The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-11-05
HIS PERFECT MEMORY
cloooED TIE PROMOTION OF
THIRTY SECOND LIEU.
TENANTS.
Ardmnreite Snecial.

markablc instance Of practically
absolutely perfect memory has been
discovered in the army For many
months promotions from the grade Of
second lieutenant to that of first lieu.
tenant have been stopped boy the case
Of Lieut. George G. Rockwell. Of
Kansas So notable has the case bee
come in army circles that young
Rockwell was dubbed the Key Log
Lieutenant" as, like the key log
in jam, he has prevented the move
ment upward Of the entire list of sec.
ond lieutoliants.
Lieutenant Rockwell was graduated
from the high school AT Junction
City. Kansas. and. after service in
the ranks took an examination for
a commission and was appointed a
second lieutenant in the army. Sew
eral months ago. after serving in
the tenth infantry as second lieu
tenant, he was ordered up for eX-
animation for promotion to first
lieutenancy. He passed a brilliant
oXamiiltiou-- in fact, It was prac-
tically perfect-and therein came the
| trouble. An examination of his pa
pers indicated that his answers to
questions were not only correct but
they were what is known as letter
perfect II was found that he had
followed the text OF the books of in.
struction so absolutely, not omitting
| the cross OF or the dot of an
Ii. that the examiners were CON
vinced he had had access to the
books during the examination.
| Such situation, OF course, could
not be overlooked. Those who had
conducted the examination were pos
tive young Rockwell could not have
used ponies" i'm the test but the
examiners of the papers could not
understand how a human being could
follow possibly the text books so
accurately, without nnking a slip
somewhere.
Lieutenant Rockwell was summon
ed before another board of exam
iners. That board put him through al
sorts of tests, with view to deter
mining definitely whether he was as
good as his original papers indicat
ed. The members of the board wer,
dumbfounded by the exhibition o.
memory the young man gave them
He could begin anywhere in text
book and quote absolutely perfectly
the sentences of the author. He pos
sessed a letter-perfect knowldge of the
text OF all books he had studied. His
memory did not fail him at a singl,
test, although he was tried in ever,
conceivable way.
II finally was determined by th'
examining officers tlSat LieuteLan
Rockwll simply was equipped will
an astonishing memory, which en-
abled him to retain, with no ap
preciable difficulty, everything h
desired to remember. The board re
ported to the war department tina
Lieutenant Rockwell was i'm all re
spects eligible to promotion and tina
there Had not been the slightes
irregularity in his original exami
nation.
Only a day or two ago, the depart
ment published the list of promotion
which had been held up since earl.
In the present year by the Key Loi
Lieutenant" In promoting Rockwell
the department ordered his commits
sion as a first liuterant TO dat
from February l4th, 1907, the da
he took the examination and h
is now assigned to the thirteenth in
fantry. The promotion of Rockwell
brings about the promotion OF abou
thirty scond lieutenants whose ad
yancenent has been delayed by thi
most remarkable case which eve
has been known In the army.