A very young and green second lieutenant who was able to
boast that he had declined to be a major in a certain State was at
once an oracle to other lieutenants--and to some who were not
lieutenants. The policy which governed these appointments was not so
well understood at that date in the campaign as it is now.
When the court of a reigning favorite was established at the Tampa Bay
Hotel as a brigadier, and people began to get themselves a little
settled into the idea that they knew who was in command, they were
suddenly disillusioned by the appointment of another and senior
brigadier to the command. They settled down to get acquainted with the
new authority, and were just beginning to find out who was who, when
the telegraph flashed the news that the deposed potentate had been
made a major-general, and, of course, was now in command. The thing
was becoming interesting. Bets began to be made as to which would come
in ahead under the wire. The other also became a major-general. Then
came a period of uncertainty, because the question of rank hinged upon
some obscure and musty record of forgotten service some thirty-four
years before. From these facts will be apparent the difficulty under
which a subordinate labored in trying to create anything.
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