The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-21
WEST POINTS WEAKNESS

1t is to be hoped that the board of arm
officers now employed in visiting the
various colleges of the United States With
the view of obtaining hints for the i'm
provement of the West Point curriculum,
will discover that the construction in p0-
ker given to the West Point cadets is mis-
erably bad. There can be but one mean
| ing attached the recent charges of losing
government money at poker, which have
been brought against certain army officers
These men did not know how to play the
game with any real efficiency When call
ed upon to play poker they lose first their
own money and then the money entrust
! ed to them by the government, The
| country has spent vast sums of money in
in establishing an institution for the edu-
cation of officers for the army, and yet
| the graduates of this institution are beat
en- at poker by self-taught Indian agents
or by the graduates of Mississippi river
steamers This. is thoroughly disgrace.
full state of things, and it must be RENE
| died without delay.
| 1t is unnecessary to name the West
Point professor of poker. He is doubtless
well-meaning man, and a conscientious
teacher SO far as his knowledge of poker
extends; but it is manifest that his pupils
graduate with less real knowledge of the
principles and practice of poker than is
obtained by a Columbia or Harvard stu.
dent of average ability, during his fresh.
man year The West Point cadet is taught
the simple rules of the science, but he
never grasps its principles, and know:
absolutely nothing of its niceties. The
| The annual examination papers are alone
sufficient to establish this fact What
can we think of the way in which poker
is taught at West Point when we find, fol
example, in a mathematical examination
paper such question as this: ~ on have {
hand containing one pair-the five heart:
and the five clubs-two other clubs and G
spade. To what would you draw?' The
cadet to whom this question is given i:
supposed to have completed full course
of poker, and yet it is assumed TO b.
doubtful whether he can answer one Of
the very simplest questions that could BIZ
asked Comment upon such state OF
things is unnecessary. What must be
done at West Point is to place the depart
ment of poker in the charge OF profes
sor who thoroughly understands the mo
dern game, and who viii teach it at leas
as we'll as it is taught in any institution
Such man as ex Minister Schenck, coul(
his services be obtained, would soon place
West Point abreast of the age in poker
Doubtless the West Point cadets are wei
educated in many branches of mathema
tics, but they must be so educated in pc
ker that there will be an end of scandals
caused by incompetent poker playing OF
the part of army officers. 1t is disgrace
flu that West Point graduate should b,
unable to hold his own against a civilian
and should thus be tempted to employ il
poker government funds intrusted to hin
for other purposes. Let him be made
thorough master of the game-One VIII
knows just when to come in and when l.
stay in; who has the whole science o
drawing his fingers ends, and for whom
no jack pot has the slightest terrors, an
we can once more feel proud of Yves
Point. The time may come when in tn
midst of a war with Englanda West Poin
graduates may have to play game ofpo
ker under a flag of truce with the keepe
of the British army chest. In such cir
cumstances competent player nigh
bring the war TO an end at q single sittin
while az incompetent player wonld COZ
pletely lose the opportunity of capturin
the entire funds of the enemy. In ma
ter of so much Importance there can b
no question as to the path of duty. We.
Point must be made without delay and a
institution second to none in its poker @
, well as the rest of its mathematics
! course.