VMI Cadet. September 27, 1937

              Prizes Offered For New
Cheers By The
CADET
ow High
ge Of Class
VOLUME XXXI LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA MONDAY, SEPT. 27, 1937 NUMBER 2
Fighting Squadron
Downed By Temple
Keydets Lose Out
In Second Half
Echols Hero
Pappas, Nichols, Walters
Score For Owls
By SNAKE SCARBURGH
As fighting a team as has ever
carried the Red, White, and Yel-low
colors on a football field,
journeyed North and clashed with
the highly favored Temple Owls
in Philadelphia last 'Friday night
Approximately 20,000 gridiron fans
sat on the edge of their seats for
sixty minutes and saw the "Fight-ing"
Squadron battle one of Pop
Warner's most promising elevens
to a standstill for three periods.
The Keydets emerged from the
first half of the tussle with a cov-eted
7-6 lead and might easily have
won the tilt by that score had
they not been the victims of two
untimely bad breaks which the
Owls converted into touchdowns to
win 18-7.
Owls Score First
The "Fighting" Squadron limited
the Owls to one touchdown drive,
that occurring in the first quarter
to give the Warnermen a 6-0 lead,
their try for extra point failing.
But, early in the second stanza a
much bewildered Pop Warner saw
the early lead snatched from his
charges. On a double reverse,
Pappas, star Temple fullback, took
the ball off left tackle and as he
was hit hard by two VMI lines-men,
lost the ball and before it
hit the sod alert Red Echols, fast
Cadet guard, scooped up the pig-skin
and raced 77 yards with the
entire team as interference to cross
the goal line standing up. Paul
Shu, backbone of VMI's running
attack, calmly placekicked the ex-tra
point to send the Squadron out
in front, 7-6, where it stayed until
Temple got a break as the result
of a blocked kick in the latter part
of the third quarter.
VMI Holds On 5-Yard Line
The Squadron went into the
game much the lighter of the two
teams and played one man in
practically all positions as com-pared
to three used by the Temple
aggregation. What they lacked in
weight and reserves the Keydets
made up in their fighting spirit
as was exemplified in the opening
minutes of the game. Captain Al
Fiedler won the toss and elected
to defend the north goal. Woody
Gray kicked off for the Squadron
with Pappas receiving for Temple.
Once in possession of the ball the
Owls swung into the famous War-ner
double wing-back and started
a sustained drive to V. M. I.'s
goal line. On single reverses,
Vince Renzo and Chris Pappas,
star Temple backs had the Cadet
line and secondary guessing but
when the exponents of the Warner
system reached the shadow of V.
M. I.'s goal line Captain Fiedler
called time out for the Squadron.
The Big Red team collected them-selves
during the brief rest period
and on the next four plays not
only stopped the touchdown bent
Owls but hurled them back two
yards to boot. Andy Trzeciak
soon kicked a neat 47 yard punt
from his own goal line to put his
team out of danger. The Owls
started another drive with Renzo
making the initial gain of 2 yards
around right end and then on a
pass, Pappas to Renzo, netted the
Warnermen 16 yards and a fin*
down. Irby and Kovar stopped the
Owls for three downs next but
on the fourth Pappas gave the ball
to Lukac on a double reverse and
Lukac picked up B yards and a
(Continued On Page S)
Corps Chooses
Richmond
For Trip
Commandant Of Cadets
Ask For Corps'
Opinion
Sept. 25—The Commandant of
Cadets today directed the First
Captain to ascertain the will of the
Corps of Cadets, regarding the trip
to the football game besides the
annual VPI-VMI game in Roanoke
on Thanksgiving Day.
The decision to be made is ob
viously between Richmond on Oct.
16 and Charlottesville on October
23, since the distance and other
other controlling factors place Nor
folk and West Point out of the
question.
Commandant's Statement
Said Colonel Burress in an in-terview
with a member of THE
CADET staff, "I want the Corps
to go where it wishes and where
the boys will have the best time,
and as soon as Mr. Powell advises
me of the Corps' decision in the
form of a permit stating first and
second choice I shall take the mat-ter
up with the new Superintend-ent,
General Kilbourne, and the
Board of Visitors." "I leel," con-tinued
Colonel Burress, "that the
Corps should consider not only the
city which will give it the best
reception, but also the game which
should prove the most interesting
from the standpoint of equality of
teams and traditional rivalry, since
the object of the trip is, primarily,
to witness the football game. How-ever,
that is for the Corps to de-cide,
and I can only await Mr.
Powell's report."
Corps Choice
Cadet First Captain Jess Powell
today submitted first choice to the
Commandant of Cadets—(Richmond.
Electricians Hold
First Meeting
Sept. 25—Harrison Hubard, chair-man
of the VMI Chapter Ameri-can
Institute of Electrical Engin-eers,
opened the organization first
meeting of the year today by wel-coming
the seventeen new mem-bers
from the Second Class. Col-onel
S. W. Anderson made a
short talk to the cadets stressing
the purposes and advantages of the
AIEE. He also told of the confer-ence
to be held here at the Insti-tute
next Spring. Nineteen South-ern
schools and colleges will be
represented. "Endeavor the First"
was the subject of an address by
F. R. Parker. He told of his con-nection
with the famous racing
yacht and its crew, also going into
the history of the contest between
English and American yachts.
