DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 105 



The animal War Department inspection was made on ]\Iay Olli In 

 Captain James V. Ivobinson, General Stair, U. S, Army. ITis report 

 has not yet been received. 'J^lie exercises inclnded i-coinicnial inspection, 

 preceded Ity a revie\\-, badalion di-ills, comi)any drills in close and ex- 

 tended order, formal ion of an on! post and advance and rear jjnards, 

 si^nalliiii;- by the Sii>nal Corps, and litter drill and first aid demonstra- 

 tion by the ITospilal Corps detachments. All of the drills and exer 

 cises were well done and the Corps of Cadets presented an excellent 

 appearance. Of the seven hnndred eighleen cadets on the rolls bnt 

 fonrteen were absent, nine beincf reported sick. 



Tlie date of the inspection wliich has nsnally been about May 15th 

 and which has always been objected to as too early, came earlier than 

 ever this year, making it very difificnlt to show the Corps in a creditable 

 manner. I l)elieve the selection of the dates is left largely to the officers 

 who make Ihe inspection and that a protest lodged with the War De- 

 partment abont March first would induce them to delay two or three 

 weeks. 



In order to sustain interest until tlie end of the term the annual com- 

 ])etitive drill was held several weeks later than usual. Captain E. O. 

 Kagsdale, 8d U. S. Infantry, Inspector-Instructor, Michigan National 

 Guard, acted as judge and awarded places as follows: first, to Company 

 "D," Cadet Captain E. O. Spraker; second, to Company "B," Cadet 

 Captain G. L. Lardie; third, to Company "E," Cadet Captain K. K. Vin- 

 ing. On the following day the Corps was reviewed by Major E. C. 

 Vandercook, the Adjutant General of Michigan, who presented the medal , 

 to the captain of the prize company. 



At the close of the year. Cadet First Lieutenant H. M. Ward, Com- 

 pany "M," was appointed a Third Lieutenant in the Philippine Con- 

 stabulary, 



Our Cadet Band, still nnder the efficient direction of Assistant Pro- 

 fessor A, J. Clark, completed what w^as probably its most successful 

 year. It had a larger membership than ever before and was provided 

 with a number of fine new instruments. The Bugle Corps, also under 

 Director Clark, was furnished with twenty-four new bugles and did 

 very good work. 



Sergeant P. J. Cross, IT, S, Engineers, retired, completed his third 

 year as assistant to the Commandant and instructor in military science, 

 and rendered valuable assistance throughout the year. 



I again renew the recommendations that have come to you year after 

 year, viz : that better facilities for both indoor and outdoor instruction 

 be provided at the earliest possible date. The proposal to set aside a 

 portion of the ground to be acquired in the vicinity of the athletic field 

 Avill not, in my estimation, help very much. The time lost in going and 

 coming, taken out of a period already too short, will be serious. Further- 

 more, to sustain interest the ceremonies and close order drills must 

 always be held on the present grounds, and it is impossible to have 

 satisfactory ]¥irades so long as the central group of trees remains where 

 it is. 



I also recommend that the drill hour be increased fifteen minutes. The 

 present y)eriod of fiftj^-five minutes is reduced to forty minutes of actual 

 work, since ten minutes are used by the cadets in getting into uniform 

 and to the drill grounds and five minutes more are lost in calling the 



