, 1861-11-16

Poets are born, not made, says the old
proyerb, and it is time to learn from the
results Of the past campaign, what the
military experience Of the world should
have taught us, that military generals are
born, and not turned out by the dozen, like
hubs and felloes- Apply the same rule to
the learned professions, and the fallacy is
everywhere exposed Of looking to learned
professors, and Greek 1exicons, for what
they can never supply, native, inborn tai
ent The best lathe cannot bring out an
ivory billiard ball from Eastwood.
Colleges and military schools ore excel
lent,and the more their products are multi
piled throughout the community the better;
but it is still strictly question Of raw ma
terial, and the student or cadet comes out
as he went in, his actual order Of talent
the same to an iota. The putty knife and
the varuish brush cannot mend or make
him into greatness.
We are pleased with West Point as an
institution, and with its results in the ar
mics Of the Union. We wish we had
more Of its men, and its training in these
present times Of war. But the mistake is
q grave one, that looks solely to the manu-
facturer's stamp and the tutors brand, as
tests Of qualities for mental or military
en,inence. Il is humi1iating On Commence
ment Days, when the Yaledictoriau is q
hero, to remember how many great men
never went to college. 1t is salutary to
recall at this time that of the twenty-five
great Captains Of the First Napoleon,
nineteen never saw q military school as
students, if we may trust the list before
us.
We are ready to agree that Blucher,
soult, and St. Cyr would not have been
injured by training at Brienne. They
might even have helped to speedier and
more shi ming success, by a course at some
Po]ytechic, but while they went up with
out such aids, how many thousands of
military cadets, costly ticketed through all
that the schools could give, stopped for
life at the end Of that journey.
It is quite time in view of these things,
for West Point to learn humility. It is
now only just, that all through the armies
Of this Government, one established rule
should apply. The guage should be ap,
piled to the man and the officer, alike
fairly, for the history Of this war will
prove an inspection not to be evaded MOI
bribed.
And this has not been fairly done. Sud
den demand tor immense accession to ou1
military system, has called hundreds from
civil life, the forum and the bench fol
judge as well as joiner to positions o1
military command. We do not claim fol
our volunteer wearers of the Stars and
eagles Of military rank, anything but sim
pie justice, but the regular officers Of ou1
army must needs accept them as competi.
tors and on the same footing. Training
will count nothing, results alone will win.
Has this rule been applied? Have no,
the mistakes Of what have come to be
termed "political brigadiers" and officers
Of lesser rank, been visited with speedy
reribntion, which is right, while an ex.
emption has been claimed, and kindly
shelter erected for lapses OF like nature
IN officers educated at West Point-which
is all wrong: To make the point clearer,
how swift was the penalty Of poor Pierce
for the bunder at Big Bethel, and Schenck
tor the massacre at Vienna. It will
not do for West Point to claim ex-
emption from criticism for failures, The
free List is entirely suspended Gentlemen
officers, the public will ask not where YOU
came from, but what you are.