Parker's remarks were followed
by a few from H. D. Bickford on
the same topic.
Frank M. Sayford is secretary of
the chapter. The following First
Classmen compose the executive
committee: A. W. Crowell, J. F.
Twombly, N. Baldwin and W. H.
Abbitt.
No September Honor Roll
Sept. 18—In a statement today
Colonel Derbyshire announced
that the Academic Board had pass-ed
a resolution to the effect that
the grades for the months of Sep-tember
and October would be
averaged together and that they
would comprise the honor list that
will be issued around November
first.
VMI's Grand Old Man
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN A. LEJEUNE
EDITORIAL
The retirement of Major General John Archer Lejeune
will mark the end of an era in the history of the Virginia
Military Institute. From the day he took over the office of
Superintendent until the present date, the school has made
the most rapid progress in its long existence.
To the average public figure, retirement means a step
backward into obscurity, but the withdrawal of General
Lejeune is certain to have the opposite effect, both on him
and the Institute. For the time will soon come when the
name "Lejeune," "ill be a.s firmly imbedded in the annals
and traditions of the Institute as Smith, Maury, Brooke and
Jackson.
The renown that the ex-Marine's famous name, outstand-ing
personality, and heroic actions have brought to the VMI
will grow more brilliant as the years roll by, and the inten-sifying
light will reflect its glory upon the school he served
and loved so well.
Large Number to
See 'Brother Rat'
Sept. 23—Approximately half of
the cadet corps have already
bought train and play tickets for
the ^how "Brother Rat," which is
to be given in the Trenton theatre
in Lynchburg on Monday, October
4. These cadets will attend the
matinee performance at 4 p. m|
This performance is especially for
the VMI cadets and they have been
given first chance at a block of the
best seats in the theater.
Special Train
The corps will go by a special
train which will leave East Lex-ington
at 1:45 P. M. The cadets
will spend the hours between 4
and 6 at the show. From 6 to 10
they will be free to do as they
please. The special train will leave
Lynchburg at 10 and arrive in
East Lexington at 12.
Alumni Active
The VMI Alumni in and around
Lynchburg have been very active
in planning to make this short
visit of the corps as pleasant as
possible. They have arranged with
a number of cafes and restaurants
to reduce the prices of meals any-where
from ten to twenty per cent
to cadets in uniform. Merry Gar-dens,
a popular night club, has
reduced the price of admission
from $1.10 to .75, and the Oakwood
Country Club is serving a buffet
supper for $1.00. If the cadet has
a date he may still eat at the Coun-try
Club without any additional
charge for the girl. Unfortunately
for some cadets, Oakwood is only
able to serve 150 people. The
alumni have even gone so far as
to make it posible for the cadets
to have dates while they are in
Lynchburg. This is being done
by special cooperation between the
VMI alumni and Sweet Briar and
(Continuat On rasa •)
Statistics Show
Large Enrollment
Seven hundred Cadets are now
enrolled at the Institute this year
according to officials records from
Headquarters. This year's enroll-ment
is the largest in many years,
but it is not due to a larger rat
class. The present Fourth Class
has 253 cadets while last year's
had 258. One reason for the in-crease
is probably due to the 164
members of the Second Class, the
largest Second Class in the past six
years. There are 108 men in the
First Class this year and 175 in the
Third Class. Eighty three of last
year's new Cadets were lost over
the summer.
The highest mortality rate of the
present First Class might go to
prove Colonel Mayo's theory of
"dumbest since the war."
Contest for New Cheers
THE CADET announces a con-test!
To lend a bit of assistance
to the cheer leaders, THE CA-DET
is offering two prizes for
the best two cheers submitted
to the Editor by SRC Sunday
night, Oct. 3. The winning
cheers are to be selected by
three judges: the Editor, the
Business Manager, and Walter
Boussel, head cheer leader. The
decisions of the judges will be
final. The winners will be an-nounced
in the next issue of
THE CADET.
1st prize: $4.50 for trip to
Roanoke.
2nd prize: one year subscrip-tion
to THE CADiET.
This contest is open to every
Cadet in barracks.
Lejeune To Retire;
Reception Planned
General Lejeune's career passes in review, Cadetship at
Annapolis, Navy Days, C. O. Second Division, Marine Com-mandant,
and Superintendent; Elaborate plans made for In-augural
Reception; Distinguished guests from Army, Marine
Corps, State and Nation to be present for Tribute To Illus-trious
Soldier and Educator.
By L. E. HUDGINS
On Thursday night, September
30, many of the leading figures in
both national and state government
will gather in '94 Hall for a re-ception—
a reception that will
mark the opening of the inaugural
ceremonies which shall bid a fond
adieu to General John A. Lejeune
and extend a war welcome to Gen-eral
Charles E. Kilbourne.
Distinguished Guests
Among the distinguished guests
expected are Major General and
Mrs. Bowley, Maj.-Gen. Holcomb
and Mrs. Holcomb, and Lt.-Gov-ernor
Price. The faculty of Wash-ington
and Lee University and
VMI together with their wives have
also been invited to the reception.
