VMI Cadet. November 26, 1917

              THE CADET ISSUED BY
THE CORPS OF VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE
VOL. XI LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1917 NO. 10
NAVAL RESERVE COMMIS-SIONS
OPEN TO ALUMN
Practicing Engineers May Be Commissioned in Naval
Reserve With Active Service During War
An examination will be held to se-l
e c t an e l i g i b i l i t y list for [candidates
f o r commission as c i v i l engineers in
the United States Naval Reserve
f o r c e . Those persons now in tbe naval
reserve and civilians are eligible.
A l l applications and other inmforma-tion
required must be sent in to the
^ reserve examining board, bureau of
yards and docks, navy department,
Washington, D. C., by noon of De-cember
31st, 1917.
I t is not necessary to have a permit
t o take the examination. Any who
are desirous of tskng the examination
and f e e l s that he can fill the position
in the corps of civil engineers, U. S.
N . R . should apply to the reserve ex
amining board f o r forms to make his
applicaion and mail these forms to the
board immediately.
I f after application is made,the ex-amining
board thinks that further
examination of the candidate is advis-able
such candidates w i l l be instructed
t o appear in persun before the board
in Washington. Successful candi-dates
recommended to the bureau of
navigation for provisional rank in
the U. S.N. R. forces will be author-ized
to appear before the nearest med-ical
officer of the U.S. navy for phys-ical
examination. Any found physi-c
a l l y unfit w i l l be by tbat fact dis-qualified.
The candidate must be an American
citizen, and must be an engineer in
a c t i v e practice of the profession of
c i v i l , electrical or mechanical engi-f
neering or some business directlv con-nected
therewith. To be eligible for
the ;ank of ensign the candidate must
be not ICBS than twenty-four years of
a g e with active professional practice
o f r.ot less than two years; for lieu-tenant
junior grade, a professional
practice of not less than five yeard and
o f at least twenty seven years of age;
f o r the rank of lieutenant a minimum
a g e limit of thirty years is fixed in
addition to the requirement of seven
years of practical professional experi-ence
with three years as assistant of
principal in charge of responsible
work.
The examining board will recom-mend
to the bureau of navigation the
assignment of proviaional ranks. The
successful candidates will be enrolled
and g i v en the provisional ranks rec-ommended
and g i v en active duty.
The pay is tbe same as that of the
navy while on active duty. Including
allowances for commutation of quart-ers,
heat and light this is f o r an en-s
i gn approximately $2,100; f o r a jun-ior
lieutenant $ 2 , 5 0 0 ; and for a lieu-tenant,
$3,100. There is and addi-tional
allowance of $150 for uni-forms.
/ Commisssions are f o r the period of
four years or during the existence of
a war of national emergency. Officers
are only given active duty during war
PRESIDENT'S THANKSGIVING
President Wilson November 7th
issued his 1917 ^Thanksgiving proc-lamation
calling upon the nation even
in "the midst of the sorrow and great
peril of a world shaken by war to
thank God for blessings that are bet-ter
than mere peace of mind and pros-perity
of enterprise
" T h a n k s g i v i n g , 1917.—By the
president of the United States of
A m e r i c a — A proclamation:
" I t has long been the time-honjred
custom of our people to turn in the
f r u i t f u l «utumn of the year in praise
and thanksgiving to A l m i g h t y God for
his many blessings and mercies to us
as a nation. That cuBtom we can
f o l l ow now even in the midst of trag-edy
of a world shaken by war and
immeasurable disaster in the midst of
sorrow and great peril, because even
amidBt the darkness that has gathered
about us we can see the great bless-ings
God has estowed upon us, bless
ings that are better than mere peace
of mind nr and prosperity of enter
prise.
" W e have been g i v en the opportu-nity
to serve mankind as we once
seived ourselves in the great day of
our Declaration of Independence by
taking up arms a against a tyranny
that threatened to master and debase
men everywhere and joining with oth-er
free peopleB in demanding for all
the nations of the world what we then
demanded and obtained f o r ourselves.
In this day of the revelation of our
duty not only to defend our own
rights as a nation, bat to defend also
the rights of f r e e men throughout the
world, there has been vouchsafed us
in full and inspiring measure the res-olution
and spirit of united action.
We have been t rought to one mind
and purpose. A tew vigor of common
action has bee<> revealed in us. We
should especially thank God that in
sucn circumstances in the midst of
the; greatest enterprise the spirits of
men have ever entered upon we have,
i f we but observe a reasonable and
practicable economy, abundance with
Continued on page 5
BELL'S HAWAIIAN PLAYERS
AT
Famous Entertainers Rendered Pleasing and High
Class Program on Saturday Night
Through the efforts of Miss Anne
White gthe famous B e l l ' s H a w a i i an
were secured for an entertainment at
the High School on Saturday night.
The First class permit was extended
te cover this performance and under-classmen
were allowed to attend on
individual application for permission.
The entertainment was very inter-esting
and quite above the average.
These players have appeared upon the
highest class circuits through the
country, spending a whole season in
N e w York, and being featured on
" H a w a i i a n N i g h t " at theTraymore
in A t l a n t i c City.
