SELLING THE "SALTS."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5227, 6 April 1895, Page 3

SELLING THE "SALTS."

| When General Grant was President ot the United States, some hundreds of aailors of the better dais went to the Secretary of the Navy and asked to have some rank given them. They did not care about; an increase of pay, they aaid; bat they wanted relative rank. Finally, the Secretary led a delegation of them over to the White Houae, and let them, present their petition to the President in person. They told him what they wanted, and, argued fora redreasof their grievances plainly but forcibly. At last an old boatswain crme to the front, and, hitching up his trousers and turning his quid, said: "Mister President, I can put this 'ere matter so's yon can we it plain. Now here I be, a parent— in fact, a father. My aon is a midshipman. He outrank* me, don't you observe? That ain't right, don't you seeP" "Indeed," said Grant; "who appointed him P " "The Secretary here," the bosun said; and, encouraged by the question, he went on: "It ain't right, don't you see P that I should be . beneath v him. W'y, ef I was to go to his ship, the boy I brought up to obejence would boss his own father ! Jest think of that ! An' he has better quarters 'n me, an better grub, nice fur n'ture, and all that— sleeps in a nice soft bed, an' all that— «e»?" "Yes," the President said; "yes, the world is full of inequalities. I know of ■ case quite similar to yonrs." The old bosun gave another hitch to his lower gear. " I know of an old fellow," said General Grant, "who iB postmaster of a little town in Eentuoky. He live* in a plain way, in a small house. He is a nice old man, but he isn't much in rank. His son outranks him more than your son does you. His son lives in Washington, in the biggest house there, and he is surrounded by the nicest of furniture, and eats and drinks anything he takes a notion to. He could remove his father from office in a moment if he wanted to. But he doesn't want to. And the old man — that's Jesse Grant you know — doesn't eeom to care about the inequality in rank. I suppois he is glad to sse his boy get along in the world." The old bosun looked down at the carpet and tried to bore a hole in it with his toe ; and his oomradas all laughed at him joyously, and slapped him en the back, and filed out in great glee. It was the kat the Secretary of the Navy eyer heard of the petition or the j>etxtionen,