The times., 1899-12-17

spoken Ga nN army men. and while thew
are an agreed that The institution was The
BEST of ifs kind anywhere. far surpassine
in many respects The similar institutions
ln other countries. its size has for many
years caused much criticism among its
stanchest friends
While the country was at peace with ali
fhe world The arguments in advocacy of
a greater West Point found little favor in
The ewes OF the men to whom they were
addressed. and for several years there vas
tendency toward reducing the number of
cadets. and il became popular to say that
ZOO many United States officers were being
turned ont OF West Point. and that the
supply was greater than the demand It
nas in keeping with this sentiment that
the number OF cadets was reduced by
giving the President the appointment OF
Ten cadets during his term Of Office instead
of ten every year.
When the war with Spain broke out ii
WAS found that there were lot enough Off
GERS To- command the troops. and even after
The FIRST class at West Point had been
graduated ahead Of its time to provide jun
i0r officers there we're vacancies so fll
and over one hundred men had TO be taken
from civil life and placed in the Regular
Army as officers. The war was an unau-
West Point. and with an army Of o. GOO
men iB view there is now less talk about
reducing the efficiency of the school
The Present Maximum.
al the present time the maximum mum
Der OF cadets is 3sl ali when the academic
year begins. in September. there are rarely.
ans vacancies. Every Congress district is
,Hlitod 90 a cadet. the President appoints
1Ca and one is admitted for each Terrier,
4 he new class is known as the fourth
and hss This year l44 members. tte larg 81
number cHlr enrolled in fourth class
lt Is popularity believed that every mem
heE oi Congress has it in his power TO ap.
aoiEi q ea5et and one OF the first unp cas-
snr experiences Of a new member is IN
consequence of this mistaken idea The
congress district is entitled to a cadet:
but rs the academic term is four years
and term In Congress only two years
1he district has only one representative
sJ The academy every four years.
The academy census viii not be the same
when it is taken after the July e&amina-
rions, for il the new class is IKE former
classes the ia viii shrink to fewer than
one hundred. because the weeaiLg out p.O-
cess usually reduces the new classes by
about 30 per cent. The cadets who pass
The first ordeal are not al all sure that
they viii 90 10 The end OF the course. but
having passed the first examination is a
long step ia the right direction
And get - said an old army officer who
is stli in touch with the academy. there
IS nothing really severe about the West
Pcint course, and young men who enter
any Of the first-class colleges in this coun-
Try would find no difficulty in maintaining
their places IN the academy. The trouble
is hat the preliminary requirements are
mar shall be well versed in the elementary
branches and that is all The consequence
Is that boys of medium capacity and limit
I'D knowledge are admitted and when the
work begins they fall behind. II the en-
trance requirements were higher the per
ceHfage Ct discharges for failure TO keep
up would be less
Some young men ambitious to wear the
shoulder straps Of a United States Army
officer have gone 10 the academy hoping
thar The pull" and influence Of the Con
gressmsn through whom they received the
appointment would help them along, bur il
takes only a short .inc 10 discover that
West Point Is an institution where title
stetion, or political influence cannot help
Jbe man Who Is unable 20 help himself.
The nen who pin their hopes to their in
fueHce' or The power OF their sponsors
are The men who fall By the wayside and
shattered health" or bad eyes" or pos
sibly tales Of mismanagement and Injustice.
Discharges and Their Causes.
In his last report Col Albert L. Mills,
Superintendent OF the academy, gives the
following figures on the subject of dis
charges from the institution. Discharged
Tor deficiency in studies, %: for deficiency
il discipline >, for physical disability. .;
dismissed, 3; resigned. II; graduated. r."
The discharges for deficiency take place
fGr the most part in the first year OF the
course. and on that account il is believed
bg many people that the fourth year men
have a difficult academic course. This is
another popular error. for the course is
simple and cOnsists-in the first half.
vFicn IS known as the heart breaker
OF elements OF algebra. geometry. and Eng
iish together with the elementary work IN
the profession for which they are being
educated. The next year is more severe,
and be third is still more so.
The third year at West Point. which
makes q cadet a 'sec0nd-yeaT man" is
much the hardest Of the term but the
men who survive 10 reach that stage usu-
ally ger 10 the graduation point For ten
years. from 1880 10 1899, the percentage OF
discharges from the second class Cor defs
cieucT was per cent in the January eN
smlnati0ns and about ] per cent in the
June eZaininations. The frst-year men
also have difficult course laid out before
them. but they reach the goal, with few
exceptions.
The plans Of the men who hope to see
the list OF discharges grow smaller by
raising the standard FOR admission 10 the
academy also include the enlargement of
The plant 50 that ii may accommodate
about SIX hundred cadets. This would give
officers FOR siEty-five thousand men, and
leave vacancies for meTitOrioHs nOu-c0m-
rnissioned officers. The graduating classes
would probably number about one hun
ored every year.
scheme for Appointments.
One OF the most popular schemes Is the
ore hy which the President would be al
lowed 10 appoint ten cadets every year.
each Ugited States Senator one during his
term Of Office. each Representative enc and
each Territorial Delegate one. Another
plan would give the Governors OF States
abe Tight 10 appoint one or two cadets every
two years.
None OF these plans could be carried out
rtlhoGt making additions 20 the present
bindings. which are shown iH the pictures
Us psch Bros These buildings have ac-
c0mmodsttons for only $50 cadets il housed
as they should be. two In a room. At the
present time forty-live cadets are COM
PEELED 10 sleep three in room The first
building 10 be enlarged would be the bar
racks by completing the quadrangle and
adding eight divisions. These divisions
would accommodate thirty-tWo cadets each
80 that The enlarged building would be suf-
fg.-=- 81. b.41F H.