in a spacious room in the southeast corner of the massive post headquarters building dwells officially the man who orders all of the comings and goings of the residents of west point: cadets, officers, and enlisted men and their families. he is detailed by the president to the immediate government and military command of the academy and post of west point for a period of four years, and given the official title of superintendent of the military academy, which carries with it the rank, pay, and allowances of a colonel.
the duties of the office are varied and complex. the superintendent is directly responsible for the actual state of the discipline, instruction, police administration, fiscal affairs, and other concerns of the academy. the necessary work is organized and under the control of various officers, his assistants, who constitute his staff. the office of superintendent is regarded as one of the most desirable and most honored that the government has to offer to an officer of the army, and justly so, for the position carries 76 with it a great responsibility, fascinating work, large powers, and enormous prestige. the president is in no way limited in his selection for the office. he may appoint an officer of any rank whatsoever, from second lieutenant to general officer, but the policy always pursued has been to intrust the important duties of the position to an officer of character, ability, and experience. the selection of the superintendents of the military academy was confined to the corps of engineers from the establishment of the institution, march 16, 1802, till the passage of the law of july 13, 1866, which opened it to the entire army. it is not an easy task to find just the man with all of the necessary requirements for this office. in addition to the officer’s military ability, grasp of affairs, and experience, it is desirable that his scholarly attainments be of a distinctly high order, for, since he is ex-officio the president of the academic board, he will find occasion to use his scholarship for the permanent benefit of the curriculum.
in general, the military demands upon the average officer’s time preclude the pursuit, on his part, of cultural and academic studies to any great degree, so that, while an officer may be of the highest moral character, have great experience, and on the whole make an admirable administrative chief, yet he might lack scholarship, which deficiency would lessen his value to the academy as superintendent. 77
besides, the superintendent should be a good judge of human nature, and in particular of young men. to be able to throw oneself back in memory to the age of twenty, re-grasp the fresh and immature viewpoint of youth, and then make the proper allowances for youth’s inability to see life as a whole, is a gift not given to many men. some of us could do it if we would exert our minds, but many are incapable. where sympathy and understanding of young men are lacking on the part of the commanding officer there is too often a tendency to judge a cadet by the standard held by his superiors which they have gained only through years of experience. moreover, a broad man in command dissipates with a word all of the trivialities of military life that seem big for the moment, and relieves his subordinates of the haunting fear of an excess of participation in their affairs.
during the one hundred and fifteen years of its existence west point has had but twenty-six superintendents, each of whom has left a permanent influence for good at the academy. the present incumbent, appointed in june, 1916, is colonel john biddle, corps of engineers, a graduate of west point, class of 1881.
the military staff of the superintendent consists of the adjutant, the quartermaster, the treasurer, and the surgeon, all officers of the army detailed to perform the duties of their respective offices.
the adjutant is the superintendent’s right-hand 78 man. he is in fact his chief spokesman and representative in all official and social matters. he is, moreover, charged with all of the records and papers of the academy except those relating to disbursements. ordinarily, this officer is the personal choice of the superintendent, for it is essential that perfect trust and harmony exist between these officers. it may be of interest to the layman to know that an army post is very much like a large family, or perhaps a patriarchal tribe would better describe the relations of the residents. the superintendent is the head, and the adjutant his executive officer.
in the olden days when troops were stationed on isolated frontier posts, the officers’ families were entirely thrown upon one another for society. although the necessity for these posts has long since disappeared, congress has never authorized their abandonment, because their presence near some city or small town means a financial benefit to the towns people. the influence of the representative of that district is sufficient to retain it, and consequently, as of yore, officers’ families must live together as one tribe.
this condition does not exist to the same extent at west point as at other posts. the adjutant is the peacemaker, diplomat, aide, buffer for the superintendent in his administration of military and social duties. as may be imagined, he must be a man of great tact, good judgment, and possessed of machiavelian diplomacy. he is always 79 being called upon to make decisions, and since every decision affects somebody adversely, he has great need of a feeling for humanity. his official decision is tantamount to that of the superintendent in whose name he is always supposed to act.
