Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-06
MAKING A SOLDIER
Costs $4,000 to Produce a
Second Lieutenant.
EXPENSE Or WEST POINT
Innovations Established at the Mill
tary Academy.
ELEVATION OF THE STANDARD
Preparation Of the Young Officers
for Work in Outlying Possessions.
Methods Of Appointing Cadets.
BY WILLIAM e CI.ETIS

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS
| written for The Star and the Chicago Record.
| Herald.
| Col. Hugh L. Scott, superintendent of
the Military Academy at West Point es-
| Inmates that it costs the government of
the United States $1,000 to produce
second lieutenant out Of the raw ma
terial which is sent to that institution
from the several states and congressional
districts every year. In making this esti
| mate he bases his calculations upon the
current expenses of maintaining the acad-
envy. which are about 81 900, 600 a year,
and the average number of cadets for the
last few years, whichh as been about four
| hundred. He does not take into account
the original cost OF the educational plant
or repairs or Improvements or the inter-
est upon the investment which the gov
eminent has made in the facilities for
educating soldiers, which. by the way,
are unsurpassed elsewhere in all the
| world. There is no such institution in
Europe The military schools Of the
great powers do not compare with the
| United States Military Academy in beau
ty of situation, conveniences. buildings.
| equipment, accommodations for students
! and faculty or In any other respect and
| the course of training for officers at
| West Point is more thorough and COM
plete than in any other military school.
| The Germans surpass us in the higher
| education of the soldier, in teaching the
| sciences of strategy, organization and
maintenance. but We are improving In
! that particular ALSO and Fort Root as
the new Waur College at Washington is
| called, is rapidly developing into an insti-
| tuition OF great Importance and value to
the country.
The limited number Of our population
| who are interested in military affairs arc
| aware of the usefulness of the educa-
| tional system and the several schools for
the soldier which are now maintained in
!hls country. and the effect they are hav-
| ing upon the efficiency Of our army. but
! nowhere has there been a greater i'm
provement than at West Point. In his re-
cent report Col. Scott states that 1.-The
demic hoard and approved by the War
Department in 1907 Is now i'm operation
with the fourth and third classes The
Dement'S of tho. revision are. already an
parent particularly In the advantages de-
| rived from the correlation of the allied
subjects taught by the different depart
ments. In connection with the revision
| the heads of five of the departments of
instruction have been engaged in the
preparation Of new text books adapted to
the revised courses, as well as corrected to
keep pace with the improvements and In
ventiens In the respective arts and Sci
also of the efficiency of the engineering
department and the great advancement in
| the course of instruction In cavalry drill
| and Workmanship. and in practical mill
| tary engineering etc.
Col. SCOTS Innovations.
Col. Scott, who is eminently a practical
soldier. has himself introduced some in
novations Of his own to give the cadets
paigning
I'VE have put Spanish in the first
| class said Col. Scott in discussing this
subject. 80 that when an officer goes out
of this institution to the Philippines. Por
to Rico or to Cuba he can talk with the
natives In their own language. The opcr-
ations of the army of the United states,
we assume, are to he confined to our own
territory. and particularly to that portion
of it which has been acquired within the
| last few years. and where the Spanish
| tongue prevails. SO that it is very impor-
tant that all officers should be able to
speak that language fIuently. and that
accomplishment can be acquired by pay
ing especial attention to 1t during the last
year of that course.
"1n former times the mathematical
| courses were rapid and stiff and in some
| cases the cadets were pushed so rapidly
that they got beyond their depth For
this reason we have added three months
to the time and cut down the material as
much possible. We have not reduced
the standard. but have provided more
thorough instruction We are dovetailing
mathematics and mechanics, SO as to
make the course more parctical, and are
giving more attention. to the applied
sciences than formerly, to electricity,
chemistry and such things in the way of
practical application of what Is taught
in the books. col. Gordon. professor OF
natural philosophy, has had to write a
new, text book to make this effective
instruction in Packing.
I'VE have also introduced practical
packing, so that the West Point grad
yates In the army, at least, will know
how to pack and handle a pack train.
The professional packer. who used to be
found everywhere in the mountain states,
has vanished. Pack trains are now obso-
lete. because railway transportation and
road making and automobiles have taken
their place. and the country is becoming
so thickly settled that they are not need
ell. The only packnasters in this country
now are in the army, and they are few
and rapidly disappearing. Nevertheless.
pack trains are just as important to the
army as they ever were. to carry supplies
and ammunition in the Philippines We
cannot take wagons on scarcely any of
the campaigns In that part Of our terri
tory, and every officer should know how
to pack mule and handle a. train pack.
At Santiago there should have been a
dozen pack trains instead of one, but we
had neither the packers nor mules When
the military establishment in Cuba was
broken up. | applied for a couple of pack
trains which had been used down there.
They were sent to West Point, and since
then the cadets have been In regular
training with them. taking them through
the mountains that lie back Of the AcadA
envy, which furnish the best kind of
field for that sort of experience.
I'VE have also added a course of in
struction in improvising methods of cross
ing streams, necessary knowledge for
a soldier. 1t had never been taught at
| the Military Academy before although
| 1t is of vital Importance. Two days in
each week are devoted to this work, one
| day for each half of the class, who are
| taught the various methods of conveying
| troops across streams with the various
| kinds Of material commonly met with or
carried by an army in the field. This
work Is done on the Hudson river and
| the streams which flow into it. The men
| construct RATS Of logs with hickory
! witf,es and wire, and RATS of casks and
canvas with hickory saplings dashed
with wire and ropes. They are taught
| how to convert the body Of a wagon
| into boat using the canvas cover to
make il water-tight, and how to ferry
wagons across rivers by floating them on
! logs placed under the axles.
"AlI this is very valuable experience
/ and tho Graduates from, this ion