Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-01-17

GEN. snERMAN's OPINION or ARMY OFFICERS.
\ communication having appeared in The
Army and Nary Journal concerning the al
legged intellectual inactivity ofthe officers of
the army, Gen. Sherman writes letter to
that journal in refutatiou Of the writer's
statements The General says.
To question the honor. integrity. and in
telligence Of our higher officers Is To cast "A
stain upon our national history, which they
have had fall share in making and writing
Ii i Of the Junior officers that | wish u
treat, because they are scattered 70 the four
winds, in little detaChmeut~ far away from
civilization, and cannot appeal to the bar Of
public opinion save by their official conduct
and through their friends. of these | am
the chief; and from daily, weekly and month
ly reports from themselves and from their
lawful superiors. / have a mass OftestimOny far
better than your correspondent can possibly
have ! am perfectly satisfied with, and
hereby encourage them in the faithful dis
charge of the duties 10 which they are ap-
pointed. with a full belief that they possess
as many advantages for mental and physical
education aS had Meade and Thomas, Nc
Pher~On and Mower, Grant and Sheridan,
in their day of probation, and that with pa
tience and time they may attain the same re-
ward and fame At all Ofour military posts
the ofhcer~ and men have schools and libra
ries a. good as their limited pay
and means afford. and though the ne
cessities of our country demand that
the great bulk Of the army shall be kept
in the wild and uninhabited parts Of OR
vast country, as 1t were outlying pickets IN
the progress Of settlement, still to each
officer in turn will be afforded a chance 10
see occasionally his own home and family,
and to mingle with the most refined classes.
Ofcourse there are those who are excep-
tion, to the general rule a. to character, but
COurts-martlal and the stern rules of war
will surely eliminate them as 1t has in the
past. for more than " 60 young officers
have been dismissed whose war record was
as good a. that OF the 90 Prussians referred
to BY yourcorrespondent, and for like causes.
The army Is not responsible for the new
appointeeS, whether from West Point or
from civil life. We take them a. they come
and find no fault, but let them fall quickly
into the ranks and work out their own
destiny. West Point Is as Independent OF
the army as Yale or Princeton. Each Con-
gresham appoints his cadet for reasons best
known to himself For the four or five
years he Is at the Academy, he l. under
Congressional government and Inspection
The Secretary Of War has immediate control
under the laws OF Congress. 50 that the
army Is no more responsible for the kind
and quality of the education impaired than
if West Point was a college of surgeons.
To be sure, the officers and professors at
West Point are military men. though some
of them have never served directly with the
soldiers or taken part in battle. Still they
are military men, and impart the EnOwledse
L. I-a sa.aH
soldiers, and it may be they impart what
are known as q" the prejudiceS Of caste.
But that the army takes and receives
graduate of West Point a. 4 finished soldier
Is a mistake at which every veteran smiles.
| The vanity of youth Is not limited to that
/ spot. but Is found eyerywhere-at Heldel-
/ berg. at Saint Cvr and Sandhur~t. and at
| Yale and Princeton. No sooner has the
| graduate reached his company than he finds
| he has some things TO unlearn and thousands
| of things to learn and that many have
/ learned them. and learned them well. i
I familiar to the readers Of American history.
/ The criticism made By the las, Board Of
| Visitors l. severe, and 1t may be Just, but 1t
/ i criticism on themselves, not on the army
/ Congress makes all laws for the Military
Academy it, members appoint the cadets
/ BY name from their own constituents, super
/ wise tntlr education ny duuudl Nl>ltS anu tt
ports. and fthey send into the army officers
improperly educated, it i their business, not
ours. Some Of the graduates may make
mistakes in grammar, and even be 4 little
| backward in the classics. but on the whole
| they are usually fine set Of manly fellows,
and the only fault | find Is that there are
too few Of them for the usual vacancies, If
/ little vain Of their newly-fedged office and
their own superior knowledge, it soon van
| ishes. and usually they settle down to their
work like well-trained racers. II l. an
awful mistake if they think their education
is complete when they are commissioned.
Every minute and hour Of the day they are
told quite the contrary, and all the school
| ing in the world would not be mere efhcl-
ei0us than what their own eyes and ears
teach them on first reachingl their post Of
| duty