Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-26
CUT IN THE APPROPRIATIONS
House Disagreed With the Senate's
Allowance.
MARS SYMMETRY OF THE PLAN
Pay of the Rural Delivery Carriers
and Some of the Services Rendered
Effect on the Roads.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald,
Gen. Albert L. Mills, superintendent of
the Military Academy at West Point. who
has been down to confer with the Secretary
of War and the congressional committees,
lells me that the first of the new buildings
will be completed by the beginning of June
sixteen sets of officers quarters They
are already under roof and the work of fin
fishing the interior is progressing rapidly.
When these are completed there Will be
adequate accommodation for all the faculty
and instructors and officers of the acad-
envy, who now number ninety-two,
The new cadet barracks is up to the first
story, and will be completed by the LIST of
next October. When finished there will be
accommodations for 600 cadets in place of
800 cadets. which is the full capacity of the
present building. There are now 1853 cadets
present, but they are compelled. for lack
of quarters, to place three in rooms that
are intended for only two This interferes
with their health as we'll their studies
and convenience. The maximum number
of cadets under the present law Is 523-one
from each congressional district, two from
each state at large and forty from the
country at large who are appointed by the
President. The new barracks accom-
modate them all and leave considerable
room for the future.
The graduating class this year will be
very small-not more than seventy-six in
number. Last years class numbered 124,
and next year there will be about 115 I'm
der normal circumstances there should be
an average of 10 graduates each year, and
new classes should be about 1G0 strong.
Since the reorganization of the army the
vacancies in the list of officers have always
been greater than the numbers of the grad
uating class and have been supplied by the
promotion of non-commissioned officers and
from civil W
military affairs are thoroughly shaken down
and the old veterans of the civil war have
been promoted to the retired list the an
nual crop of cadets will be sufficient to keep
the army supplied with second lieutenants.
Saving of Many Thousands.
Foundations have been laid for the
cavalry barracks. artillery barracks gun
sheds and stables, and the contractors were
making excellent progress IN building. when
the cold weather of winter caused them to
shut down. The excavation for the heating
and lighting plant has also been completed,
with saving of $50. 900. because the work
was done by the regular laboring force of
the academy instead of by contracts Pro-
posals were advertised for, and the lowest
bid was 1915 per cubic yard, which the
board rejected because they considered 1t
excessive, and the work has since been
done by the regular labOrers at the acad-
envy for s1.50 per cubic yard Gen. Mills has
opened and Is now operating a quarry on
the grounds of the academy to furnish
stone for the buildings. This will reduce
the cost many thousands of dollars. a
contract for erecting the administration
building has recently been let for $4,000
below the estimate of the architects, be
cause the stone be taken from this
quarry and there will be a corresponding
saving I'm all future contracts for construc-
ton.
The water-supply problem. which has
been source of perplexity for thirty years,
has been solved by piping by gravity from
the PopOlopen creek, seven miles distant
on the line Of Mad Anthony Wayne's march
The creek Is fed by numerous large springs
and small lakes, and will furnish all the
water that will ever be needed
Appeal for Original Appropriation.
Gen. Mills has made an earnest appeal to
Speaker Cannon and the committees OF
Congress to restore the appropriation for
the new buildings at West Point 10 the
original amount so that the plans may be
carried out in perfect symmetry and har-
mony. The President. the Secretary of
War, the general staff and all concerned
are very much In earnest The plans are
the result of years of study and thought,
regarding the necessities of the institution,
and We're adopted under the best arch
tectural advice 10 be obtained. Almost ev-
erybody who studies them is promptly con-
WINGED Of the advantages and the economy
of adhering 10 the original designs, which
will cost SC, 500 600. This amount was APP
Representatives slashed off a million dol
lars blindly. without considering the con-
sequences or providing for the adjustment
of the plans TO that amount 1t simply re-
duced the appropriation, saying I'VE will
give YOU $500 Oco Instead of 81, 5OO,O and
you must get along as best you can with
that" And in addition to that reduction
$246O0 of the appropriations intended and
needed for the buildings has been diverted
for the purchase OF lands and other pur-
poses not contemplated In the plans. The
present improvements are intended to last
for all time The Military Academy is a
permanent and necessary institution, and 1t
is disheartening to everybody who takes an
interest In the Institution when Congress
refuses TO allow the work to be done right
The total cost will be less by one-half
than the expenditures I'm the rebuilding of
the Naval Academy, and both institutions
are equally important. Every foreign Wis
itor is enthusiastic In praise OF the Military
Academy-the cadets, the buildings pro-
posed, the organiza ton, the course of study
and the discipline. Lord Woisely, who was
there last fall. declared that IL was the
finest military institution in the world.