the superintendent’s quarters
built in 1820
all official letters to the superintendent, or between officers, must pass over the adjutant’s desk, so that in a sense he is the central operator, making connections of the invisible ties for the time being, between the various departments and persons on the post. he also acts as a shield to the superintendent, saving him from the annoyance of the minor routine details.
in addition, he is regarded as the hub of the post’s social wheel. he initiates the public entertainments and authorizes the general social events of the officers and cadets. naturally, he has nothing to do with functions of a private character, but for hops, dances, or other forms of distraction where one of the public buildings is used, he gives the authorization of the superintendent. he makes it his duty to mingle freely with the officers of the command; at the dances he sees that visitors are introduced; when very distinguished guests arrive at the post, he puts on his full-dress uniform and goes to the station to meet them. if the guests are merely distinguished, he details some officer to act in his stead, and if they are plain sightseers with letters of introduction, a young subaltern gets the job. he is adjutant of the 80 military academy and of the post of west point. the duties of the former office pertain solely to cadets, their discipline and instruction, whereas the duties of the latter concern the officers, enlisted men, and other residents of the post.
a sort of damon and pythias are the adjutant and quartermaster: a mention of one suggests the other. the quartermaster is in charge of the public lands and buildings; of the material for the erection of buildings, and for the repairs and improvements, and for all other public property for which no other person is especially responsible. under the direction of the superintendent, he enters into contracts and makes purchases for the academy and prepares all accounts, returns, and rolls relative to the public property under his charge. he is also in control of the workmen employed in the erection or repairs of the public buildings, or in the improvement of the grounds.
a quartermaster is in reality a supply officer. everything necessary for the up-keep of the post and the command, come from his storehouses. clothes, trucks, wagons, frying-pans, rakes, road-rollers, twine, furniture, garden hose are a few of the diverse articles that he must keep on hand. in his work at west point he is assisted by several officers, among whom he distributes the various duties pertaining to the care of the property, purchase of supplies, pay of officers and enlisted men. the supply of the cadets, however, is not under his jurisdiction.
colonel john biddle, corps of engineers
superintendent 81
the quartermaster’s office is not entirely free from the official cumbersome machinery and red tape that clogs all government branches. so efficiently does it check up upon all of its property, even to the most minute screw, that it has inspired great respect for its routine into those who borrow from its storehouse. some years ago, one of the officers’ wives discovered the chimney of her house on fire. as she lived near the hospital her first thought was to borrow one of the fire extinguishers. she rushed to the telephone:
“hello! hello! send over right away a fire extinguisher to lieut. k’s quarters!”
“i’m sorry, madam,” replied the attendant, “i have no authority to let the fire extinguisher leave the hospital.”
“but my house is on fire!” shrieked the angered lady! “what shall i do?”
“you had better telephone the quartermaster, madam, and get his permission, for the hospital holds the fire extinguisher on memorandum receipt.”
all matters that relate to the clothing, equipment, and subsistence of the cadets, including the purveying and supervision of the cadet mess, are under an officer of the army detailed as quartermaster and commissary for the corps of cadets and treasurer of the united states military academy.
the government allows each cadet $600 per year and one ration per day, or commutation thereof, 40 cents per day, making a total of $746.00, but the 82 cadet never receives in cash nor manages, his pay. the amount due him is turned over to the treasurer, who keeps an account with each cadet in which he credits him with his monthly pay and charges him with the cost of his maintenance on a pro-rata basis plus what he has spent for clothing and supplies. the treasurer furnishes each cadet an itemized statement of his account at the close of each settlement period so that he knows just how much money he has saved, or owes. the pay provided is ample. cadets who are economical and take good care of their clothes, who lose no government property for which they are responsible, are able to accumulate a nice balance that is paid to them upon graduation.
