Following the reviews come the examinations for those who failed upon the review. These tests are also quite rigid, and in order to be declared proficient a man must make two thirds of the mark, .66 per cent. The examination papers are likewise marked by all of the instructors and by the Professor. In the event that a cadet fails he is reported to the Academic Board for their action. In general, if deficient in any one subject, the cadet is dismissed.
I feel how weak are any words that I might use to attempt to describe the despair into which a discharged cadet is plunged. For days he lives in an excruciating suspense awaiting the result of the examinations. The thought of wasted opportunity, the regret for lack of early preparation perhaps, and worse than all, the sense of failure torment him. It is bitter to renounce the camaraderie and friendship of his fellows and to see himself involuntarily separated from surroundings that he has come to love. At last the dread news comes. The Adjutant rises from his seat in the Mess Hall and calls the Battalion to attention. Immediately a deathlike stillness pervades the cadet body. The gravity and dignity of the Adjutant’s demeanor unconsciously inform the Corps that distressing news is about to be communicated. Slowly and distinctly the names are read out, one by one, and as they fall upon the straining ears of the cadets, they sound like so many death sentences for the unfortunate lads who are “found.” A gloom of sorrow settles over the Corps and the companies file out of the hall in sympathetic silence. But the reality must be faced. Suitcases and trunks are packed, accounts are quickly settled, affectionate and emotional good-byes are said, and sadly the discharged cadets drop out of the ranks of the Corps. The long gray line closes up and once again marches forward to do battle with the Academic obstacles that block the road to graduation.
CHAPTER VIII
GROWING MUSCLES
Whenever the cadets leave the seclusion of West Point and appear in public in uniform, their erect carriage, their smart tight-fitting dress coats that show off their broad muscular shoulders and slender waists never fail to excite favorable comment and praise. It most generally finds expression from a group of giggling maidens who evince a great curiosity about the cadets’ slender waists, either openly remarking that they are artificial or more specifically assuring themselves, when advantage can be taken of a cadet, by poking the gray bound torso around the middle line, timidly asking him if he wears corsets, a remark that usually serves as an introduction to a harmless flirtation.
The splendid set-up of the cadets is not, however, due to stays, whalebones in the dress coats, Dr. Quack’s abdominal bandages, or to any other mechanical appliances. It is the result of a very highly intelligent system of physical training, to which the supple young body of the cadet is submitted for four years. Naturally, little by little his muscles, through exercise, attain their proper development, and since no one set of muscles is neglected, the body gradually assumes a well-rounded, finished appearance. The material for instruction is good and healthy, because all of the cadets have been submitted to a rigid physical examination before entrance. They are not, however, all perfect specimens, for many possess minor defects and blemishes, unimportant as far as affecting their military value to the Government, but which can be eradicated by proper physical training.
The instructor of physical training is greatly aided in his actual work, by the kind of life the cadet leads, so that he has not to struggle with a crowd of men who after having received physical training daily, indulge themselves to their heart’s content. He has, on the contrary, a set of young men who live under the strictest and simplest conditions in a healthy environment, and whose diet is most wholesome. No late suppers, no beer, no rich food are at work to keep up the rotundity of the stomach, the coram nobis of the Romans, or to produce a lot of flabby fat, but good cereals, nourishing meats and vegetables, even the despised “slum,” are indirect factors in keeping healthy the cadet’s body.
West Point believes that for a man to do the best mental work, his body must be in the best condition. The Academy was the first educational institution in the country to recognize that hand in hand with the student’s mental training must go the proper development of his physical powers. As long ago as 1817, Captain Partridge, the Superintendent of the Military Academy, incorporated in the curriculum bodily exercises. Since that time the importance of physical training in the cadet’s course has been given recognition, but frankly there was no real system of physical training until 1846. A gymnasium was then prepared and instruction given by First Lieut. H. C. Wayne, First Artillery. This was a beginning, but the authorities were hampered by lack of equipment, and also by no very great knowledge of how to proceed. The science of physical training was in its infancy, it must be remembered, but crude as was the instruction it was the genesis of the splendid course that now exists.
For a long period after the Civil War, 1865-1882, cadets attended the gymnasium as they saw fit, a system that was no system. The original course from which the present course has developed was inaugurated in February, 1885.
The daily routine at the Academy is extremely exacting and hard, and I doubt very much if a large number of men could stand the strain and daily grind of the Academic year, if they were not physically prepared to meet its requirements. Since all Academic duties are suspended during part of June, July, and August, in order to devote these months to practical military instruction, the new cadets are directed to report in June. Two months are then at the disposal of the authorities to strengthen the new arrivals’ bodies, both by prescribed physical exercises and by the exercise incident to the drills and maneuvers, before the studies begin in September.