There is some explanation for this opposition in the nature of the
distinction which military rank confers. Military rank and naval rank
constitute the only real distinction among us. Our officers of the
army and navy, and of the army more than of the navy, because the
former officers are more constantly within the country, make up the
sole separate class of our population. We have no established
nobility. Wealth confers no privilege which men are bound to observe.
The respect paid to men who attain eminence in science and learning
goes only as far as they are known. The titles of the professions are
matters of courtesy and customs only. Our judges and legislators, our
governors and mayors, are still our "fellow citizens," and the dignity
they enjoy is but an honorary one. The highest office within our gift
offers no exception. At the close of his term, even an ex-President,
"that melancholy product of our system," must resume his place among
his fellow citizens, to sink, not infrequently, into obscurity. But
fifty thousand soldiers must stand attention to the merest second
lieutenant! His rank is a _fact_. The life tenure, the necessities of
military discipline and administration, weld army officers into a
distinct class and make our military system the sole but necessary
relic of personal government.
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