in order, however, to insure that all cadets shall leave the academy without debts, and with their initial equipment paid for, the treasurer deposits fourteen dollars per month from the pay of each cadet. this fund is known as the equipment fund and totals $704 during the four years. before graduation each cadet is required to submit a certificate to the effect, if such be the case, that all articles of an officer’s uniform ordered and received by him have been paid for; that, in case the complete outfit has not been received and paid for, he has in his possession $475 or that amount less whatever has been paid out for this purpose, which sum will be held and applied promptly to the payment of such articles of his uniform and equipment as have not yet been received and paid for; 83 and that he has no unpaid debts contracted during the time he has been a cadet.
this provision is a very wise and beneficial one to the cadet, for he enters the service free from the terrifying load of debt. formerly the equipment fund was turned over to the graduating cadet, without any restrictions whatsoever. the consequence was that the largest part of it was spent in new york a few days after graduation, and the young officer was in debt for his uniform for many months thereafter. he started his career with a millstone around his neck, to which weight a few added that of a wife. as one experienced officer remarked, “the ladies are all right, but do not marry until you are out of debt, else every time you take a drink in the club, you will feel as if you are swallowing the baby’s socks.”
one of the most important and difficult duties of the treasurer is catering to eight hundred ravenous young appetites. to be a successful mess officer for this large number requires much study, especially in this age of the high cost of supplies. the food provided is excellent in quality and well prepared. in general it is plain and wholesome, just what one would expect at a military school, but the menu is sufficiently varied so as to please even the fastidious. southern palates are not forced to long for fried chicken nor eastern palates for oysters. to make the new englander feel quite at home periodic boiled dinners gladden their gastronomic lives. then, 84 too, ice-cream, since the installation of an electric freezer, has become as common as the proteids.
the monthly cost of the mess per cadet is about twenty dollars. the treasurer charges against the cadet not only the cost of his board, but also his laundry, his uniforms, his clothing, his room equipment, mattress, pillows, sheets, towels, and all other necessary articles. moreover, the salaries of the policemen who clean the halls of the barracks, the bootblacks, the cost of the cadet hops, athletics, and text-books, in fact, the cadet’s entire maintenance is charged against his pay. the government, however, provides for the up-keep of the buildings, the heating, lighting, and repairs, from separate appropriations.
the fourth member of the military staff is the surgeon, who with his four assistants, medical officers of the army, watch over the health of the command. under his charge is the hospital for cadets, and that for enlisted men.
the surgeon has authority to excuse an officer or cadet from any duty whatsoever on account of illness. in the eyes of the cadets he stands as the guardian of the gates of paradise. when the body is fatigued, or one’s head is choked up and eyes running from a bad cold, illnesses that in reality do not incapacitate one for duty, to have a nice sympathetic dr. st. peter jingle his keys and take you into the hospital for a brief rest is like the first whiff of a jasmine scented spring. the cadets soon learn to estimate the sympathetic qualities 85 of a new surgeon, and quickly pass around the word whether there has commenced the reign of an adamantine or tender ?sculapius.
the officers and cadets are required to undergo an annual physical examination, of which accurate records are kept. in case of illness, the nature is noted on special cards and filed with his record in washington. the health, therefore, of officers, cadets, and enlisted men is constantly under the surgeon’s eyes, so that really serious illnesses are rare. in case of persistent or long illness, the officer or cadet may be granted a sick leave upon the surgeon’s recommendation.
