OCR Text |
Show "AM UmMZtmSh ' firkXaX .- - j jllGrly Walls" -"- -Ffessmq In Review V - ..,dr"s VL.d,VVi s X-M Atr have to shine their shoes and make their own jr(Uv',V-'"'N..e, ' s.. ' ? Jy ZrtMr Sucn Profim wrk and ucn "trlct X s -Jf itf 'VsJ&kJs clpllne as to conduct soon proves whether or not v , K S'V sl i Js'sC V the cadet has "real stufT In him. If be hasn't. If , ' tiraduauOnNCL i .Vfm" V""' bl scholarship falls below par. and If, as pre- "Day 0!f'--.tgiSqyfc!g - f vlously stated, he doesn't keep the rules, out be . P- r ' 1 1 s4' nlrth, family, Influence nor wealth By ELMO 8COTT WAT80N l&V.",''. " ' -HT count at West Point. I N JUNE 13 some 29a young men ' C,y J Of course, to the average American youth. It V gathered In the big gymnasium at Lr f V 4 would seem easy to "beat ihe game" and o cover the United States Military academy i "f p . 'vt Z. ' -"T up his rule-breaking, so that be would not suffer I 1 at West lnt, N. V, there to re- f''TJVf Z the penalty for it But at West Point "beating I J celve from the hands of a repre- 1)W 't' "-H VT the game" Is not a popular sport and here Is sentatlve of the secretary of war and f " rf A -J' where the "All Right" comes In. MaJ. Oen. Wllllum It. Smith, super- I "t ' ,.1 . 4 ' " Suppose, for Instance, that the cadet leaves his "TgT Intendent of the academy, their - ' l. , room, the barracks or the post, and In doing so be fffmi dlPomM of radUH,,on-And tnereby ' ,f.J meets a "tec" (a tactical offlcer). If the "tac" Qjyn was added to the rolls of the United ' - . V ; ly , t "4' inquires, "all rlghtr and the cadet replies "all 3! States army the names of 200 "of- I , . ' . y right!- It most decidedly 13 all right, that is to fleers and gentlemen." Mark that XL, " - is say, these two words are a complete explanation have to shine their shoes and make tneir own beds. Such a program ot work and such strict discipline dis-cipline as to conduct soon proves whether or not the cadet bas "real stuff" In him. If be hasn't If bis scholarship falls below par, and If, as previously pre-viously stated, he doesn't keep the rules, out be goes! Neither birth, family, influence nor wealth count at West Point Of course, to the average American youth. It would seem easy to "beat ibe game" and o cover up his rule-breaking, so that be would not suffer the penalty for It But at West Point "beating the game" Is not a popular sport and here Is where the "All Right" comes In. Suppose, for Instance, that the cadet leaves his room, the barracks or the post, end In doing so be meets a "tac" (a tactical offlcer). If the "tac" Inquires, "all rlghtr and the cadet replies "all right!" It most decidedly 13 all right that is to say, these two words are a complete explanation of hi action, that b'a leaving his room, the barracks, bar-racks, or the post Is not an Infraction of the rules. For, say the rules, "an 'all right' Involves the purpose pur-pose of a visit as well as the place. No cadet may report 'all right' when he Is going anywhere for an unauthorized purpose And here la another and even finer Interpretation of the rule. "If a cadet Is asked 'all rlghtr his answer should refer to the time that the question was asked and not to the moment that the answer was given." So you see a cadet's action which Is not all right one minute may apparently be all right the next minute, but he can not take advantage of the apparent compliance com-pliance wltb the rules within that short space of time, for the code of honor of West Point says "no half-truths." Another of the guiding principles of the cadet, as set forth In the "Plehes Bible" Is this: "Quibbling, "Quib-bling, evasive statements, or technicalities In order or-der to shield guilt o.- defeat the ends of Justice will not be tolerated. The code of the soldier demands de-mands courageous and fearless honesty In setting forth the truth, regardless of consequences," So when the cadet answers "all right" It means Just exactly that and not a whit less. If the thing be Is doing when that Inquiry Is made Is not all right then he says nothing and accepts the drmerlt which he has earned. For "cadets do not make excuses. Explanations citing extenuating circumstances circum-stances or adequate reasons for failure In the performance of duty may be submitted." But "Offenders of the code of honor are never granted Immunity." By ELMO 8COTT WAT80N IN JUNE 13 aome 21)0 young men gathered In the big gymnasium at the United States Military academy I 1 at West lnt, N. V, there to re- I I celve from the hands of a repre- J sentatlve of the secretary of war and MaJ. Oen. Wllllum It. Smith, super-TTrT super-TTrT Intendent of the academy, their ffa diplomas of graduation. And thereby QXxJjC a a3de(1 t the rolls of the United S2jl.. States