The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-08-21

the World War has shown could be made upon
military men. He then says, in part:
"After ALL West Point is sracal school, as is
the Naval academy at Annapolis, as is any
school of mines or of chemistry, or of languages.
This does not justify the turning out of soldiers,
or mining engineers, or chemists who know moth
ing else; but it does justify of instruction
which emphasizes the speciality while 1t pro-
duces an educated man. The purpose of West
Point, therefore, Is not to act a glorfed drill
sergeant but to lay a foundation upon which
career of growth in military knowledge can be
based, and to accompany 1t with two indispensable
additions; first, such general training edu-
Gated men find necessary for intelligent inter
course with one another and second. the incul-
cation of a set of virtues admirable always, but
indispensable in the soldier Men may be inexact,
or even untruthful in ordinary matters, and suf-
fer as a consequence only the disesteem of their
associates, or the inconvenience of unfavorable
litigation; but the inexact or untruthful soldier
trifes with the lives of his fellow men. and the
honor of his government and it Is therefore, no
matter of idle pride, but rather of stern dis
cplinary necessity that makes West Point re-
Quire of her students character for trustworthi-
ness which knows no evasions.
81 ought to point out that West Point is but the
beginning of education In the army. In each Of
the services there are continuation schools of
growing breadth and usefulness, and the plan
toward which army education is tending will
more and more seek only the fundamentals, both
of education and character, at West Point, and
look more and more to the special schools for
the technical, scientific completion.
"a test may be appealed to with confidence.
During the first hundred years 1SO2-19O2) of its
existence, 2,371 graduates of West Point left the
army to go into civil life. The occupations of
these graduates are shown in the following
table: President Of the United States, 1 presi-
dent of the Confederate States, /; presidential
candidates, g. vice-presidential candidates, 2;
members of the cabinet of the United States, 4;
ambassador, 1 ; ministers of the United States to
foreign countries, IA; charge d'affaires of the
United States to foreign countries, 2; United
States consul generals and consuls. II; members
of congress, "a; United States civil officers of
various kinds, III; presidential electors, 8; gov
ernors of states and territories, 10; bishops, /;
lieutenant governors, 2; judges, IA members of
state legislatures, II presiding officers of state
senates and houses Of representatives, 8; men,
bers Of conventions for the formation Of state
constitutions, 10 state officers of various grades
81 adjutants, inspectors and qnartermaster gen.
erals and chief engineers Of states and territories
%; officers Of state militia 1853; mayors of Cities
II; city officers 81; presidents of universities
colleges, ETC., 46; principals Of academies and
schools 49, regents and chancellors of educational
institutions, H. professors and teachers, 1876;
superintendent Of coast survey, i; surveyors gen.
Of states, IA; presidents of railroads and other
corporations 81; chief engineers Of railroads and
other public works, So; superintendent of rail-
roads and other public works, 81; treasurers and
receivers Of railroads and other corporations "a
civil engineers, 228; electrical engineers. 5; at
torneys and counselors at law, 200; superior
general of clerical order, /; cIergymen, 20;
physicians, IA; merchants. 122; manufacturers
II: artists 8: architects Z; farmers and planters
230; bankers, IS; bank presidents, s; bank Off
GERS, %; editors, 3d. authors. 179
"Not all of the foregoing occupations are sig
nifcant of intellectual supremacy necessarily
superior training, but the list is one which could
not have been made by a college with made
quate or archaic system Of education. These men
have stepped out Of West Point into civil life
and qualified In large numbers for positions from
the very highest within the gift Of the people, In
all walks of life; a list quite too large and .m-
posing to represent the triumph Of talent over
obstruction"
Discussing criticism No. g. Secretary Baker
says that the special character Of the education
which West Point must give limits the field Of
selection Of its teachers. He defends the practice