the conduct of the business methods and military departments of the military academy, by the superintendent and his staff, is annually inspected by the inspector-general of the army, who comes on from washington for the purpose, or by officers recommended by him acting under specific instructions from the war department. in addition to the above inspection, a board of visitors annually visits the institution. formerly, the president appointed to this board distinguished citizens from all parts of the country, who arrived at west point the first of june and remained until graduation, about ten days later. they were shown the workings of the school, and had explained to them the necessities for changes and improvements, whereupon they made to the president a written report containing comments and recommendations that seemed desirable. the board performed its duties well, but 86 congress thought that all information, upon which appropriations are based, should be more direct. a law was passed therefore decreeing that:
the board of visitors to the united states military academy shall consist of five members of the committee on military affairs of the senate, and seven members of the committee on military affairs of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the respective chairmen thereof, who shall annually visit the said military academy, together or separately as the said committee may elect, during the session of congress; ... it shall be the duty of the board of visitors to inquire into the actual state of the discipline, instruction, police administration, fiscal affairs, and other concerns of the academy.
with the passing of the visits in june of the former board, some of the picturesqueness and flavor of the social life of june week has gone. at this season of the year the beautiful natural scenery of west point formed a superb setting for the thrilling artillery drills, the cavalry charges, the infantry man?uvres, the bridge building, the concerts, the dances arranged in their honor. the cadets were at their best for they had just completed their spring training and there were no recruits in ranks to spoil the smoothness and precision of these man?uvres. it therefore seemed the best time for an inspection board to view and report upon the work.
accompanying the board of visitors were 87 always the wives and daughters of the members, who added to the social charm of the board’s visit. the cadets privately referred to the young ladies attached to the board as “splinters.” i remember, upon entrance, hearing one cadet ask another if he would “drag a splinter” for him. i later found out that this expression meant that he would be pleased if his comrade would escort one of the young ladies to a dance. the present board usually pays its visit in mid-winter when the cadets are busiest with their studies, so that the equally charming congressional “splinters” have little chance to win young hearts.
in the work of the institution the superintendent is aided by a large number of subordinates. the number of officers and others in prominent positions on duty at the academy is shown in the following list:
superintendent and staff 5
professors, permanent 7
professors, by detail from army 4
professors, associate, detailed 2
professors, assistant, detailed 12
commandant of cadets and tactical officers 15
master of the sword, instructor of military gymnastics and physical culture 1
instructors and other officers 68
medical corps 4
medical corps, instructors in military hygiene (august 28 to october 10) 488
chaplain 1
librarian 1
civilian instructors of languages 3
civilian instructors of fencing and military gymnastics 3
teacher of music 1
organist and choirmaster 1
pay clerk 1
total 135
the majority of the officers are detailed from the army-at-large for varying periods of time, but seven of the professors are permanent. the superintendent, the heads of all departments of instruction, including the detailed heads, compose the academic board, which controls the program and methods of instruction. it is non-military in character, its duties pertaining almost solely to the various branches of learning. more especially, its duties are to examine cadets, decide upon their merits and proficiency, grant diplomas, and recommend for commission in the army. it reports, through the superintendent, to the war department, on the course of studies and methods of instruction. it also recommends the text-books to be used by the cadets in each department. each member has one vote, including the superintendent.
the work of the board is largely done by committees, both general committees and class committees. the latter are composed of the 89 heads of those departments whose studies any one class are pursuing.
at the close of every examination the academic board reports to the war department the names of all cadets who are deficient in studies or conduct and who are recommended by the board for discharge or transfer to a lower class.
the seven professors permanently attached to the academy are: the professor of civil and military engineering, natural and experimental philosophy, chemistry and electricity, modern languages, mathematics, drawing, and english and history. these members are appointed by the president and usually selected from officers of the army, graduates of the academy, who have specialized along the lines of their department. the president usually appoints an officer recommended by the other members of the board, but he is not restricted in his choice and may select whom he pleases for the position. all of the permanent professors at present are graduates except the professor of english and history who is a graduate of yale. when the department of english was created in 1910, it was felt that the head of it should be a man who had specialized in english literature.
without reflecting on the graduates of the academy, no one officer appeared upon the horizon with the requisite qualifications, a fact not to be wondered at, for few officers are ever in a position to pursue english courses that would equip them 90 for this position. upon the creation of the department of english, history was transferred to this department from the department of law with which it had long been associated.