CORPS TO ATTEND THANKS-GIVING
GAME IN ROANOKE ROBBERY TRIAL ON DEC. 15
to be Spent in Magic City for Annual V. P. I
Game. Headquarters to be at Hotel
Roanoke
As in the past those members of
the corps who so desire may go to
Roanoke for the football game with
V. P. I. on Nov. 29th. Thanks-g
i v i n g day being a holiday the matter
of making this t r ip is purely optional,
but there are very f e w indeed who
will stay in barracks on that day, ex-cept
thoBe on the sick list and the
guard.
The only restrictions put upon the
fnen going to the game are that they
shall proceed as a battalion to Roa-noke
under tbe command of the Com-mandant
of cadets, and tbat all shall
return with the battalim. Woe
be unto that unfortunate cadet who
f a i l s to make it back with them. The
time of departure is to be decided by
the Commandant, but it will very
probably be about 8 a. m. on the
morning of the 29th, at which time
the corps w i l l entrain over the Chesa-peake
and Ohio " s p e c i a l " for Roa-noke,
arriving there about 10 a. m.
There will be no check formations
in Roanoke until the final one for the
return of the corps. The battalion
w i l l be formed in front of the Roanoke
Hotel, which is to be official head-quarters,
and marched to the Fair
Grounds, where the game will be
played. While this is not a check
fDrmation, it is especially urged that
all men form and go as an orgniza-tion
to the game. Bv this means
their seating and accommodations in
every respect w i l l be facilitated and
enhanced.
The alumni association of Roanoke
has arranged a short parade for a
the battalion upon its arrival in the
Magic city prior to its dismissal at
the Roanoke. The battalion will
be formed in line at the passenger
station upon detraining, then march-ed
in column of squads down Jeffer-son
street two blocks to Campbell
avenue, then west on Campbell ave-nue
two blocks to the Ponce de Leon
Hotel, and turned south on Commerce
street for two blocks to Church street,
thence east to Church street two
blocks turning to tbe l e f t on Jefferson
street to'march Northjacross the rail-way
tracks to the Roanoke Hotel,
where they will be dismissed The
next formation w i l l be at tome time
near two o'clock in the afternoon to
march to tbe game. The corpB will
not be marched back f r om the game.
Moot Court to Try "Dark Horse AI" McCauley and
Parker to Lead as Counsel
Try to be one of the ancestors to
be bragged about in the next century.
— S t . Louis Globe Democrat.
The Russians are declining as a
military force, but are greatly im-proved
in their ability as debaters.—
Dallas Times.
Americans who are ready and will*
ing to sink or Bwim with their coun-trv
are going to swim.—Toledo Blade.
Last Wednesday evening, the reg-ular
meeting of the Cadet Literary
society was omitted and in its stead
there was called a meeting of the
officers f o r the purpose of arranging
final details f o r tbe.moot court which
w i l l be held Saturday night,Dec. 15th.
" D a r k Horse A I " Branch has been
caught carelessly stealing and intrud-ing
upon the property of unwilling
owners. The exact nature of the
t h e f t must not be made public to the
f a c t that the gossip resulting there-f
r om would likely be harmful both to
the prosecution and the defense. Sher-iff
" N a t Withers" has made the
arrest and now has the prisoner in
custody awaiting trial. May it be
said that Sheriff Withers deserves
great praise for arresting such a
prominent and crafty criminal as
the defendant, " G e e z e " Branch—alias
the " N e w York Society D u d e . " If
said defendant is convicted the Bheriff
is to receive $50,000 reward from the
National Town Bank of New York
city, which has offered such a reward
f o r the capture, arrest and conviction
of the " P a r l o r S n a k e ."
Chief Justice of the supreme court
Charles C. Cantrell has called a spec-ial
session of court to be held begin -
nig Dec. 15tb, for tbe trial of the
notorious criminal and dangerous cit-izen,
Alpheus Branch who resides
"somewhere between North Carolina
and New Y o r k . " Judge Cantrell has
summoned the following to appear a9
jurors: General E. W. Nichols, Col-onel
R. B. Poague, Colonel J. M.
Patton, Colonel F. Mallory, Colonel
T. A. Jones, Colonel R. T. Kerl'n,
Colonel H. Pendleton, Colonel N. B.
Tucker, Colonel W i l l i am Hunley, Col-onel
H.C. Ford, Colonel C.W. Watts,
Colonel G. A. Derbyshire, and Major
M. F. Edwards. Of these it is known
that Colonel J. M. Patton cannot
serve,but it is hoped that the remain-ing
twelve will be present for tbe
t r i a l and justice to both i.ation and
defendant is assured.
United States District Attorney
John W. McCauley will prosecute the
criminal and will endeavor to rid the
nation of one of its most destructive
robbers. McCauley'a reputation £ is
nation wide and is^one of the greatest
criminal lawyers in the history of its
profession. It was because of bis
a b i l i t y that be was selected over all
American lawyers to prosecute this
criminal. United States District A t -
torney Higgins from the Western Dis-trict,
has been chosen to assist Mr.
McCauley. In Attorney Higgins, Mr.
McCauley has a most worthy assistant
and the craft and eloquence of the
two will cause many a wistful mo-ment
f o r the criminal.
Former Senator A. W. Parker from
N e w York, has been engaged to de-fend
Baid defendant. In Senator
Parker, the defendant has one of the
oldest, most experienced and most elo-quent
lawyers who ever practiced at