Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1917-03-01
MILITARY SCHOOLS
TO give OFFICERS
Many Cadets In Private Institu-
tiOns Available for War.
CIVILIAN AID IS IMPORTANT
Engineering, Signal and Aviation Corps
OF United States Army Could Be
Quickly Recruited in
Emergency.
BY KENNETH MAcpoUGALL.

New Y0rk.-In the event of the call
Ing out of militia and volunteer troops,
there ARE many cadets in the various
private military institutions in the
United States who could speedily be
made available for second lieutenan-
cies and some higher ranks in the vol
unteer forces.
one of the most prominent institu.
tons In the country from Il military
standpoint Is Norwich university, at
Norwich, VT. which has graduated nu-
merous men into the army as second
licutenants. The graduating class is
between eighty and OSe hundred and
twenty men every year, and the in
stitution has kept fairly good track of
Its available sons after they have left
college. At II conservative estimate,
Norwich could furnish thousand men
who have passed un examination re-
qulred as entrance TO the regular army
as second lieutenant of infantry, five
hundred second lieutenants of cavalry
and about three hundred artillery sec
Ond lieutenants.
Many Of the men have kept well in.
formed in military matters, while 9TH
ers, of course, would need considcra.
Bile brushing up In modern tactics.
Norwich has maintained the same
standards Of study and execution of
military drill that the cadets mt West
Point are held to, and fully Il sixth
of It's graduating classes have followed
an army career.
In training, the graduates are prob.
ably superior In knowledge and exec.
ntive ability to twO-thirds of the mi.
lltia captains and some majors in the
National Guard.
They have served under military of.
flcers of the highest type for four.
year course, and during that time have
had to work hard and faithfully in or.
der to graduate.
1000 Men Available.
A like condition is true of perhaps
twenty-five other private military
schools in the United States designated
by the war department as "distin.
guished institutions" These schools
could bring to the cOlOrs, about 1000
fully or partlally-trnined lieutennnts
Besides these there are some ten thou.
sand college men who have attended
training camps like Plnttsburg, and
who In short time eould be whipped
into good enough shape to take com.
mand of volunteer infantry.
The Culver school ut Culver, Ind, Is
perhaps close second to Norwich uni
verslty us regards cavalry material
The showing made by Culver boys
while stationed on the border In the
recent mobilization attracted wide
spread attention among army men.
The Engineering corps of the regu.
lar army could be readily recruited In
officers and men from the civil popu.
lation engaged in similar pursuits as a
daily occupation. The supremacy Of
concrete construction In this country
would indicate there would be no trou.
BILE in securing enough capable engi.
neers and non-cOmmlsSloned officers to
erect or construct necessary gun EN-.
placements and additional defenses.
The European war has shown that
1t does not take long to instruct mill
tary aerial observers and these coulC
be trained In short time.
Transport Difficulties Small.
AS for transport and QuartermasteI
corps there would be little or no diff
Guilty in finding plenty Of business mer
: who would be capable Of handliny