The Dickinson press., 1883-09-15
BLUE BLoOD CADETS.
Army Officers from the People. The
Frequency With Which 'sGentlemen:
Have Become Army Defaulters.
Peck's Sun.

Frequency With Which 'sGentlemen''
Have Become Army Defaulters.
Peck's Sun.
Recent events in connection with
officers of the army have made these
officers laughing stock for the whole
country. Officers who had nothing to
back them but the fact that they
were gentlemen" have gone wrong
by becoming defaulters, selling their
pay three or four times over to get
money to play poker, and skipping
out i'll a disgraceful manner. The at
tention of the whole country has
been called to the frequency with
which san officer and gentleman" be-
comes guilty of ''conduct unbecoming
an officer and gentleman" and the
country is sick of it. Young men
have, in times past, been appointed
to West Point because their parents
We're rich. or stood high in society or
politics, or because the young men
were wild and needed tanning down.
The appearance of a young man at
West Point was sure indication
that he was a member of good socie-
| ty, and splendid dancer, and smart
at flirting. Eastern society petted
the young cadets, and adored them
when they became officers, and the
fighting that they learned to do.
mixed with the dancing they could
accomplish, made people forget the
bad habits, the gambling and drink
! ing, and West Pointers have been
looked upon as assistant gods, until
| they got into active service and
didn't amount to anything. Late
years competitive examinations have
been held in congressional districts.
and the hoy, Democrat, Republican.
OF anything else, got the place, and
in this way the rich young men, who
are dudes in society, and 'dawnce
divinely, are left out, and the son of
a blacksmith OF a hotel porter, or a
farmer, may so to West Point and
beome all officer. This is a great
blow to the society of the east, which
has been toadying for years to blue
blood cadets, but it will be better for
the army. The son of farmer may
not mash the daughter OF an old fam
lily on the Hudson, and he may not
''dawnce" so divinely, drink benzine
so gracefully, or play poker so non
chalantly, but lie will make Il soldier
who will fight when fighting is the
thing to do, and who will not be so
apt to steal government funds to play
poker with. These examinations by a
competent board to pick out the most
level-headed and intelligent boy to
make a soldier of, regardless of birth.
politics or terpsicorean accomplish
ments, may seem a hard blow to
those who have always looked
upon West Point as Il hot house to
train up husbands for silk-stockinged,
fresh young women from Vasser col.
lege, but the country will gain by the
change. There is no sense in the
government taking rich mems SONS
that are going wrong to reform them,
and make bean-poles of them for
green female bean-stalks to cling to
on commencement day. Let the
country have a few generations of
army officers appointed from the peo-
pie on their merits, without regard to
the fact that their fathers were rich
and acquainted with presidents, or a
power on the stump for congressman,
and the officers of the army will al
ways lie true to their trusts. The
best officers in the army to-day are
those who were appointed on account
of being poor but honest, and the
worst are those appointed because
they belonged to good families that
wanted to get rid of them.