Show ft U V jill hs men but ml 17 N jc 17 fill 4 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON the past few weeks at a score of places in dIf different Terent parts of the united states several hundred husky young americans between the ages of fit seventeen and twenty two to have been W E 1 taking the examinations for admission to thi tha united states military academy at west point they are the men who have received appointments to fill the vacancies in the corps of cadets cabets up to its maximum authorized strength of 1374 these vacancies existing by reason of graduation resignations and dismissals from the academy it those who received these appointments are successful in passing the rigorous mental and physical entrance examinations foi for there Is no place in the world where the demand for a sound mind in a sound body Is more imperative than it is in uncle sams school on the dudson they will enter the academy during the first week of next july and begin that four years course of intensive training which makes officers and gentlemen but most of all where do these 1374 cadets cabets come from well they come from every part of the united states and from every stratum of american society nearly half of them are from the farms of the north and the east the ranches of the west and the plantations of the south A checkup check up on the occupations of the parents of the cadets cabets at west point in recent years showed the following farmers and planters 1119 1149 merchants lawyers and judges physicians army officers mechanics manufacturers clergymen bankers 90 and one each for the following auctioneer author chief of police cook hatter iceman inventor justice of the peace pilot teamster and warden of a prison from different strata of society the newcomers to the academy may be when they get off the train at the little station at west point next july but 24 hours later the son of the teamster the son of the iceman the son of the judge and the son of the army officer ftfe are exactly on the tame same plane they are all alf plebes glebes pl ebes and as such are placed in the beast barracks to receive their preliminary training rich kich and poor college man and high school graduate they are all treated alike they all rise at five thirty in the morning and go to bed at nine thirty in the evering evening so far as equality Is concerned it Is democracy to the nth degree the course of instruction during the period of 0 two months before september classes begin Is designed to gle ghe the new arrival a sound erect body and teach him the fundamental principles of military discipline and drill throughout this phase the cadet has little or no time of his own in what might be termed his moments of lel leisure sure lie Is required to learn the cleaning and care of his rifle and equipment the great melting pot Is at work the egotistical and conceited are brought down the weak are strengthened the surly and indifferent are taught to obey and act quickly a democratic group of youths Is ready to join the corps of cadets cabets and start the school year the first phase Is over the beast becomes a cadet ther the corps Is organized into a regiment of 12 companies in each of which members of all four classes are arranged according to height in cadet argot the second battalion composed of tile short nien men are called the runts while the first and third battalions are termed flankers as descriptive of their station on the flanks at parades and other functions cadet commissioned officers and sergeants are appointed from among the first classsen classmen seniors the highest in rank performs the duty of regimental commander and Is titled first captain subordinate grades range down through battalion and company commanders to lieutenants who command platoons and to sergeants the second class furnishes the corporals all these appointments are based on the cadets cabets ratings in leadership military science academic standing conduct and personal appearance the mass molding of these men Is carried to no extreme it ends with the military organizations izat ions find and disciplinary drills in all other activities individual character building self reliance and initiative are stressed A cadet never loses sight of the great primary aim of west point the development of personal integrity academic sections are formed with never more than 16 usually 12 cadets cabets to one instructor after the instructor has discussed the lesson to explain any parts which are not clear each cadet prepares a blackboard assignment and later recites orally from the material on his blackboard every cadet recites and Is 18 graded each day ills his assignment customarily includes original work develops develop thorough understanding of a topic rather than the mere ability to memorize and the lan language aage of his oral recitation must be precise and correct thus lie ha acquires that quality most essential to his later career self reliance at west point participation in athletics Is not the special privilege of the swiftest and the strongest every fall and every spring throughout the entire four years each cadet Is enrolled for some sport which he attends twice a week during the hour and fifteen minutes of each attendance lie he receives instruction from competent coaches find and after hiort preliminary training plays on ills his company team in competition with other companies in this system of intramural athletics no cadet repeats repeals a sport accordingly in four years lie