The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-12
MIR. DICKINSON AT WEST POINT War Secretary Speaks
 to Class. TWO CHINESE GET DEGREES Young Soldiers Leave the Military
 Academy.
 
 Reminded by Cabinet oaieer and Gem sraT Porter of the spIendid s Men of Their Alma
TWO CHINESE GET DEGREES

West Point. N. r., June 1i.--com- mencement day exercises were held at the United States Military Academy to- day. Y
 In bright sunshine. which broke through the clouds just before the final exercises of the week were to be- gin, the cadet corps, their instructors and the throng of visitors present, gathered In memorial hall for the graduating exercises.
 General Horace Porter and Secretary of War Dickinson delivered addresses and other we'll known war veterans and military officials were present.
 To-day the eyes of all our p ,'ple are turned to you with profound = .sr- est. hope and confidence" said -ar. Dickinson, flor they are inevting you with a sacred trust--that of maintain Ing the glory of an institution which has greatly enriched the civil life of the nation and has always been it's chief bulwark in time of war.
 .whatever distrust. on account of military establishments. may have ex- Eeted, or yet exists, in the minds of some of our citizens, West Point is se- cure in the overwhelming general con- fdence of our people and will have their continued support for the fulfil- kA&uL Qt 1ls kGCAl puIPOSC dS 0CbtknGQ by Washington, who advocated its es- fahlfshment. as an object of primary fmportance' and that 1t should be per manent'
 awith peace comes a sense of secur. fly. oblivion of past reverses and indis- position to Dear the burdens which alone. until nations have given bonds for good behavior, can secure honor able peace. Jefferson saw this apathy affect this institution. and In 1908 urged upon Congress larger estab- Ilshment. The constitutionatity of the Institution was in contention in 1910. and in Congress efforts were made to abolish 1t and discharge the cadets from service.
 sour people forgot what the war of the revolution had taught and were to learn with shame another and bit- ter lesson In the school of nationai Humiliation. West Point. for want of proper interest and sustenation. lam guished and for time did not fuInil its high destiny. The war of 1872 came. There were then in the service but sixty i've graduates of the military academy Dis aster followed disaster and our Nation al Capital was in the possession of a foreign soldtery.
 New Era for Academy.
 This experience was enough to last untll wars anu rumors oI wars snail De no more It made a new era in the his- tory of the academy. When the Mexi- can war came 1t had in the service over 500 graduates and almost an equal number in civil life. I need not re- hearse the brilliancy of their achieve. meats. General Scott said:
 !" T give it as my fixed opinion that but for our graduated cadets the war between the United States and Mexico might and probably would, have last ed four or five years, within it's first half more deaths than victories falling to our share; whereas in less than two campaigns we conquered a great coun. try and secured peace. without the loss of a single battle or sxirrnish.'
 "It was the training school of most of those who rose to great fame as commanders in the civil war Lee. Grant. Bragg, Jackson. Davis. Johnston.