The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-30
WEST POINT
.Of The ! | II |.
Virginia Military Institute Do
ing Splendid Work in the
Cause Of Education.
HAS. Has HAD FINE RECORD
HAD FINE RECORD.
Furnishes More Officers to u. S.
Army Than Any Other l In
tuition, Except West Point.

Army Than Any Other lnsti-
tuition, Except West Point.
Forty years ago the Virginia Military
Institute was q black. smoking ruin It
had beer, burned by Hunters corps or
the United States army as military
measure To-day the Virginia Military
Institute furnishes moro officers to the
United States army than any other IN
stitution of leafning In the United States
excepting Of course, the United states
Military Academy During fourteen
months OF the war with Spain, IT ftr-
nisled nearly one-thlrd as many as dld
the graduating class Of that year QooD
of the Military Academy-the exact pro-
portion Is twenty-five to soVe1ltv-1our-5
considering the circumstances. q rather
unexpected showing.
The history of the Virginia MllltarS
Institute is unique. In 1889 IT was
launched on It's career In a very unpre-
tentious way by General Francis H.
smith. who was a graduate Of west
point, and had been for short time J, an :,
n ssistant professor there When the civil
War came on the Institute had grown
from this humble beginning to a strong,
Vigorous healthy school, one OF tne
worlds workers In every sense OF ~, ,s!le
word During the war It was 70 the COZ
federate army what the Mill,a a ..a auam
amy was to the army Of the Unlteu SUES ules I.
2,,he corps in existence at tho breaking oul
of ina war was disorganized completeiy
Nv the advancement of the cadets 70 mn
stary rank in the various grades OF .he
eer,,,re. It's contributions counting i've
ma tor-generals, twenty-one prleaaieif-
generals eighty-nine colonies, seveills
ono observation-disclosures, one hundreo AM anu
seventy CAPTAINS, and numberless leu
ta,,o,,ts IN 1869 the Institute was re-
nrran,2ed and until It's destruction, June,
1894 It continued to turn out splendldlys
onninned Young officers. eager ana en-,
thusiastic for service: .,,aa,a
Tine and again, the corps OF fcs l,
I. :. whole, was called to the from. It
.,as the policy Of the government now
over. to withhold them from partieil'atiiie
in actual battle, as long as possi'ie' W. ,'
= vas not until May, 1864, thai lhey
anpa cement at New Market. Valley OF
Virginia. That they gave q good iccouh,.
If themselves Is evidenced by the iact
.l,at they turned the tide Of battle ny
very picturesque charge. ana, nc'aen-
.ally. had twenty-five per cent. OF .helr
humber put out of action An OFFICER
in thu force opposed TO them was 80
much impressed by their conduct t l
he turned to q. fellow otncer ahu ~
marked:
"1f ever have a son. he goes TO that
school"
The comrade replied:
And so shall mine"
a few years ago each OF those o.1lcers
had a son Mt the V. M. l.
In the little cadet cemetery, Just OIL
the camp-ground, are five arav.s In
row, where rest the remains OF i've or
the cadets killed in that oilttse. me
descriptions on the headstones STOW tha1
their ages ranged from fifteen 10 ninc-
leen years Every 18th day OF May.
the cadets have holiday, ant. those
graves are banked high with flowers.
rewards dusk the bugler blows taps
and three volleys are fired over the
sraves of those youthful veterans. IN
every roll that day the names OF Hose
killed are called IN their respective cont-
ranies, and an upper-class man steps 10
+ he front with uncovered head and hh-
swers "Ded on the field of hoilur
At the close of the war tne Institute
reemed dead beyond all hopes of iesur-'
lection In the crash that followed APP
,omattox no institution aDpsared more
hopeessly wrecked. It's corps of cadets
vast scattered to the winds: Its entire
plant and equipment was gnne; CT its
buildings but one the sunerlnte.iants
quarters, was left standing. Wcist OF ell,
IL had no source from when 10 de,"Ve
revenue. The struggle for existente vas
long and hard The pay WAS POUR a,s.
wit: the opening up Of other schools IN
The South. the attendance grow simmer.
At times there was not enough money
10. nay the salaries of the officers. When
.he battle seemed almost lost. there was
IN outbreak in the third class, one Of The
largest classes of the institution, and.
moreover, one which had three years
| 'onger to stay A vital point Of dlscip-5
Line was involved: yet, If this class was
dismissed. it was difficult TO <see ho"
the school could go on. If Twas not
TO expediency One of the Boys suggest
ed to the superintendent that he could
not afford to dismiss SO many, He re-
Llied:
"NIy dear sir, you are mis-, aksn;1 Can
not afford not to dismiss so May
And dismiss them he did, every moth
er's son of them, who mad feoelied
against his authority. For the he&t Few
years II was from hand to mouth, but
| the tide turned, as 1t always does. Tor
| pluck and energy Through the self
| sacrifice and devotion of its officers snH
friends the v, nj. T. has accom- plished
| wonderful things The destroyed build
.ngs have been rebuilt, and two new
ones have been added, third building
( is in process of erection, lhe corps Of
cadets is as large as 1t has ever been;
larger, in fact, than at any time since
| he years Immediately folio Wing the Wdl.
The course of training at the Virginia
| Military Institute Is at once military and
! academic.
The military training has two purposes
/ First, discipline; secondly, the training
/ of officers for the regular army, the mill
! tia of the several States, and for the
| volunteer army In case OF need. BY the
| rigid discipline to which the cadets are at
all times subject are taught stlbordinatton
and unquestioning obedience to superlors;
self-rellance, when man is himself
placed in a position Of authority; and.
ms necessary outcome of those two
! aluable lessons, the greatest lesson OF
! all-self-restraint. Accident OF birth or
| fortune counts for little--fOr nothing,