The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-01
BY EYES OF ENGLISH
HOW WEST POINT, CADETS ARE
 eEEN. a4.
As . Class the Men are c "Weu Sat up Company"-Iron Discipline Responsible for Their spien-
 did Achievement.

Correspondence London Times. | Three hundred cadets are under csuvs, at West Point. and for that matter vsr, comfortably housed. The tent in ne. i the khaki-canvas, douhiy-fiy tent or tn. Indian field service model. Az this ,s ! permanent camp. each tent Ia boardef
 high on the. ground and slunx betwser
 raised wooden uprights. Two cadets srs
 toid on to each tent. except in the cass
 of cadet officers and senior non-eornmis.
 stoned ofiicers, who have . tent to them
 oeves- The cadets have with them no
 other clothes or kit. but those of rewi.
 mental requirement., and, everything S~.
 Ing of sealed pattern. perfect un,form-
 ity is may,tained in all the tents. The
 company regular officers and the Acad-
 emy Commsndant have tents at the head
 Of the lines. though they, of course. are
 not always in camp.
 The West Point Cadets possess a pe. culiar and not unattractive unisorm. In full dress they turn out in precisely the same kit their great-grandfathers wore
 before them-the stove-pipe shako, a light blue. short-tailed. cutaway coat with black braided breastpiece. and a super fuity of brass buttons. white duck trous- CTS and the old white cross belts with brass couplings which British infantry wore and American militia copied iron them in I790-1820. This uniform is main. tnined with the object of fostering the traditions of the Army. It is an endeavor to perpetuate the memory of the past. by dressing tho youths in the uniform in which their forebears fought for freedom, The undress uniform is more practical, Blue-gray is the color, and the uniform consists of a staff cap." tunic ornament ed with black braid and similar overall. During field work the cadets turn out in felt hat, blue-gray flannel shirt, khaki brooches and canvas gaiters-one of the most serviceable and rational working dresses that it has been my good fortune to see.
 Every evening. weather permitting, at 5:30 p. m., the whole crops of cadets, in full dress, falls in for a ceremonial pa- rade. It would be difficult to describe in our own military nomenclature, the precise nature of this parade. as 1t dif- fers in most of it's details. But 1t Is more than guard mounting parade. and partakes of the nature of ''trooping of the color" To the beat of the drum-an old practice which is adhered to at West Point-the cadet companies fall fin in the alleys in their camp A color party, con- sisting of cadet, color sergeant and es- cort, then proceeds to the commandant's s tent and appropriates the colors of the corps. These they march through the camp to the center of the company which had the honor of furnishing their guard. This company marches on to the parade ground and forms the base for the align ments of the whole corps. The other conn panies follow out in succession. and form alternately on the right and left of the color guard. The parade is then dressed by the Cadet Adjutant. and the regular aH tHA Aaxr at tAn luting base. Parade rest' is the next order, and the whole stands at ease" while the band marches up and down the front of the line. It then retires to a flank, and plays a slow march, which terminates in a cannon-fre salute from the left of the line. Immediately the pa- rade is called to attention present arms'-and the national hymn Is played.
 This over, the cadet officer of the day hands the parade over to the regular ofTl cer in command, who puts it through the manual exercise" have no hesitation in saying that these American cadets handled their arms with a smartness of finish and precision which could not have been surpassed by battalion of guards on the Horse Guards parade. The man. ual of arms completed, the cadet officers fall out, and. advancing in line. salute the odlcer commanding the parade and fall in behind him. The first cadet ser geants (color sergeants) then take corn mand of the companies and report in raucous voices all absentees. Then the parade goes Hours right" marches in "columns of fours'' until level with the saluting base. then each platoon (half- company) in succession receives the or der "Fours left" and marches past in column of platoons." This march past is instructive. Rank and file port" their arms, interlock and march past, with the rear rank touching the front rank. The result is very effective
 The officers having fallen out, the pla- toons are taken past by sergeants, who alone carry their rifles at the "slope" and salute the inspecting officer by touch ing the stock of their Krag-Jorgensen rifles. The inspecting officer returns no salute. and the marching troops do not pay any other compliment beyond that paid by the sergeants in command. The companies march away and return to camp to change into their fatigue tunics. and then march off to their messhall. They march, either from the camp or from the barracks. to the messhall three times a day all the year round, no mat ter what the weather is.
 A guard is always on duty. This guard has twenty-four hour term of duty. Sentries are on all night the reliefs talk ng place every two hours The smallest rregularity while lon guard" will lose a cadet many privileges The military dis cipline is iron
 A word with regard to the cadets As a class, those whom I saw at Westpoint