Show still beckons the ambitious american youth true farm boys don t become bank presidents with the same frequency nowadays as when horatio algera fictional characters typified the struggling amerl can youth yet the come on hand of the lady known as luck but whose real name Is pluck still gestures for all who are alert to see four years ago seven clear eyed upstanding straight thinking young americans caught her gesture result today the seven are em barked on the honorable career of army officers duly commissioned by the president of the united states after a four year stretch of mental and moral designed to turn them out equipped to occupy with credit any position in life to which chev may aspire your uncle sam wis the godfather it was the beloved gentleman with the plug hat the striped troopers troupers troup ers and the starry vest not dame fortune who sponsored the ambitious seven all of which means just this that the seven formed tills years conten gent of former buck privates among the graduating claa at west point recently coming up from the ranks of the regular army they qualified for admission to the military academy through annual examinations which are now open to all enlisted men of uncle sams forces real democracy once a sear the historic and un excelled institution on the hudson throws wide its doors and from out of the rank and file of soldiers enter such as have demonstrated their right to wear on their shoulders the insignia of leadership the son from the lean farm in iowa and the pampered pride of the richest banker in wall street are buddies under the skin such at least Is the principle and practice at west point y democracy not who are vou but what can you do 7 the list of young men who by rea it eon of their perseverance per and their determination to achieve now wear t the sam browne belt and shining shoulder bars of an officer show that the ambition of young america Is as broad as her boundaries observe that none of them are former service men nor had they distinguished themselves in purely military events all are men of a years service or more who ap r patently parent ly enlisted in the army with the idea of competing for a west point tf scholarship cadet hans W holmer twenty six of medford ore one of seven upset west point tradition when he won the much prized title of honor man making a total of points out of a possible 2975 the first regular army appointee ever to gain such distinction he stood io 1 in the class of 1027 consisting of cabets cadets cadet harold A kurstedt of weehawken Wee hawken N J another of the seven took second highest honors with a total of 2 CO the remaining five ex soldiers grad bated alo tn relatively high positions f they were cadet john T hoist of new haven conn cadet cyril E cabets cadets of the class of 1927 united states military academy who ware appointed to the academy from fie regular army left to right john R lovek ottumwa iowa john A schwab new york city cyril E williams ontario canada harold A kurstedt weehawken Wee hawken N J formerly of mt vernon N Y hans W holmer medford ore charlie wesner arten lake als john T hoist new haven conn williams of st catherines ontario cadet john II 11 lovall of ottumwa iowa cadet john A schwab of new york city and cadet charlie wesner of green lake als in the rigorous training courses which alv e west point rank with the finest military academies in the world all seven of the regular army appointees poin tees acquitted above average cabets cadets kurstedt and schwab v ere cadet and cadet a cadet lieutenant cadet schwab was one of the best polo players in the point an all aund man cadet was rated as expert with both the automatic pistol and service ride As a member of the cadet wrestling team cadet kurstedt won hta A while cadet lovell es an enviable record in athletics playing on the football eleven for three seasons and on the boxing team four last year he was captain of the boxing team besides these seven graduates there are other cabets cadets now at the acad emy who were appointed from the ranks of either the regular array or national guard this high percentage of the membership of the corps of cabets cadets has been attained by the regular army largely through the training extended to aspirants at west point preparatory schools conducted throughout all departments part ments of the army by their aid this year 95 soldiers were coached to take the final examinations for en trance to west point this summer the men were entered in the pre schools after having satisfied certain elementary requirements nt the camps and stations they were serving in to attend youths mut be between the ages of nineteen and twenty two have at least one years service in the army and possess the equivalent of a high school education get another chance to fall to qualify for the preparatory school at first need not mean the bursting of the young soldiers bubble of hope on the contrary failure has seemed merely to spur many of them on to further study and greater determination mi nation to male good these men who rise from the ranks are moved by determination persistency and intelligence the elates at the various W est point preparatory schoola include men who have failed a second time before winning admission the soldier students are quartered in regulation army barracks when attending preparatory school and under the usual soldier discipline with the exception that lights are allowed to bum as long as there 1 home w ork to be done the curriculum includes all the necessary academic subjects and 3 s Is drawn up for the sole purpose of preparing the students to meet the fairly rigid west point entrance tests the preparatory schools run from the tall months throughout the winter to april when the final examinations are held but it Is one thing to gan entrance to the united states military academy and another to graduate some of the most promising youths from fine homes are found although carefully prepared prior to entering the academy at the leading educational lions partly because of the high notch of physical perfection and partly because of the strict drill and als those without previous all tary training experience difficulty 1 keeping up with their classes the ex ranker however has in the few short years since his entrance to the academy was authorized by congress shown a distinct ability to excel in cadet activities an afternoon at the point the cabets cadets are under canvass on the parade ground squads of of fleer material are swinging into step the formations that make of the army a vast efficient machine hitting on all 12 cylinders commands ring out make it snappy Is the big idea squads squads squads with guns squads without guns squids at target practice tha pride of doing a thing with act and doing it right Is in the carrage of each high held head of each pair ot straight shoulder an interval again the parade ground Is alive with youth mats athletics the tennis courts show leaping figures out there they are practicing lacrosse this group Is trying at biking a win nang getaway for future track use another group concentrates on the great national game baseball at the far side eager forms destined to win glory on the foothill field are trying out one group Is building up its biceps by raising and lowering itself op the green velvet carpet of outdoors over on the hotel veranda a fortu nate chap in the immaculate whites 0 the season twirls his cap an chats consciously with one who Is ob a girl from home there a few st through the shady paths which lead toward the shimmering wn of the river romance and health and thus does opportunity offer the al lure of her smile to any american youth who has the cononge to claim her |