The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-03-09
DISTINGUISHED COLLEGES"
More Information About Designation
Given Norwich.

The secretary of war has just issued q
call asking presidents of distinguished
colleges to name ten men of the gradual
ing class of 1915 for appointment to the
army as second lieutenants. The public
generally knows but little about the
method of determining whether col
lege is distinguished" or not, as but
little publicity has been given the mat
ter. The whole matter of classification
is based upon inspection made by officers
OF the general staff of the regular army
of the colleges and schools in the United
States having military department as
part OF their curriculum. Where any
school or college agrees TO maintain more
than 100 young men under military in
struction, the war department will fur
nish the necessary military equipment
for Institutional purposes and detail an
officer of the army without cost to the
university or school, for duty as profess
sor of military science and tactics.
All the land grant schools There are
now 81 of them which were created by
the act of Congress approved July 2,
1862, are required by law to teach mill
tary tactics. During the long period be-
tween the Civil war and our recent dis
turbances, when there was little agita-
tion for preparedness and little apprecia-
ton, generally. of military training, the
character of the military work performed
at the land grant schools, with few
brilliant exceptions, was very mediocre
indeed. However, with the recent agita-
ton for preparedness and popular APP
probation of the necessity for trained
officers, these schools have taken a con-
siderable brace, and few of them have
landed in the distinguished" class.
Now, once year members of the gen
eral staff inspect all these schools and
colleges with military departments and
grade them according to the character of
the military work performed. This grad
ing system began in 1904 Norwich uni.
versity, Virginia Military institute and
the Citadel of North Carolina were the
first institutions of college grade to re-
ceiye the designation Of distinguished"
by the war department. Norwich univer-
sity and Virginia Military institute have
been continuously so distinguished for
every year since that date up to and in
Guiding the last inspection Other in
stitutions have fallen into line as fol- |
lows: The Citadel, Charleston. S. c., the !
years 1904, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1870 1911,
1912, 1918, 1914, 1915, 1915; st. Johns
college, Annapolis, Md, the years 1905, |
1909, 1910, 1915, 1915; Agricultural &
Mechanical college OF Texas, the years
1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1915;
of Vermont, the years 1914,
1915, 1915; University OF Illinois, the /
years 1914, 1915, 1915; University of I
Kansas the years 1914, 1915, 1915; Uni
'ersity of Minnesota, the years 1914,
9l5, 1915; University of Missouri, the
vears of 1914. 1915, 1915; Cornell uni
'ersity, the years 1914, 1915, 1915; Ohio
state university, the years 1914, 1915.
g16; University of Vermont, the years
9l5 1915; University of Wisconsin, the
ears 1915. 1916; State college of Wash
ngton, 1915.
OF the colleges and universities desig
ated as distinguished" Norwich uni
ersity, Virginia Military institute, the
ftadel of South Carolina, st. Johns
ollege of Annapolis, Nd, and the Agri-