
men,"
Well, he found out. The adjutant
did not press his charges against the
lieutenant because one of the unfor-
givable things is to reprove an officer
in the presence of his men. So the
charges against the lieutenant never
came to trial. At last accounts he
was still lieutenant. He had not
been promoted because of the black
spot on his record-and, anyhow, he
was a national guardsman.
In order to save the adjutant from
being tried on the counter charge
brought by the lieutenant, he was
sent home on a mission. He immedi-
ately became a colonel. The regular
establishment knows how to protect
it's own.
An Officer That's Different.
It always seemed to me that there
was a decided difference in the treat
ment afforded the private soldier and
the officer in the American army. II
a private soldier was found in posses
sion of a jug, he was pinched by the
first NJ. P. who met him. That was
the NJ. P's. duty. But he also learned
that it was his duty to look the other
way when an officer made his way up
the street in tacks and jibes.
whats your name?" I heard an
M. P. ask a drunken officer on the
streets of Paris. "What's your unit?"
"You go to hell" was the reply.
eff you come near me I'll knock your
block off,"
The NJ. P. shrugged his shoulders
and went on his way. I asked him