New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-02
MORE WEST POINTS NEEDED
Our Land Grant Agricultural Col
leges Might Give Adequate
Military Instruction.
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: Your editorial on More West Points
Needed" interests me- Is the general public
aware that there is a chain Of government
schools giving more or less of military in
struction now existing in this country? /
refer to the land grant colleges established
by Congress by the Morrill, act in 1862.
Having in mind the difficulty in obtaining
trained officers at that stage Of the Civil
War, it was especially enacted by the legis-
lators of those days that military science be
included with the agricultural and mechanic
arts in the required curriculum of those
colleges.
As a result, we have ffty-one Of these engi-
neerng schools in the various states turning
out men trained in technical subjects md
with the rudiments of a military education,
impaired by regular army officers detailed
for the purpose
The land grant colleges include, among
others. Massachusetts, Institute of Technol-
ogy, Cornell. Purdue and the great state uni
versities of Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Cali
forna and Pennsylvania, with universities
of Porto Rico and the College of Hawaii,
making at the present time a total of fifty
one.
The scope of these land grant colleges is
little understood even by their own alumni,
but they represent the strongest educationa.
force in the land to-day. This educational
force is partly military. When. some months
since it was thought eXpedient for the gov
ernment to establish new West Points in
each state some of these land grant colleges
stated their ability to reach more available
young men a. less additional cost through
their present institutions than by any other
method.
They purposed raising the standard Of
military training of all students and afford
ing some of them the opportunity of special
ling in military arts. We find that the
University of Illinois, with an attendance of
mere than 5000, has added artillery equip
ment of about 100000 by state appropri-
alton, and Ohio State University, with an at
tendance Of 5000, has arranged course in
military engineering as soon as the govern
ment has made teaching force available.
With this strong chain of colleges much
advance could be made in the training of
aviators. With their trained athletes and
engineers a constant stream of experts in
this field could be started by the installation
of one or more machines at each institution,
for a large campus and enormous shops are
to be found at practically every one Of these
schools.
Cornell, Massachusetts, Institute, Louisiana
and some of the seaboard and island uni
versities are so situated that they could have
submarine squad.
Practical experience Of at least year or
so in the regular army after graduation from
any of these land grant schools would start
reserve officer list Of the very highest
grade Those land grant colleges are already
budding West Points, as is evidenced by
scores Of their graduates, who efficiently
serving as officers of even high rank in our
army to-day.
These land grant colleges were founded TO
become supplementary West Points. Their
growth has been phenomenal, their efficiency
marked Their technical training in this day
Of machine guns, cement trenches, automobile
and vast railroad equipment is easily the peer
of West Points. A greater attention to mill
tary science will give country a stream
Of officers from twoscore sources to augment
the most thorough tactical work of our own
West Point. We have more West Points. We
should use them. GEORGE \. COLE.
New York, July %, 1915.