From the VMI Corps and members
of the first and second classes, and
the class officers of the third class
have been asked. Between eight
hundred and one thousand guests
are expected.
'94 Hall Gaily Decorated
Under ' the direction of Colonel
Moseley, '94 Hall has been expert-ly
decorated with flags of many
nations and with evergreens.
The receiving line, not complete
as this goes to press, will include
The Superintendent and Mrs. Le-jeune,
the Superintendent-elect and
Mrs. Kilbourne, The President of
the Boafd of Visitors and Mrs.
Massie, the President of the Alum-ni
Association and Mrs. Easley,
and the Lieutenant-Governor of
Virginia.
Refreshments Served
Refreshments will be served un-der
the direction of Mrs. Townes
and Mrs. Derbyshire. Those ladies
that will pour coffee include Mrs.
Pendleton, Mrs. Huger, Mrs. Coup-er,
Mrs. Edwards, and Mrs. Burr-ress.
The cadets of the Second
Class Finance Committee under
Captain McNeal will be on duty
at the main entrance to escort
guests to the Check Room and the
Ladies' Dressing Room. Admis-sion
to the reception will be strict-ly
by card which was enclosed in
all invitations.
If the weather permits ,the band
which has yet to be announced,
will play in the Memorial Gar-dens
during the reception. After
the reception there will be dance
music for those that may desire
to dance.
Ceremonies In J. M. Hall
The inauguration will officially
open on the morning of October
1st in Jackson Memorial Hall. At
these exercises Mr. J. S. Easley,
President of the Alumni Associa-tion,
will preside. Mr. Easley will
introduce Lieutenant Governor
Price who in turn will introduce
the principal speaker of the
morning, Assistant Secretary of
War Johnson.
Garrison Review Planned
At the completion of the exercis-es
in Jackson Memorial Hall, there
will be a garrison review by the
Corps of Cadets. The review will
consist of one battery of artillery,
one troop of cavalry, and one bat-talion
of infantry. The rats will
form a second battalion of infan-try,
although they will not carry
arms. On the reviewing stand
there will be only General Le-jeune
and General Kilbourne. At
the completion of the review, one
review that will probably sadden
the beloved General Lejeune who
(Continued On Page 8)
By FRED ADAMS
Major-General John Archer Le-jeune
as Superintendent of the
Virginia Military Institute since
1929, has added one more chapter
to a brilliant life-story already
crowded to the point of overflow-ing
with action and accomplish-ments.
In his 41 years of service
with the U. S. Marine Corps he
has led a life seemingly consecrat-ed
to activity and danger. A grad-uate
of Louisiana State University
with an appointment to the U. S.
Naval Academy, he passed through
four years of cadetship there and
graduated in 1888 with the rank
of ensign. Before he had served
two years as a naval cadet after
leaving Annapolis he had experi-enced
more hardships and danger
than most people even read about
in a full lifetime.
Shipwrecked
His military career began, really
in 1889 when he went through the
catastrophic hurricane that struck
Apia, Samoa, in March, 1889, sink-ing
the German fleet and two
ships of the U. S. fleet stationed
there at the time. Fifty-two Am-erican
officers and men lost their
lives. After the Vandalia, on
which Lejeune was completing his
naval cadetship, had struck a reef
and was floundering, the Louisiana
"middie" and several of his com-panions
climbed up into the rig-ging
and clung there until help
arrived. Such a test as this liter-ally
makes or breaks a man. In
this case the answer is self-evident,
for Cadet Lejeune was commended
for his coolnessand unflinching
courage by the commanding offi-cer
of the ship during the three-day
period of horror.
Cited In Spanish-American War
At the outbreak of the Spanish-
American war Lejeune was a first
lieutenant in command of the mar-ines
on the U. S. S. Cincinnati.
Although this vessel took no part
in the hostilities, Lieutenant Le-jeune
became an active participant
when he was put in command of
the battalion of Marines that land-ed
in Panama in 1903 during a
loyal revolution. During the war
he was repeatedly commended and
was twice cited, once in an engage-ment
with the short artillery at
Matanzas, Cuba, and the other
time at the capture of the light-house
at San Jun, Porto Rico,
where he became the feted hero
of the rescuer. Following this he
was placed in command of Marine
Barracks in Washington. Later he
saw service during troublesome
times in Central America, Cuba
again, the Phillippines, Mexico—
as commander of the Marines as-sisting
in the taking and holding
of Vera Cruz in 1914—and Panama
several more times at the threat
of revolt, finally proceeding to the
marine barracks in New York. For
three years—1915 to 1917, as Col-onel,
Lejeune was assistant to the
Commander of Marines in Wash-ington.
At the entrance of the
United States into the World War
he was commissioned brigadier-general
and put in command of
Quantico Barracks, Va., war-time
training station for the "Devil
Dogs" or "Leathernecks" as they
are afectionately called.
"Over There," Com. 2nd Dlv.
In 1018, General Lejeune sailed
for France, landing at Brest on
June 8, among the first marines
(Continued on Page 8)
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