army the names of 200 "of-i "of-i fleers and gentlemen." Mark that phrase well, for It has more meaning than appears from a casual reading of It and what that meaning mean-ing Is yon will come to understand a little better further along. On July 1 there will arrive at the academy some 400 young men who come from every part of the United States and from every level of the diversified society which characterizes such a democracy as the United States of America. For these newcomers are the raw material from whlcb the "officers and gentlemen" ot four years hence are made. During the two months Immediately following their admission to the academy they will spend In an Intensive military training before be-fore tbey are officially accepted Into the United States corps of cadets, Thla period, the most rigid and exacting of the entire four years at West Point will be spent under a group of selected Instructors In-structors from the first class, known as the "Beast Detail," supervised by officers of the tactical department de-partment of the academy. For these newcomers In "kaydet slang," are now the "beasts." And It Is not until the termination of "beast barracks," followed by a hike of about a week's duration, that these members, now known as "plebes," are absorbed Into the corps as the fourth class and take up their nev academic duties the first week In September. The motto of the United States Military academy acad-emy Is "Duty, Honor, Country." During the preliminary pre-liminary training of the newcomers this summer one of the first things they will leam Is the real meaning back of that motto. Here Is that Trophy "Point ltii derrea, itudanta consider thsmaalvea bound, and which exart a varying dsgraa ot Influence on th lives ot th aavaral Institution. At the PH ot th varying acal tand th honor y(tm of th oorp. representing th best, th most ateadfaatly upheld, th most practical and, at one. Ideal ay-tern ay-tern of honor In th world. Th haalo principle of th honor system ar;i 00 lying, no cheating, no half-truth. . . Now all of this may sound very much like the type of thing that you will read In any of the student handbooks, which are given to members of the freshmen class In any educational Institution Institu-tion In the United States. And to the cynical-minded, cynical-minded, who have observed the break down of hoBor systems In various Institutions, this statement state-ment from "Bugle Notes" may mean nothing more than a similar statement In other such handbooks. But here lies the difference: At West Point honor Is a living reality. Go there, as did the writer of this article, and you will quickly realize that fact It Is not because the cadets go about then-business then-business with a conscious air of virtue; It Is not that they parade the fact that their honor Is to them the dearest of all things ; It Is not that there Is a visible evidence of a rigid adherence to a code of honor set forth In formal phrase and exemplified by apparent effort But It Is a part of their every day ' fe and as such It finds its phrasing In a single expressive colloquialism. For the heart and soul and watchword of the West Point code of honor Is expressed In Just two words "All Right." Cadet life at West Point Is one ot rigid discipline, dis-cipline, hedged about by many restrictions. The cadet has a certain time for doing a certain tiling, he is supposed to be In certain places for certain duties at certain times. If he is not in those places or performing those duties he will receive demerits, those black marks for whlcb be must make amends, usually by doing "punishment tour," which means that he must spend some of the extra ex-tra time that he would ordlnnrily have for leisure, marching at attention on the campus. F.nough demerits received for Infraction of the rules of the academy mi-y lead to his expulsion. Cadet life if one of Spartan simplicity. Cadets are not allowed to have or receive money; they cannot smoke except in their own rooms; they cannot leave the reservation except at stated times. Christmas leave is only Issued a year and a half after the cadet first enters. In addition to the four daily drills in Infantry, field artillery, cavalry and coast artillery lessons must be learned: mathematics, from simple algebra alge-bra through the latest wrinkle in calculus and least squares; philosophy, chemistry, electricity, French and Spanish, English and history. Cadet rooms must be swept out and cleaned by the cadets themselves four time dally and they meaning aa It is Interpreted in "Bogie Notes," the little handbook which the "knydets" call the "Plebe's Bible." The motto of th corps, th standard by which very cadet regulate hi personal life Is "Duty, Honor, Country." "Country" need