Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1884-08-01
Trouble About Cadets.


Trouble About Cadets.
There is a great deal of kicking all
over the country at the action of the
examining boards at West Point and
Annapolis, in throwing out applicants
for cadetship, on some pretext, unless
the applicants show evidences of blue
blood. A young fellow applies to the
local board appointed by Congressman
and passes creditable examination,
and is selected as a cadet. He has
studied hard, mastered everything in
the educational line that he has
tackled, and his friends are proud of
him, and he goes to West Point with
high hopes. His trouble has just COM
menced. He is brought before board
of aristocrats who apparently have no
thought of the fighting material that
may be in the young fellow. Their
only thought seems to be as to what
kind of a beau he will make for the
girls, what kind of dancer he may
be, and how he can flirt. An eastern
dude who can dance seems to hold
over an educated son of western
blacksmith or farmer West Poin1
wants handsome fellows with small
hands and feet and one who lsps,
though he may have no more head than
a canary bird, often passes examina-
ton, when healthy, robust, farmers s
boy, who passed a splendid examina-
ton at home, is left out on account of
the size of his hands and feet. A
young man from Minnesota, who
passed a most thorough examination
at home, and good examination at
Annapolis, was thrown out ostensibly
because he blundered on catch ques-
tion in geography, arranged on pur-
pose to catch him. 1t was plain to
him and his friends, during the exam
inatiOn, that he was not wanted, be-
cause he was not of blue blood, and
the examiners did not feel like taking
the responsibility of placing wild
Minnesotian in position where he
would associate with the dudeses that
frequent Annapolis. They only want
young men of wealth, who will be con-
sidered eligible matches by managing
mothers. A young man from Colora-
do passed an examination before a
board on which the governor and the
Shlci JuouiSO VI luO oCdIC SdU, anu nO
boy ever passed more thorough ex-
animation. He was hard-tisted,
brave young man, who would have
made an admiral, if given half chance.
But he was not cultivated dude,
and had hands and feet far beyond
the regulation size, and would not have
looked at home III ball room. His
arm around the small waist of girl
would have looked like a section of
stove-pipe, and it seemed to the exam
ining board at Annapolis as though he
would break girl in two, while if he
stepped on foot he would smash it,
and if he should step on train he
would rip it from the waist. So some
thing had to be done to kept him out
of the school that is sacred against the
admission of the humble. A catch SEN
tence was arranged for him to parse
in grammar, he blundered, and had to
pack his trunk for Colorado. One of
the first things the examining boards
at West Point and Annapolis find out
about an applicant, is his pedigree.
If he is a son of rich parents, who have
a name to back him, his admission is
easy. If he is son of a blacksmith
or country merchant, or farmer. ne
will not do, and some scheme is organ
lied to fire him out. He may come of
fighting stock, and may be brave as a
lion, but if he has not got family
name, and wealth, the government