in addition to the permanent members of the board, the detailed ones are the surgeon, who as the head of the department of hygiene, is entitled to a seat; the professor of practical military engineering, the professor of law, the professor of ordnance and gunnery, and the commandant of cadets, all four of whom are detailed by the secretary of war from the officers of the army for a period of four years.
in the department of mathematics and modern languages the professor has an associate professor and an assistant professor whose duty is to assist in the administrative work as well as the instruction. the other departments have only assistant professors, officers detailed from the army who might be said to act as an adjutant for the professor. in common with the remaining officers, they perform administrative routine duties, relieving the professor of the necessity of attending to minor questions. the professor’s time is very much occupied in the solution of problems that affect the academy as a whole, in addition to the development of their respective courses, so that it is essential that his time be not employed with the unavoidable trivialities that arise in the conduct of his department.
the great mass of officers on duty at the academy 91 are, of course, the instructors. these men are all officers of the army, graduates of the academy, who are detailed for duty in the various departments. formerly, the tour of duty was for four years, but since the passage of a law by congress, the detached service law, familiarly called the “manchu law,” the time that an instructor can remain on duty at west point, is dependent upon the amount of duty that he has had with troops during the preceding six years. no officer can remain on detached service, such as that at west point, for more than four years.
it is apparent, therefore, that the corps of instructors is constantly changing, resulting in the introduction into the work of new blood and fresh viewpoints. this changing of instructors maintains a high standard of enthusiasm for teaching, so often lacking in institutions of learning where a subordinate teacher goes over, year in and year out, the same ground.
moreover, the system of officer instructors is employed on account of the disciplinary value of their presence over the cadets. west point is first and foremost a military academy, and it is of primary importance that the cadets shall absorb by example the spirit of discipline, and military deportment. not the least of the advantages of having officers teach cadets is the contact that their presence maintains between west point and the army.
officers are selected for duty at the academy 92 by the heads of departments who make every effort to secure men especially qualified for the work. for example, the instructors in the department of engineering are all engineer officers; in ordnance and gunnery, mostly ordnance officers; in chemistry and electricity, usually coast artillery officers; in mathematics, officers of the staff and line who excelled in this study as cadets; in english and history, line officers with recognized literary tendencies; in languages, officers whose advantages have enabled them to acquire a good speaking knowledge of either french or spanish. until the outbreak of the european war, officers on duty in the department of languages were ordered to spend the summer in study in either france or spain. they thereby were able to perfect their knowledge to an extent that rendered them most efficient instructors. detailed to this department are two native spaniards and two frenchmen, whose services are employed to carry along the instruction of the officer instructors as well as that of the cadets, so that every opportunity is offered to the cadet to progress as far as his ability will permit him in the time allotted these studies.
the time of the officer is well employed while on duty at the academy. in those departments whose period of recitation is an hour and a half, he has two sections daily, but if the period is one hour, he instructs three sections. he averages, therefore, from fifteen to eighteen hours of actual 93 teaching per week. to this amount must be added the conferences of the instructors, conducted either by the professor or one of his assistants. these conferences are held, usually daily, and vary from one to two hours and cover the material in the lesson or in advance work. by means of these conferences, the professor is able to standardize the teaching without restricting the personality or individuality of his officers.
the routine work, that is, the keeping of records, weekly reports, the correcting of exercises, problems, and compositions, all demand a greater or less amount of time, and then what is most important, the instructor must spend many hours in preparation. i have known many instructors to work every night until midnight after the routine work of the day.
in the demand upon an officer’s time, consideration is given the fact that with him teaching is an incident in his career, and he must therefore have at his disposal, whether he uses it or not, at least a couple of hours per day for professional work and study. when absent from troops an officer becomes more or less rusty upon the duties of his arm, and he should, consequently, by reading, the solution of problems, writing or what not, keep up with the progress made in his branch of the service.
