The Washington times., 1938-06-30

WAKING up in the middle of the other night and
w being unable to 60 back to sleep for some little
time we got to thinking about West Point. The first
thought that came to mind
Wny NO Army one of wonder wonder why
Ro,r;nn Tony,2 West Point doesn't have
ing team in the annual Pough-
keepsie Regatta as Annapolis does.
The only discover is that West Point
has The traditional six sports in which all cadets
must participate are football, basketball baseball,
lacrosse, track and Yet here in West Points
front yard is perhaps the best fourile rowing
in the world. Rowing calls for much courage and
more endurance than football The Army football team
makes as much money the Navy football team-mean-
ing West Point could find the money to support
ing team And West Point could such nationwide
publicity Annapolis grabbed off for itself Monday
of this week by beating the California, Washington
Columbia, Wisconsin, Cornell and Syracuse rowing
teams and setting up record.
It's natural but, apparently West Point tradition
forbids it.
West Point has other traditions For one there the
aristocratic tradition inherited from Europe about
officers being perpetual gentlemen while enlisted
can only be temporary gentlemen in
Ott1cers wartime.
And Mon By breaking that tradition, West
Point could increase its annual gradual
ing class by $780, at extra COST and could turn out
better equipped graduates. Impossible? Here's how:
Let every West Point appointee, after passing the
present entrance examinations 60 for year into the
Regular Army, serving that time Army post
another under the of the Regular Army top
sergeants and captains perhaps the most efficient group
of military in the world Let those who take this
life and win corporal's rank 60 to West Point Re-
arrange West Point so to graduate them in
three years.
The advantages would be obvious. The West Point
graduates would come out as officers familiar with the
way the enlisted thinks; not less prep
schoolish graduates long knowledge of other cadets
and short knowledge of the Army rank and file.
Going back to athletics, see by pamphlet West
Point that the academy has riding hall big enough to
accommodate three classes of thirty cadets each at
one time. Cadets must learn how to ride
TLUHeS' and look after horses. But they don't
Eun;uoo have to learn how to take gasoline
gne apart and put it together again, they
can't have their at West Point they aren't
taught how to fly. The next war is going to be
engine airplane show, among other things.
We suppose it would be menal work for cadet to be
attached officers car as it's caretaker but it
he
said next And they ought to be encouraged to
and operate automobiles.
AS to flying every cadet ought to know enough about
it to qualify for private pilots license (fy hours solo,
matter what branch of the service he enters after
West Point Most any young who drive
in traffic win his private flying license Then he'd
know what the flying talking about and trying
to accomplish
And lastly, word about West Points prissness with
regard to alcoholic beverages The penalty for drinking
is dismissal. Such regulation in training school for
TT ,r, 1,.,, military men, is rot. Some of our
No' O"' A0W" best fighting have been
hOuf TiO1Or bottle babies of the first mag
nitude, including U. S. Grant,
Joe Hooker and most other Civil War generals Many
general in the Indian wars, after the Civil War; was
two-botte manprobably in many because he had
been denied in how to handle his liquor at West
Point
West Pointers ought to have every Saturday night off
long they work through the week properly Ia first
cassman gets six leaves year now) and they ought to
be privileged to drink what they on those Saturday