no definition; "Our Country, right or wrong" I th patriot'a slogan throughout th nation. But th standard of "Duty" and "Honor" at West Point are distinctive distinc-tive and rigid: and because, In civilian lit, th general attitude a to then two principle from time to ttm and from plac to plac. the following pages are devoted In great part to a definition of the attitude of the corp In matter of duty and honor: nUTT Graduate of West Point have alwaya Inspired and set th standard of duty In th army. That they have been able to do. so, I due entirely to the Inculcation of a keen ens of duty and to th faithful, conscientious and cheerful performance of every task Imposed upon them while at th academy. acad-emy. Only h who baa acquired th habit of discipline, dis-cipline, ot duty, and of Justice can be trusted to act aa a leader In a profeaslon which deal wltb the Uvea of men. Performance of one' duty Implies far mom than mar obedience to th letter of th law. In other walk of life, technlcalltlea and vaalv tactlca are condoned and even lauded a an Indication of cleverness. In th army wher th live are th price of failure there are no technicalities and an order Is given, a statement received at Ita race value. When It become a oldler' duty to obey an order. It also become his duty to look beneath be-neath the surface t that order for It iplrlt, and In o doing to pot hi whole being Into It performance. per-formance. A fearles readiness to assume responsibility respon-sibility and th determination to do. not Just the job. but th whole and th but lob ar what Is expected of a West Pointer. Every cadet la expect-! to make It hla Individual Individ-ual and personal obligation to maintain the highest high-est possible atandard of duty and to do overything In hla power to discountenano and discourage in) act or aplrlt which might plac premium on th nonperformance of one' duty. ' HONOR Honor la th most cherished principle of life; It I th beacon which guidea every on during their stay at the military academy and during the career of later life. The fundamental principle of honor, their application ap-plication to specific acta and problems, and th method of administering and enforcing these 'principle and application, hav long been designated desig-nated by th general term, th "Honor System" ; Almost all educational Inatltutlona hav honor systems, varying in aeverlty, efficiency and effeo 'tlvn honor systems by which to greater or And those rules and this code of honor apply to all from the lowliest plebe to the most outstanding out-standing member of the first class. There Is a rather widespread popular belief that tn most of our educational institutions athletic stars can "get by with anything." But that distinctly is not true at West rolnt. Tuke the case of Cadet Cagle "Red" Cagle, as you probably have heard of him, the outstanding backfleld star of the football foot-ball team and next year's coptuln. Last winter Cagle obtnltied a leave of absence which he spent In New York city. When he returned to the academy acad-emy he was late, through no especial fault of his, by a very short time. But was this breach of rules overlooked In the case of this great foot-hall foot-hall star? It most emphatically was not For the next month "Red" Cagle was doing 22 hours of "punishment tour," 22 extra hours sarchlng at attention on the campus. If you will march lor an hour at attention you will soon appreciate that 22 hours In a month, or nearly an hour a day extra, is no Joke and least of all would It seem so If you were doing It for what might seem to be a very unimportant reason. Think back over the number of times yon have been late to an appointment ap-pointment and offered as an excuse for your tardiness tardi-ness an airy "Sorry, old fellow!" and then see how yoo would feel If you had to pay for It the way "Red" Cagle did for his tardiness. But remember that discipline at the military academy comes ahead of anything else. Four years of auch discipline, of such practice. In self-restraint self-restraint by the young men who are enrolled there, by their training tn scrupulous regard for duty, by their doing the right thing because It Is the right tiling, according to the code of bonor cannot but result in making men of high physical and mental standard. Those four years have brought a knowledge and physique that couldn't very well be obtained any other place; have given that insight Into men that few colleges give; have formed and molded a character that neither knows nor shields crime or deceit; buve breathed Into It that spirit of the coops exemplified by Its motto: "Duty, Honor, Country." And that Is why the terra "offlcer and gentleman," when applied to a West Pointer, means ox nelly tbatl |