POPULAR OFFICERS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16274, 26 July 1918, Page 5

POPULAR OFFICERS.

* There was something in this pogo the other day about "objectionable' officers. I shou.d like to say eoibothing about.officers of the opposite description. There are more of them, ond It is a pleasanter subject. A "popular 1 ' officer is a littlo difficult to aeiine. I wi.l, however, begin by remarking that, contrary peiiiaps to tne general belief, such a one js not necessarily of the , ' •slap-you-on-tiie-back-and-haye-a-drink-old-top" variety. As a matter of fact, this type is rather a nuisance. The special qualities that make an officer popular among his comrades aro merely those commensurate with the dictates of ordinary good breeding. Bulldog courage, marked tactical skill —and Ouida-esque attributes generally —count for vay little. Courtesy and consideration towards su borate ates, scrupulous fair-mindedness, and a sympathetic attitude are far more esteemed, both by the members of the mess and the rank and fLe. "Mr. he's a proper sort," I have often heard a man declare. "Ho goes round the billets when we come off a march and sees that we're fixed up before he looks after himseif." , Or again: "I don't mind gotting 'Jankers' from Captain ———. He always hears what a chap has to say first." There is a strange theory in some quarters that an officer cannot be a success if he doeß not happen to como from what are called the "governing classes." I have never discovered on what this theory is founded. The private soldier is emphatically not a snob. Far from it. This, then, being the case, he does not care twopence whether his platoon commander is the son of a Peer or son of a pork butcher. What he does care about—and very sensibly too—is that his officer is somebody in whom he has confidence. A commanding officer wields a tremendous power tor good, as well as for evil; He sets the "tone" of the mesa, and on him devolves the responsibility for whether his unit is a "happy" one or not. A pleasant word and a cheery manner go a long way towards smoothing out the rough piaces in Army life. A gentle hint in conclusion: Do not refer to private soldiers as "Tommies." It is a piece of impertinence which is deep.v resented. (By "Tabs" in London "Daily Mail.") , ■