The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-04-18

same measure become n corps Of men chosen
from among large number Of competitors
instead of being, as they now are, merely an
average lot of young men who have sue.
oeeded in catching the eye of political favor
No youth should be educated by the nation
to command her soldiers until he has proved
that he possesses the highest of soldierly
qualities. II our Legislators had common
sense they would enact that no cadet shall
enter the Military Academy except after two
years faithful service in the line of the
Army, and upon the recommendation of his
company and regimontal commander, and
after examination by a board of officers. The
candidates should, of course, be of suitable
age, and with this end in view enlistments
OF sufficiently young men should be permit
ted. We think the cadets are now too young.
Mere boys cannot study the grandest Of all
professions intelligently. military critic,
for whom we have great respect, though we
cannot agree with him, once objected TO our
proposed reform, saying
The true way Is to catch your onicer young, train
and educate him thoroughly. make him a gentleman
as well as soldier. and not call upon him to associate
with any but gentlemen.
We would change this little and say.
Catch your recruit young, first let him
prove himself good soldier, then educate
" him thoroughly for the duties and respon-
"sibilities of command" As for the asso.
citation with any but gentlemen if his
gentleman's skin Is so thin that the NAVY
will wear through If he rubs against his fell
low-soldiers in the ranks for couple of
years, 1T will be best to find it out in that
way rather than TO put him over his betters
without finding 1t out At all, except through
the court-martial which sooner or later over
takes and corrects the worst mistakes of the
present political favorite system of selection.
The way to break up hazing is to have
soldiers instead of boys at West Point. In
agine hazing youth who has been through
couple OF Indian campaigns Tho two
things which the Army needs, viz: better
officers and better men, can only be obtained
by making all the honors and rewards of the
military profession come through the ranks.
Let each young man teel on enlisting that
there may be a generals star in his knap-
sack. Then there will soon be enough am
bilious young men in every company to
wholly change the character and tone of the
ranks. Gentlemen will find gentlemen with
whom they can associate. Mutual respect
will grow up between officers and their men.
Those who go to West Point will not be the
average gilded youth who have sought and
obtained the patronage of Congressman.
Each cadet will have proved his possession of
the most important qualities for either private
soldier or officer. such as courage, fortitude.
physical stamina, self-control, and obedience
to lawful authority. The present system
sends to the Academy youths, part of whom
VIII possess these essentials to success in the
profession of arms, and others whom nature
has left deficient, the expense of whose edu-
cation is a dead loss to the public treasury
and whose commissions are perpetual in.
jury to the Army. Has not the country a
right to demand that those it educates for
the service upon which its honor and safety
may depend shall possess something more
than the average capacity of our youth that
the corps of cadets shall consist of young men
Of proved superiority instead of mere medi-
pcrityS