general orders of the army prescribe also that at least one hour per day must be employed in bodily exercise, riding, walking, tennis, golf, 94 swimming, polo, etc., and the officer is required to submit a certificate stating that he has taken the prescribed amount.
i give in somewhat tedious detail the employment of the officer’s time, because so frequently i hear, expressed by the layman, the opinion that officers of the army have practically nothing to do. it is ordinarily difficult to disabuse their mind of this idea, chiefly because it is already made up. a visitor arrives at west point to spend the day and seeing a few officers playing golf in the morning he assumes that all officers have nothing to do. he perhaps little realizes that the same golfers, or tennis players, are trying to get their exercise at a time that will not interfere with their academic duties that begin for each department at varying hours. that same officer, who plays a game of golf at 9:30 a.m., will in all probability spend a part of the forenoon and afternoon with the cadets, and all evening in preparation. appearances are often very deceptive. this is particularly true in the army, which has been, until the war came upon us, subject to more unjust criticism than any other professional body.
in order to facilitate the instruction, the cadets are arranged in four distinct classes, corresponding with the four years of study. the cadets in the first year’s course constitute the fourth class, those in the second year’s course, the third class, those in the third year’s course the second class, and those in the fourth year’s course the 95 first class. the designation of senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman is not used at west point as in colleges and universities, but the terms “yearling” and “plebe” are familiarly applied to cadets of the third and fourth classes respectively. the advancement of the cadets from one class to another is based upon proficiency in their studies, the details of which will be found in the chapter on “the discipline of the mind.”
in order to distinguish the classes one from another, the device of putting bands of braid on the sleeve of the uniform has been adopted. these lengths of mohair are called service stripes and are issued one for each year of service, so that the “plebe” sleeve is bare, the “yearling” has a single stripe, the second classmen, two stripes, the first classmen, three stripes. this insignia is of black braid for all gray uniforms except the full dress coat, on which gold braid is used. the chevrons, although primarily a designation of rank, also serve to distinguish some members of the classes. the cadet officers and the sergeants are members of the first class and the corporals are of the second class. to many people, chevrons, or insignia or rank, means nothing. girls especially have so little idea of their significance that they readily swallow anything a cadet tells them. it is the same today as of yore. i was at a hop not long ago when i overheard a young miss say to her cadet escort, who had just lost his chevrons, been “busted” as the cadets say: 96
“why don’t you wear some of those lovely gold stripes on your arm?”
“well—er—you see,” replied the ‘buck,’ “why that’s a sort of private matter with me now.”
o tempora! o mores! tempora mutantur, but not at west point.
until 1816, the cadets had no regular uniform, but were permitted to wear pretty much what they desired. poor chaps, i scarcely blame them, because from the records it appears that for the large part of the time they were in rags. in winter especially, they hardly had enough clothes to keep them warm. in 1814, a uniform was prescribed, but little attention was paid to the prescribed dress, everything being worn according to fancy up to a major-general’s uniform. general r. g. ramsey (cullum register, vol. iii.) states that “during the winters of 1814 and 1815 cadets were greatly exposed to cold; great coats had not become the fashion for boys and such comfort was a specialty. my wardrobe had been carefully prepared, but the inventory did not include the great coat.” this is the first mention of the cadet overcoat.
in 1816, however, an order from the adjutant-general changed the uniform of 1814, and with few modifications made from time to time, this uniform is worn today. the gray color is said to have been adopted out of compliment to general scott and his troops who, clothed in gray (due to the inability of the government to furnish them 97 with blue), had, on july 4, 1814, won a victory over the british at chippewa.
