Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-12

tie hereafter each man is going to be a
considerable extent alone. 1t will be 50
that the youngest officers will have to
take much responsibility that in former
wars fell on their seniors. and many of
the enlisted men will have to do most of
their work without any supervision of any
officer. The man will have to act largely
alone, and if he shows tendency to hud-
die up to some one else, his usefulness is
pretty near at an end. If he is nervous
SO that he wants to feel the touch of ell
bows he had better be out Of the battle;
and you officers. if you are going to do
WELL have got to learn how to perform
the duty which is SO essential The task
IS a harder one, and you want to face
that task. You want to realize that, more
than ever before, the honor or the shame
OF the country depends upon the high
average of character and capacity of the
officers and enlisted men, and that high
average of character and capacity in the
enlisted men can to a large degree only be
obtained through you. the officers; and that
you have got to devote your time in bring
ing up to the standard the fighting eff
cheney of the men under you; not merely in
doing your duty, so that you can't be called
to account for failure to perform it. but
doing it in way that will make each man
under you able to perform his.
The Best Fighting Material.
"Now, 1 want you to weigh what say.
for If you take only half of it, you will in
vert what I say. 1 found in my regiment
that the best man was the man who had
been in the regular army in actual service
out in western campaigning or the plains;
that If he had been a good man in the
regular army out on the plains he was the
best man that / could get hold of: and on
the other hand, IL he had served in time of
peacesR couple Of years in an eastern gar
rtson. where he practically had next to
nothing outside of the parade grounds and
barracks to do or If he had been in an or
binary National Guard regiment. that one
of two things was true-if he had under
stood that he had only learned per cent
Of war he was that 8 per cent better than
any one else. and that was a big advan-
tage. and if he had thought that he had
learned the other 30 per cent he was worse
than any one else. daughter and ap-
plause) 1 recollect perfectly one man who
had been corporal in the regular army: a
young fellow who had Joined us. and he
| was apparently convinced that war was
parade ground for maneuvering. and 1t was
almost impossible to make him turn his at
! tention to teaching his men SO that they
| could do the best fighting wnen the occa-
sion arose
NOW. gentlemen. I do not intend to
preach upon the performance of your duties
| here, but it Is your special business to learn
| them. do ask you to remember the differ
ence in the military profession from what
| 1t has been in the past, and to remember
| continually that soldiership does not con-
! sist of excellence on parade grounds. but
| efficiency In actual service in the field, and
| that the usefulness, and really great USE
! fulness, Of the parade ground and barracks
work comes in its being used, not as an
| end. but as one Of the elements to the end.
l ask you to remember that don't ask you
to remember what you can't forget-the les
son of loyalty. Of courage. Of steadfast adj
| herence to the highest standards of honor.
which all men draw in when they breathe
| the atmosphere of this great institution
General Horace Porter, United Ambassa-
dor to France. was the orator Of the day.
The Banquet.
The event Of the evening was the ban
auet given by the officers Of West Point
to their distinguished guests. It was held
| in Grant Hall. and covers were laid for
| 500. The hall was iavishly decorated and
illuminated with colored Lights. The toast
| master was Gen. g. B. Davis Of the
judge advocate generals department.. The
toasts were: Our guests" responded to
by the Italian Ambassador. Mr.. Des
| Planches; american universities and col
leges," by DE-. William r. Harper. presi-
dent OF the University OF Chicago: s'Con-
| gress and its relations to the Military Acad-
fsaaax ~ David B. Hsndarssn. Speaker OF