Excerpt from The Status of the Military Department in the Landgrant Colleges My purpose in calling attention to these conditions is partly to raise an objection to this lack of uniformity. I think that it is improper that schools which receive the same bounty should requite this bounty in such very different measure. But the more important part of my purpose is to call attention to a much more serious matter, viz, the wrong mental attitude which most of these schools assume toward military instruction, in the fact that they give as little of it as they think will pass muster. I deplore the loss to the students, and the schools, and the Nation from this faulty conception of what the military provisions of the Morrill Act are capable of accomplishing, if administered with sympathy and wisdom. It seems to me that many of us are not giving a good stewardship of the talent which has been put into our hands. Especially do I desire to convince this body that we as executives of engineering schools are failing seriously to take hold of and make effective use of one of the very best tools in our whole educational kit. The chief motive for the insertion of the military-drill requirement in the Morrill Act was probably to strengthen our feeble military preparedness by the creation of a body of educated citizen soldiery which in time of war would become an asset of great importance to us. It was evidently inspired by the serious shortage of persons fit to become officers in the Civil War, which was then in progress, and the terrible suffering of our troops, due to the incompetence and inexperience of their officers. This motive is still the most important one which can be brought forward from the Governments side to justify the expenditure which the military-drill feature of the Morrill Act specifically occasions. But, while I thoroughly believe in this reason for exacting drill in land-grant colleges, still, from the standpoint of the schools I consider it of secondary importance compared to the intrinsic value of the military drill as an element in the education of any young college graduate. It is for the benefit of the schools themselves, rather than for the improvement of our national military preparedness, that I am urging that the military drill be treated with more seriousness and consideration. Respects In Which Military Instruction Is Of Value In A School. (1) Disciplinary value. - Military drill supplies a conception of authority, and respect for authority, which nothing else does or can furnish. It is needed more now than half a century ago, and will be needed increasingly as time goes on. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.