today the cadets have a few more uniforms, but the general appearance and the pattern have been only slightly changed since 1816. the present list includes a full-dress coat, a single-breasted coat of blue gray cloth, with three rows of gilt bell buttons in front, and button-holes of black silk cord in herring-bone form with a festoon turned at back end. the standing collar hooks in front and is ornamented with a blind hole of cord formed like that of the breast with a button on each side. the coat is cut off in front just below the waist line, but has in rear a skirt, ornamented with three buttons and cord holes. the full-dress coat is a garment of rare beauty and taste. i have never seen a more military uniform, one that expresses so well the purpose for which it is intended. it accentuates the good carriage of the cadets and at the same time clothes him with an air of elegance. it seems to me that anyone could look smart and well set-up in a cadet full-dress coat. when seen in full dress without his accoutrements, the cadet, with his slim waist, his well-developed shoulders, and chest proudly displaying those shiny buttons, and the little tail hanging down stiffly and conservatively, appears for all the world like proud young cock-robin going a-courting jenny wren. the full-dress coat is worn for ceremonies, church, official receptions, hops, and for social calls, dining out, and entertainments. 98
for habitual wear, a dress coat, or a blouse (as it is more familiarly called) is prescribed. the garment was first worn, june 15, 1889. it is of the same style as the officers’ blouse, being of gray cloth and bound around the edges, the cuffs, and up the seams in the back with black mohair braid, having a collar of the same material, of height suited to the wearer.
the trousers are of gray cloth with a black stripe up the side, one and one-half inch wide. in summer, white is worn, either full white, blouse, trousers, and cap, or a combination of the gray coat and the white trousers. this mixed uniform is the most effective, especially en masse, at a ceremony when the white belt and cross belts are worn.
for certain drills a gray flannel shirt is issued, and suitable breeches are provided for riding. the various combinations of the uniform are published in a table and designated by letter, so that the cadet consults the table for, we will say, “full dress a,” where he finds in detail all articles of uniform to be worn for a ceremony.
the uniform is admirable in color, appearance, and utility. it is regrettable that the gray color is not used in the regular army instead of the lifeless ugly olive drab. it is equally as invisible, more attractive in appearance, no easier soiled, and easier to clean when soiled.
the only article of cadet uniform that seems out of harmony with the rest, is the cadet cap. this headgear has no distinction and should be 99 abolished. it replaced, some years ago, a forage cap patterned after those worn in the civil war, but i do not think that the change was any improvement. the visor is too drooping, and the crown, too narrow and rigid, is clumsily fashioned. the majority of the cadets look as if they had put on by mistake, their small brother’s hat, giving them a vaudeville appearance, in some cases as ludicrous as weber and fields.
the day’s work of the powers that be, however, includes so many more important things than the appearance of a cadet cap that the style of the cap passes by unnoticed. the great aim of the academy is to mold a man’s character and train him to think. the superintendent must constantly keep his finger on the academy’s pulse to see that these aims are being successfully carried out. to the cadets he is as far removed from their life as were the gods of olympus from the common mortals. not that the superintendent wishes it so, but because of circumstances. the big problems of the academy occupy so much of his time that he comes into comparatively little personal contact with the cadets. like henry iv., by being seldom seen, he is, when he appears, like a comet wondered at by them who tell each other:
“that is he, the ‘supt.’”
to be summoned before his presence makes a cadet anticipate the feeling when he will appear before the final bar of justice. he dons his full-dress 100 uniform, pulls on a pair of white lisle thread gloves, puts a visiting card in his hat band to have it ready for woods, the superintendent’s messenger, and sallies forth, his heart a-tremble at the thought of appearing before olympus.
he quickly reviews his past, wondering what he has done, for he thinks of course that he has unwittingly committed some offense. it is only when he finds himself standing before the superintendent’s desk saluting and saying:
“sir, cadet ducrot reports as ordered,” that he realizes that he is in the presence of a very human person like himself.
the wonderful prestige that the superintendent has with the cadets is due, not so much to his rank, but to the fact that he too was once a cadet, and passed through experiences similar to their own. they appreciate the success that he has made in their chosen profession, and his example affords inspiration to many, for they argue that once upon a time, long ago, he too was a new cadet in “beast barracks.”
