The weekly miner., 1880-11-23
man saws: ~ ---oA oc'"ou' oher-

man says: --- ~ On. o'ier-
AZ my Judgment both OF these institutions
s.o s IN asgood order as possible, and are An
nohor 10 the country. Education n,,,st al.
ways Do the surest basis Of national se,.nr;,v
anu honor. The education and manly train.
ing impaired to young men at West Poin has
repaid the United States thousand times is ;,s
cost, and has more than verified the nred;c,
lions Of Gen. Washington. From time ,o
Time periodical complaints have arisen to its
preJuaices such as occurred last year in regard
70 cadet Whitaker Through patient.
ciose investigation, in the midst Of a tumult
o. abuse, itresnlted ina perfect yindication of
tne authorities ofthat academy. Eyerycadet
~ west folni Is the appointee of some MEM
oe, VI congress, each member having cadet
u ms own nomination there, with only ten
appointed oy tue president at large. The
corps OF cadets is, therefore, a youthful conn
terpaft of our national house of renresenta-
tlves. The same regulations, the same in
struction books, clothing and food are com
mon to all, and mere democratic body nev.
er existed on earth than is this corps of cadets.
freJudice IS alleged a. ainst cololed cadets
Prejudice OF race is the most difficult to con-
TEND against of any il lis world. There is
no more such prejut ice at West Point than in
the country at large, and the practice ofequal-
ity at West Point is in advance of the rest OF
the country. The authorities at the academy
nave no voice in the SelecClon of candidates
and must train and educate such as are
sent there regardless of nationality, color or
previous condition. 70 discriminate in favor
of colored boy by reason of his color is as
much yiolatiort Of the fourteenth amend.
nent to the constitution as to discriminate
AGAINST him, perfect impartiality being the
rule, aud that. / believe, the authorities at
West Point have endeavored to follow. In
this connection desire to state that in my
judgment the requirement that all enlisted
men OF the 9th and 10th cavalry, aud of the
24th and 25th infantry, shall be colored men,
while the officers are white, is not consistent
with the amendment to the constitution re-
ferred to. All men should be enlisted who
are qualified and be assigned to regiments
regardless Of color or previous condition.
Such has been the law and usages IN the navy
for years, and the army would soon grow ac-
custOmed to it. No body Of men has more
reverence for the constitution and laws than
the army, and pledge my own and the good
faith Of all IN the service to enforce faithfully
every part of the constitution of the United
States and every law made in pursuance
thereof. Gen. Schofield is abundantly able
to enforce the laws and regulations. The
academy OF education at Fortress Monroe,
under the supervision of Col. Getty, is purely
professional, and limited chiefly to the altil-
lery arm of the service. This education can
not be found In another college in America,
and is valuable because the use of artillery is
limited to war on large scale and can not be
learned In our Indian wars or in common
life. When necessity arises for tillery off
), sss ID vtif war and also our cipi
war, it is sudden and Immediate. This
school costs nothing but ordinary garrison
expenses, and still desire to establish sim.
liar school for infantry and cavalry at Leaven.
worth as soon as The condition of indal
affairs will admit of the sure release of some
guod infantry regiments from the distant
frontier, which, l hope, will occur within The
next year.
In conclusion beg to state that the entire
| army, in my opinion, is as patriotic, patient
and willing to encounter danger and harI
service as at any former period of our history
The rapid extension of railroads and mail
has much improved the general Condition o.
contentment of the officers and men, ana thel
simply suffer the usual fate Of pace in slow
promotion and the apprehension OF change
which never come. The country is SO larg
that regimeEtal transfers and changes ar
costly, and the consequence has been tina
many regiments have renamed longer i'll re
mote quarters than seemed fair, but L hav
endeavored to make regmental changes a
fast as possible consistent with the annua
appropriations.