becomes familiar with eight dIf different Terent sports which after he be graduates lie he will employ for tile physical training of enlisted men in the army after the first class has graduated in june the new second class which has completed two t alm f et 0 aw 74 a ap I 1 t W je A az Z 6 n 01 4 du 1 cabets cadets receiving instruction in acs airplane design and construction 2 chow time in the mess hall at west point 3 cabets cadets building a pontoon bridge 4 instruction in the ordnance machine shop 0 on mechanical engineering subjects 5 learning surveying by doing it if 6 cabets cadets on an artillery hike untangling a horse that has overstepped over stepped his traces and become tangled up in his harness 7 all pictures courtesy united states military academy years at the academy goes on a furlough which lasts until the resumption of classes in september meanwhile the new first and third classes move into tents in a summer camp located on the edge of 0 the parade g ground round and overlooking the beautiful hudson riv river erAnd and here be begins ins that phase of cadet life which west pointers always remember as most ideal drill and play are in order with no studies to interrupt the latter drill held only in the forenoon signifies more than the mere forming of ranks and execution of evolutions on the parade this drill means learning how various weapons and arms studied theoretically during the winter behave in practice out in the open and on the road the cadet will spend ills his mornings in pursuits always varied always interesting lie ile will ill learn to adjust a mcclellan saddle on horses of odd shapes and dispositions ile he will do scouting trotting alone down a country lane he will ride through villages whose alloys alleys and rooftops hide bide imaginary snipers or he will control a team of wheel horses behind him and on both sides bides will roll guns and caissons chaissons cais sons tie ile will be a helping in the swift process of un limberIng and going into action lie ile will lay miles of wire across creeks under roads through underbrush so that military units may feel and speak to each other or perhaps in the quiet of a camouflaged observation post lie he will turn the cross hairs of a telescope upon an enemy target and by science will compute the data necessary to bring down artillery fire then again he be will be transported to an army flying field where he will learn to follow maps and spot targets from a great altitude during the last week of august tile the entire corps takes the field in a grand final maneuver under conditions approximating as nearly dearly as possible those of war cadets cabets learn how various arms ordinate coordinate co in battle they begin to understand the difficulties of feeding and supplying large bodies of troops it if it rains it if their feet grow cold and wet and blistered so much the better for they learn the limits of human endurance and will know what demands can be made of men in war although west point has as its primary object the training of young men to be officers in the united states army it plies an academic education as well as tile the fundamentals of military training its purpose which has been followed since its beginning was best expressed by george ceorge washington when he advocated tile tho military academy ue he said that what we need is a school from which we can get an educated officer although discipline Is maintained in the class rooms the academic training Is purely for or the education or of the cadet the course of instruction Is planned so that a graduate will have what corresponds to a bachelor of science degree at the average university lint but more important than the fund of technical and academic information which the cadet has acquired during his four years at west point Is 3 another kind of training which he has received soldierly qualities are built upon a foundation of character and manliness the development of that character Is accomplished through many different channels As his military aad and academic education progresses liis ills social and cultural side Is not overlooked ile ie has a regular course in gentlemanly conduct and etiquette ills social activities are under intelligent tell igent supervision and his opportunities tor for contact with the officers and their families on the post are frequent after all he belongs to the only profession in the world where conduct unbecoming a gentleman Is an offense triable by court martial so of ol licer and gentleman Is not just an empty phrase it Is an ideal to be lived up to and at west point it Is a livable reality and to crown the character building process which this picked body of young americans undergo at the academy Is the system there of placing responsibility upon the cadet from the day he arrives and teaching him to accept responsibility in an increasing measure throughout ills his four years As the cadets cabets instruction advances he Is given more and more opportunities to show hla his capacity for accepting responsibility ne ile commands at drills and ceremonies instructs cadets cabets of tile the lower classes and assumes more and more the duties of nn an officer as the day of his graduation approaches As an officer he will ile be entrusted with the control of others so by the time lime lie he has spent four years at the academy he has shown that lie can control himself at west point they make officers and gentlemen but most of all they make MENI a 0 by western newspaper union |