Mexico Missouri message., 1917-02-22
MILITARY SCHOOLS
TO give OFFICERS
Many Cadets in Private Institu-
tons Available for War.
CIVILIAN AID IS IMPORTANT
Engineering, Signal and Aviation Corps
OF United States Army Could Be
Quickly Recruited in
Emergency.
BY KENNETH MAcDoueALL.

-.
New EOrk.-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-
lions in the country from q military
standpoint is Norwich university, at
Norwich, VT, which has graduated nu-
merous men into the army as second
ieutenants. The graduating class is
between eighty and one hundred and
twenty men every year, and the in
sttution has kept fairly good track of
its available sons after they have left
college. At a conservative estimate,
Norwich could furnish thousand men
who have passed an examination re-
quired 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 we'll in.
formed in military matters, while 9TH
ers, Of course, would need considera-
BILE brushing up in modern tactics.
Norwich has maintained the same
standards of study and execution of
military drill that the cadets at West
Point are held to, and fully q sixth
Of its graduating classes have followed
an army career.
In training, the graduates are prob
ably superior in knowledge and exec
utive ability to two-thirds of the mi
litia captains and some majors in the
National Guard.
They have served under military Of
ficers of the highest type for Il 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 partially-trained lieutenants.
Besides these there are some ten thou
sand college men who have attended
training camps like Plattsburg, and
who in a short time could be whipped
into good enough shape to take COM
mand of volunteer infantry.
The Culver school ut Culver, Ind, is
perhaps n close second TO Norwich uni
versity as 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-
bic in securing enough capable engl-
neers and non-commissioned officers to
erect or construct necessary gun en-
placements and additional defenses.
The Signal corps picked from civil
llans engaged in like work would soon
be as good as the regular units, in
fact probably better, as the class of
men in the New York militia units of
that branch of service made the regu-