Year: 1871

the Aa antique que model HS'' Of Damon and Pythias.
good sense the boys would soon like him and
associate with him. II he Is suspicious and envious
oher peope Who have the
must be friendless lie has the greatest faculty for


GETTING INTO sCRAPES
OF all the boys have known. He was In trouble,
believe, at Hartford before he came here, and God
knows he has never been long out Of 1t since. He
has been under arrest for one thing or another
threefourh OF the time he has been on the Polntn
''What about these other complaints against you
that the discipline Is that OF martinez rather than
tnat OF practical Oificerthat the boys are spoiled
by over attention TO methodlcal trinesYn


There, again q civilian takes altogether an err
the very life and soul OF all discipline. cadet for
example, il allowed to come on parade with hole
or SO OF his coat unbultoned. II that were un-
hole unbuttoned, and the day after that probably


IN HIS SHIRT SLEEVES.
pretty state of things we should have then No.
sir; we look after these trivial faults and the
grayer ones will LOOK out for themselves. And to
prove to you now sound our system Is In this re-
spect the British House OF Parliament sent q COM
mission over here TO inquire into It's workings, ana
they nave reported iavofaby in regard 10 It, and 1t
Schools"


..wel. you wiz own up, at least, to making the
boys aristocralIc and eXclusivepn


Indeed. j shah do nothing OF the kind. Aristo-
cratic Why, West Point Is the


MOST DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION
IN existence The wide world over. With ussthe poor
mans son has exactly the same chance as the rich
man's Merit is the only metnOd adopted in placing
the cadets Why, President Grants son Is right
away down at the tan end Of his class-almost tho
lowest boy. Among the cadets themselves, too, the
principles OF equality are heartily embraced. There
are no little cques here OF rich mems sons, like
what you Will find in most colleges. The boys have
to live IN exactly the same way This one is not a-
low ed 10 keep horse, white the other allowance
scarcely pays his board and never permits him to
shake hands with tailor. No. sir All the cadets
have exactly the same privileges In every respect
while they are at the Academy Rich and poor are
oil on the same footing"


"But it is said that


..We Just notice at the next inspection the faces
of the boys. You viii find good many that not
very alistocratic. Names, too ore good test, and
you VIII see many In the list that were never heard
OF before in any way that know Off,


ado you think selection by competition would be
better than The present system OF nomination by
ii do. There can be no doubt of it, At present
we have great many stupid boys, upon whom
the money OF the United States is simply
wasted. They will never be good officers; they
hav MT got capacity enough to be 80. II entrance
were obtained only by competition oil the boys who
come here would be intelligent and promising. We
could then raise the standard of examination and
even then, propaDly, should never have TO reject
any one who entered. All upon whom the pubic
money had been spent would repay the country for
the expense OF their education That would be q
great Improvement, and would remove the last ex-
cuse for that charge OF ariSOcracy and exclusive.
ness that you referred to-"


''And boys like colored cadet Smith, who can
scarcely write sentence OF Ineligible English,
would never come here"


"You ought not to ask me such question as that.
cannot answer you, OF course"


$50, on the whole, Mr.. High Military Authority,
you think West Point Is


NOT YET DEMORALIZEDY' ~


"No, sir: except by the presence OF the three or
four newspaper men who have been up here the
last four tive days about this everlasting cOlOred
Cadets