96 



has been greatly strenghened by the success in military instruction of these 

 land-grant colleges. 



We should not lose sight of its value as an educative force, particularly in a 

 milltai-y way and in patriotism, but another advantage Is the physical training 

 it gives. I believe it is worth \a bile to have it for that reason. I am a great 

 believer in all forms of athletics, but only a small percentage of the student 

 body actually participates in athletics or even work in the gymnasium. Presi- 

 dent Elict, cf Harvard, found that out of about 3,000 students only about one- 

 third took active part in athletics. Military instruction furnishes a readily 

 available means of giving all the students the physical training they need. It 

 furnishes exercise, not simply as a gymnastic, hut exercise with the ulterior pur- 

 pose of training the men for something definite. We must not minimize the 

 military feature. I believe it is a question of education, not only in preparing 

 a man for military service and in inculcating patriotism, but I believe the train- 

 ing is in itself educative. 



As regards the practical application of this matter, I think you will have as 

 many views as you have States. I believe the question ought to be approached 

 in a conciliatory manner. Military men are easily antagonized. They want 

 men to obey whether or not. Therefore I do not believe in the extreme mili- 

 tary feature. But we can approach the question in an amicable spirit. I 

 do not believe, however, that the suggestion of the mininuun amount of hours 

 will meet the situation. I think two hours is too small. We have three now. 

 We used to have five, and that was undesirable, but we get along very well with 

 three. We haven't had an army officer in six years, but during that time we 

 have made our quarterly report, and we get our arms. If five hours' drill are 

 to be required we are not in a hurry to get under the Government. We now 

 have in charge a man of our own training, who knows the situation and is 

 willing to adapt himself to conditions. We have two general roll calls a day 

 and three drills. The seniors have power to report offenses of various kinds. 

 We do not find that power abused. We excuse our athletic teams, but it does 

 not i)reclude them from promotion as cadet officers. Some of our best cadet 

 officers are from the athletic team. 



E. A. Bryan, of Washington. For a thousand years or more we and our ances- 

 tors have believed in the citizen soldiery. We have proceeded on the theory 

 that our nrticn;! dcfenro is to be intrusted chiefly to the citizen soldier. Along 

 about tlie time of the civil war we wolce up to the fact that the National Guard, 

 which had been intrusted in a measure with the training of the citizen soldier 

 for times of defense, was a poor reliance; that it was not in shape to serve the 

 purposes of national defense, and I have no doubt, as has already been inti- 

 mated, that it was due to the condition we 'then faced that the military clause 

 was inserted in the first Morrill Act. I remember hearing a volunteer officer 

 in the civil war say that in his entire regiment at the outbreak of the civil war 

 there was not a single man that could drill a squad. I have no doubt that the 

 statesmen of that day and citizens of that day felt very keenly the fact that 

 there were few intelligent and educated men who had any knowledge of mili- 

 tary science and tactics, and that it was due to this that at that time a new 

 theory was injected into our system of national military education. As a result 

 «f that we have to-day three general plans of military education: First, that 

 which is typified by West Point, a distinctly military school for the training of 

 military officers : second, the National Guard, where for a few days each year 

 the citizens who v; huiteer in the companies are trained, and third, the students 

 who are trained in the land-grant colleges in this way. I approve this as a 

 national movement, as a great nie.ms of national defense. I believe we should 

 have a general system which will ln•o^■ide men of intelligence and education. 



