The uniform is admirable in color, appearance, and utility. It is regrettable that the gray color is not used in the Regular Army instead of the lifeless ugly olive drab. It is equally as invisible, more attractive in appearance, no easier soiled, and easier to clean when soiled. The only article of cadet uniform that seems out of harmony with the rest, is the cadet cap. This headgear has no distinction and should be abolished. It replaced, some years ago, a forage cap patterned after those worn in the Civil War, but I do not think that the change was any improvement. The visor is too drooping, and the crown, too narrow and rigid, is clumsily fashioned. The majority of the cadets look as if they had put on by mistake, their small brother’s hat, giving them a vaudeville appearance, in some cases as ludicrous as Weber and Fields. The day’s work of the Powers that Be, however, includes so many more important things than the appearance of a cadet cap that the style of the cap passes by unnoticed. The great aim of the Academy is to mold a man’s character and train him to think. The Superintendent must constantly keep his finger on the Academy’s pulse to see that these aims are being successfully carried out. To the cadets he is as far removed from their life as were the gods of Olympus from the common mortals. Not that the Superintendent wishes it so, but because of circumstances. The big problems of the Academy occupy so much of his time that he comes into comparatively little personal contact with the cadets. Like Henry IV., by being seldom seen, he is, when he appears, like a comet wondered at by them who tell each other: “That is he, the ‘Supt.’” To be summoned before his presence makes a cadet anticipate the feeling when he will appear before the final bar of justice. He dons his full-dress uniform, pulls on a pair of white lisle thread gloves, puts a visiting card in his hat band to have it ready for Woods, the Superintendent’s messenger, and sallies forth, his heart a-tremble at the thought of appearing before Olympus. He quickly reviews his past, wondering what he has done, for he thinks of course that he has unwittingly committed some offense. It is only when he finds himself standing before the Superintendent’s desk saluting and saying: “Sir, Cadet Ducrot reports as ordered,” that he realizes that he is in the presence of a very human person like himself. The wonderful prestige that the Superintendent has with the cadets is due, not so much to his rank, but to the fact that he too was once a cadet, and passed through experiences similar to their own. They appreciate the success that he has made in their chosen profession, and his example affords inspiration to many, for they argue that once upon a time, long ago, he too was a new cadet in “Beast Barracks.” CHAPTER V “BEAST BARRACKS” Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. “You man, there, slouching across the Area! What’s your name?”