Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1902-06-14
A CENTURY OLD.
U. 5. Military Academy CeIs-
brates Its l00th eirthday.

" ~ mIIIlo'y hvouu'H V5io-
brates Its l0Qth 9irthday.
President Roosevelt, the Guest Of
Honor, Addresses the Cadets and
pecorates Cadet Calvin p. Titus
Who Was the First over the Wall
at Pekin-No Other institution Has
Furnished 20 Many Names to the
Nations Roll Of Honor-unit In
Warfare Of Future viii Be the In.
dividual Man.
West Point, n. ". June 12.-Ihc cele.
bratlOn Of the Tooth anniversary of the
establishment Of the West Point mill
tary academy. which nomlnaliy began
Monday, reached its climax yesterday.
Interest was centered In President
Roosevelt, who was the chief guest.
In the course OF the review Cadet
Calvin p. Titus, who distinguished him
self at Pekln, was called from the
ranks to face the president, who pinned
a medal for bravery on the youths
breast and spoke a few words to him.
Immediately after luncheon the hum
dreds Of visitors sought Memorial hall,
where the exercises We're held. The
hall was packed with a brilliant thrOng,
including graduates of all classes lack
to 1912 and the undergraduate cadets.
Colonel Mills made an address OF well
come and then introduced President
Roosevelt. The president said:
~ am glad to have the chance of say
Ing a word to you today. There Is lit
tie need for ME to say how well your
performance has compared with
prophetic promise made On your behalf
by the greatest of Americans. Wash
ington. This institution has COM
pleted its first 100 years Of life. Dur
ing that century no other educational
institution in the land has contributed
as many names as West Point con-
tributed to the honor roll of the nations
citizens.
THAT is not surprising. That is
what we have right to expect from
this military university founded by the
nation. OF all the institutions in the
country, none is more absolutely Amer
lean, none more. In the proper sense Of
the word, absolutely Democratic than
this Here we care nothing for the
boys birthplace, for the boys grade. for
his social standing; here we care moth
ing save for his worth If he is able to
show it.
This morning | have shaken hands
with many of you and l have met the
men who stand as representatives of
every great struggle this great nation
has made for the last 10 or 60 years.
There are some still left among the
older of you, who took part in the
Mexican war. l meet always. when
see any of the older among you, men
who took part in the great Civil war
when this nation was tried In furnace.
Finally, see the younger men as well
as the older ones. the men whom have
seen myself take part in the war with
Spain, and it was my good fortune to
see in the campaign in Cuba how the
graduates Of West Point handled them
selves and to endeavOr to profit by
their example. l want to be frank
You cant get body of men of absO-
lutely uniform conduct. but | am able
to say it was my good fortune to see
the role of duty performed in way
that made man proud TO he an Amer
icau and u fellow citizen of such DeO-
pie.
Your business here at West Point
has been to teach men to do well in
war, hut it is noteworthy fact that
you have also taught them to do well
lnpeace. The highest political positions
in the land have been held, rot eX-
ceptionally, but again and again by
West Pointers.
"The developments of warfare during
the last few years have shown that in
the future the unit will not be the rcgi-
ment, nor yet the company, but the unit
will he the individual man. If he does
not know how to shoot, how to shift
for himself, how both to obey orders nd
to accept responsibility when an enler-
gency comes, when he won't have any
orders to obey if he is not able to do
all of that, you had better have him out
of the army. In battle hereafter each
man is going to be to cOnsiderabl eX-
est officers will have to take much of
the 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 ten
dency to huddle up to some one else, his
usefulness Is pretty near ut an end. If
he Is nervous so that he wants to feel
the touch of elbows 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.
II ask you to remember the diff
ferences in the military profession from
what Is has been In the past and to re-
member continually that sOldiership
does not consist of excellence on parade
grounds. but efficiency in actual service
In the field. and that the usefulness
and really great usefulness of the
parade ground and barracks work
comes in its being used. not as an eEd,
hut az one of the elements to the end.
| ask OIL to remember that don't ask
you to remember what you can't forget -
the lesson of loyalty, of courage, Of
steadfast adherence to the highest
standards of honor which all men draw
In when they breathe the atmosphere
of this great institution"