Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-19
MILITARY COLLEGES
Adiutant General Ruggles Makes Some Re-
marks on the Subject
Number of Students Receiving MILL
tary Instruction-The Washing
ton High Schools.

Adiutant General George ID. Ruggles, in
his annual repor: to the Secretary OF War.
makes the following remarks on the subject
of military colleges, which have a cpacial
local application:
"The tabulEted statement submitted here
with is compiled from the reports Of the
officers on duty, as professors of tactics and
military science, at the nirety-five universi-
ties AMI colleges named. 1t shows that of
total average ATTENDANCE of 20,6SS male
students capable of military duty, 12,J69
were required by the collegiate authorities
to enroll themselves military students;
that the total number that received military
instruction during the last quarter of the
scholastic year was 1900: and that $50
students attended artillery drills, and il, 40
infantry drills. The aptitude of the students
for military instruction., and the interest
manifested therein by them, Is generally
satisfactory. and 1t is noted that the in
ttreSt taken by the several faculties In the
military course is steadily increasing.
Disparity I'm the Number of Pupils.
"I'isparity exists in the average number Of
pupils at these institutions receiving the
benefit of military instruction, as shown by
the following statement:
schools il structing more than 600 STU
dents, l; schools instruct,ng between 500 and
600, ] schools instructing between 400 and
300, /; schools instructing between 300 and
400, =; schools instructing between 200 and
300, IL; schools instructing between 100 and
200. Al; schools instructiDg between 10 and
100, lG; schools inStructing between so and
%, II; schools instructing less than 80, =.
Thus there are nineteen officers detailed
at institutions where less than seventy-five
students are Instructed; and at eight of
these schools the military professor deVotes
his time to the instruction of less than fifty
students 1t seems unadvisable to continue
details at small institutions.
To secure the largest benefit obtainable
under the assignment of officers of the
army as professors of tactics and military
science at colleges and universities, l
OF opinion that the law should be amend
ed to require not orly that institutions
shall have capacity to educate at the same
time T OF less than 100 male students, but
that there shall be actually present that
number Tor instruction to receive a detail.
From the table submitted herewith of the
forty-siX high schools having the largest
atlenoance IT VIII be seen that twenty of
them have between 200 and 800 pupils;
eleven have between 800 and 400; nine have
between 400 and 500, and at six of them
the number of pupils ranges from COO to
over 500.
The Washington High Schools.
THE high schools of Washington, d. c.
a city of 10000 lnhabit.nts-furnish an
| nually battalion of about 400 cadets,
which receives military instruction from
l
| trict of Columbia. This Instruction is far
reaching, as the cadets belong to families
of all Glasses. During the latter portion of
| the past school year an officersof the army
stationed at Fort Omaha, Neb., gave military
| instruction, voluntarily, to the students of
the high schools of Omaha-as city of 49, =
OOO inhabitants-and secured IA voluntary
| enrolment OF more than 2OO. These youths
| were organized into battalion of four
| companies before the schools closed. With
| out the incentives of either arms. equip
| ments or uniforms, as these had not yet
| been obtained, the interest aroused was
| such as to secure an average attendance of
| $50 pupils.
| THE greater number of students in
| structed is benefit to the community, and
| II is, besides, benefit to the instructor,
| and, consequently, to the government for
| 1t famiiarizes him with the handling of a
| larger body of men--a battalion generally
than he would find at his station, and fits
him for regimental command in case of
| emergency"