From the moment that a cadet enters West Point, his past life, experiences, advantages, record, disappear into oblivion so far as the authorities and other cadets are concerned. No reference is ever made to any cadet’s home, to his connections, to his family, unless he introduces the subject. Once he becomes a cadet, a new clean sheet of his life is started for him, and whatever is entered thereon depends solely upon himself. Every man at West Point has the same chance—the chance of advancement based upon merit and efficiency and upon nothing else. It makes no difference to the officers in charge or to the other cadets whether a man’s family is wealthy or distinguished. As a matter of fact this information is rarely known because all of the cadets report together; they are totally unknown to those in charge so that there is no possible way to ascertain anything about the cadet’s antecedents. They lose their identity completely, and so much so that the upper-classmen take months to learn their real names, meanwhile calling them by the generic names, Ducrot, Dumbguard, and Dumbjohn.
The character of the rooms in barracks illustrates most strikingly this democratic ideal that discipline fosters. The plain and homely furnishings of each room are identical in pattern, material, and quantity, so that no cadet is housed better than his fellow. The walls are free from pictures, the windows from curtains, the floors from rugs. There are no soft easy chairs but only an old-fashioned wooden one for each man, that is as hard for the rich cadet as for the poor Mr. Ducrot. Nor are there any cliques that occupy particular rooms in the barracks. Each company has so many rooms for its members, and as far as possible the men within the company may choose their roommates. Their selection is made on mutual attraction and congeniality solely. Whenever two chaps enjoy each other’s companionship, that indefinable mingling of mute spirits, they try to room together.
And then again, the cadets are free from the distinctions and the social barriers that money creates. They are prohibited from receiving any money from their homes and are not allowed the handling of the pay that they receive from the Government. Instead, the authorities supply all of their wants, their food, their clothing, their books, their amusements, so that they might have no need of cash. In fact there is but one store on the reservation where they can spend money, and that is a place called “The Boodlers,” a sort of a general store at the foot of the hill near the gas tank. Here they may, if out of debt, obtain a permit for two dollars per month, and only those cadets with permits are allowed even to enter the store.
In this ideal democracy, among the influences that are considered prejudicial to good order and military discipline are drinking, gambling, and cigarette smoking. All alcoholic drinks are consequently banished from the life of the young embryo officer, for he must keep a clear brain in order to think straight and master his problems. He is permitted only the wholesome beverages of milk, tea, and coffee that are supplied in the greatest abundance. Occasionally there is a case of drinking among the cadet body, but as a vice, intoxication does not exist at the Military Academy. One has only to look at the healthy ruddy complexions of the cadets to be convinced of the truth of this statement. Any girl might envy them their skins, whose brilliancy and transparency would soon disappear if late hours and beer were permitted. Nor is there any gambling in the Corps, unless the betting of one’s ice cream on the result of some football game be so considered. The cadets are not even allowed the use of cards or of any games of chance. They may not indulge in so harmless a pastime as bridge. Their chief solace in their free moments must be their pipes of briar, for cigarettes are frowned upon and regarded as contraband of war, liable to seizure by any Tactical officer. The weed is confiscated and the cadet receives a report. What becomes of those confiscated cigarettes has always been a matter of great speculation. Tactical officers are always under suspicion. I remember one case where a cadet was caught with three hundred cigarettes in his possession and told by his officer to turn them in at the Guardhouse. This order grieved the cadet very much because he felt that perhaps someone else would enjoy those cherished smokes. He therefore bored a hole in each one with a pin, before complying with his directions. Soon after turning in the cigarettes, he was reported for having mutilated them and was made to walk punishment tours on the Area for many days. The inference was that some disappointed Tactical officer could not make the cigarettes draw.
The ability to maintain a high state of discipline at West Point is due partially to the wisdom of placing the instruction of the cadets in the hands of officers who are themselves graduates of the Academy. The officers have more prestige with the cadets and they understand better the preparation of these young men for their future duties than could civilian instructors. They have to a greater degree than most instructors the prestige of a physical and moral superiority over their students. They are familiar with the spirit of the institution and are always on the alert to guard against corrupt influences. They better understand how to instill the austere virtues that a soldier ought to have, and how to form a brave and virile heart in their young charges. In a measure they re-create the man and develop in him the national soul.
The attitude of the cadets themselves, however, toward their discipline is the real reason for the success of West Point’s efforts to turn out men who are high-minded and honorable. They are as zealous as the officers over them in seeing that their associates live up to certain standards. Honor is their shibboleth, and each new man upon his arrival is instructed in what is meant by Corps Honor. Upper-classmen give the plebes lectures wherein they explain the ethics that govern their body, and leave them no room for doubt regarding the penalties for an infringement of their code. From the outset of their careers cadets are taught the hatred of a lie, and are made to understand that only by the most scrupulous regard for the truth, every detail of it, can they be considered fit to hold their places as cadets and gentlemen. Any cadet who is found guilty of making a false statement regarding even the most trifling circumstance is dismissed. If he is caught in a dishonorable act, he is reported by his fellows to the authorities, or told by his classmates that his resignation would be favorably received. In order to do justice to any man accused of breaking the code, the cadets have among their body a Vigilance Committee that is composed of representatives from the three upper classes. These men investigate all questionable acts that ordinarily would not come to the eyes of the authorities, and if they are satisfied that the man is guilty they report him. For example, at the written examinations the officers never supervise the cadets as regards their moral conduct, but frequently leave the room for long periods. If any man should take advantage of these circumstances to cheat, his act, if seen by a comrade, is at once reported to either the Vigilance Committee or to the officers. It is apparent therefore that the honor of the Corps will always remain unsullied so long as it is left in the hands of the cadets themselves.
A Review for the Chief of the Staff of the Army
This rigid code of discipline to which the cadet is subjected for four years and the influence of the honor system in the Corps develop in him to a high degree the sentiment of duty. At West Point duty comes first. The idea is that when a cadet is given a task to perform he will approach it with a strength of purpose that never gets weary or tired. It teaches him to make his resolve so strong that he can listen to the murmurings of the ignorant, to their sophistry, receive their insults and slanders, conscious that the ideals for which he stands will eventually triumph. It is the sentiment that will sustain him not only in time of war, for then he has the sympathy of the people, but in time of peace when the average layman who does not understand the character of his work condemns it as an activity that produces nothing.
The result of four years’ immersion in the atmosphere at West Point is the molding of the cadet’s character. When he entered the Academy he was just a boy, fresh from the hands of his parents and still malleable, but when his course has been completed under the painstaking care of his foster mother, his standards have been crystallized and he has developed into a man of courage, intellect, and honor. And when graduation day arrives, and West Point hands each man his diploma, with it she gives her stamp of approval and acknowledges her willingness to entrust to his keeping the cherished traditions of the Military Academy.