Again, the cadet must recite every day. Owing to the small section of ten or twelve cadets the instructor is ordinarily able to hear every man, so that the studies must be prepared. There is no such thing at West Point as a “cut.” Sometimes, due to the lack of time, the instructor may not hear a few of the cadets, but this is rare. In such a case the cadet does not get a mark but is given what is colloquially known as “stay-back,” that is, a blank. The certainty that he must recite every day and that no failure can be hidden obliges each cadet to prepare his lesson with great thoroughness. The effect of this system on moral character is immediate. It inculcates attention to duty, habits of study and thought, and pride in achievement.
At West Point good intellectual performance is a duty just as much as guard, parade, or inspection, so that an unsatisfactory recitation due to the cadet’s negligence not only begets a bad mark, but not infrequently a punishment. Moreover, since the cadets realize that their final standing at graduation permits them to choose their branch of the service, they are keen to do their very best to beat the other fellows. This spirit of competition is fostered by transfers of cadets from one section to another either up or down, according to their weekly marks.
Cadets receive individual instruction in every subject. No man can therefore hide his lack of preparation because he is always called upon to develop some phase of the lesson. At the beginning of the term, the Fourth Classmen or plebes are arranged alphabetically into sections in which they remain for about six weeks. Then there is a general transfer or rearrangement of sections according to the marks made during this period. The top man in each section is the section marcher. Thereafter cadets rise and fall in the sections, either weekly or monthly as the Professor wishes. The transfers from one section to another are a great stimulant to the cadet. He gets the reward for his labor. Sometimes, however, in spite of determined efforts, some cadets lose sections, due perhaps to a lack of preparation prior to entrance; others go down through laziness or negligence.
The cadets that land in the last section are known as “The Goats” (in olden days, “The Immortals”), usually a carefree lot who never worry until the examinations roll around. They are a great contrast to the first section men who “bone tenths” with Prussian thrift. But whether “Goats” or first section men each one receives individual instruction.
Nor are the cadets who are low in their studies deprived of extra instruction. When Major-General Thomas H. Barry was Superintendent, he introduced a system permitting cadets to receive, during their recreation hours, extra instruction upon any back lesson. The cadets can therefore overcome the obstacles that prevent them from going forward in any particular study. Due to this system, many a cadet has been saved who otherwise would have been “found,” simply because he was slow and had not had time to digest his lesson.
It is in the lower sections chiefly that humorous incidents occur to lighten the tension of the atmosphere. As an instructor in French, I had many a chuckle over the struggles of some of the Goats to master the tongue of la douce France. On one occasion a cadet was attempting to translate a passage in the reader. His efforts were futile. Few of the words meant anything to him. All at once he came to the proper name “Léopold, Duc d’Autriche.” With a triumphant gleam at me who had been humiliating him with embarrassing questions, he proudly translated the phrase: “The leopard, the duck, and the ostrich.”
On another occasion there was in the section a foreign cadet from Venezuela whose acquaintance with English was chiefly limited to swear words. While translating a passage in French in the presence of the Professor, he came across the sentence: Mon Dieu, j’ai laissé tomber le vase. Immediately he began:
“My God——”
“Oh no, Mr. Honduras,” gently interposed the Professor.
“Oh Hell,” he began once more.