Roosevelt High School - Rough Rider Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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ferred to McKinley. Tech had been, prior to 1902, a separate school under the same roof as Central. It was a dickens of an arrangement, as Mr. Daniel described it, with two schools in the same building, so in 1902, the school was moved to Seventh and Rhode Island avenue. Mr. Daniel was made principal in 1911 and has continued in that capacity ever since. Battalion and regimental drills are comparatively new competitions, Mr. Daniel remarked, but recalled the.regimental parade held 'in place of them in his cadet days. We formed on the avenue, the former colonel explained, marched to the Ellipse, and there staged a regimental parade. We had no band then, but the Marine band generally accompanied us. However, at inaugura- tions and other ceremonies, we often had to pass the hat and hire a band. In '96, of course, technical war games were unheard of, but We had something that was as good but more exciting. Mr. Daniel continued. We divided the companies in two parts, and stationed half on the top of the monu- mental hill, while the other companies were assigned routes of attack. They made a great show of firing in the attack, but no hand to hand encounters were allowed. Cadets of 1934 should be glad their drilling time is set. When I was a cadet, there was no specified time limit or dates for drill days. We have always had Mondays and Thursdays set aside for cadet drill periods. In '93, however, the captain could drill his company any day for as long as he chose. I remem- ber one time, just before competitive, our captain drilled us from seven or eight in the evening until mid-night. When asked if he thought cadets were military training units, he said, It's all rot, this idea of cadets being a disguise for military training. The cadet organization is one of the least militant bodies there is. It develops, not war- mindedness, but clear, level-headed thinking under strain as well as a disciplin- ary habit which is so useful later. In fact, I would say our teams are more pugnacious than our cadets. In drawing a comparison between cadets and athletic teams, there is no doubt in my mind that cadet training is far more valuable than mere athletic experience. While athletic work trains a boy in teamwork to a certain extent, cadet training gives a boy the idea of teamwork in a much larger sense. The training the cadet organization gives a boy will stand him in better stead than almost any training I can name. GUARD OF HONOR COMPANIES 1925-Company 3d Regiment, Western. 1926-Company lst Regiment, Central. 19 2 7-Company lst Regiment, Central. 1928-Company lst Regiment, Central. 1929-Company 2d Regiment, McKinley. 1930-Company 4th Regiment, Western. 1931-Company 4th Regiment, Western. 1932-Company 3d Regiment, Eastern. 1933-Company 2d Regiment, McKinley Eight

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HIGH SCHOOL CADETS A By Sergeanf Howard Ennes O I remember Colonel Ross? I should say I do, and any boy that drilled under his instruction will never forget him. A short, Hery man with the set-up of a major- general, he made the companies drill as they had never drilled before when he appeared on the scene. So Mr. Frank C. Daniel, himself a captain and a colonel of the high school cadets and now principal of McKinley high school, characterizes Colonel Burton R. Ross, first instructor of the high school cadets, when he was approached for an interview for THE ADJ UTANT. Sitting at his principal's desk in the oflice at McKinley, Mr. Daniel let his mind run back over his experiences as a cadet during the years from 1893 to 1897. He joined the cadets, because, he said, I liked to play soldier. I think that is why most boys join. They still like the idea of playing soldiers. They like the uniform, the braid, the marching. That's why I joined. I liked the marching especially, and of course the uniform appealed to me. As I look back over my cadet days, I see that they were a great benefit to me. The physical exercise of marching is, I believe, one of the best forms of exercise and physical training there is. In addition to this purely physical reason, the cadet training develops leadership ability. It teaches a boy to take orders: it disciplines him. You know, a person must take orders before he can give them. Mr. Daniel first enlisted in the cadets at Central high school in 1893. In the year 1895-96 he was captain of Company B. In the year 1896-97 he was the colonel in command of the high school cadet regiment. Four companies at Central, coupled with companies at Western, Eastern, and Business high school, made up this regiment. The competitive drill, Mr. Daniel stated, was practically the same as it is now. Then, however, no open order drill was held. Several years before I joined the cadets, the competitives were held on theater stages and consisted merely of manual of arms contests. Part of our competition then consisted of loading and firing blank cartridges in our Springiields. This practice, how- ever, was dropped because of complaints from Freedman's hospital. When further questioned about the admired Colonel Ross, the principal continued, Colonel Ross was a Hery gentleman, a soldier from the top of his head to the heel of his foot. He would watch the companies with an eagle eye, and if he saw any small mistake, so much as the movement of a finger, he would release his wrath in terms that were sometimes unprintable. He was a real man, however, and made the cadets what they are. No cadet of his time will ever forget him. Colonel Ross's outstanding effect upon the cadets was the iron rules of discipline laid down by him. A cadet officer was a gentleman and as such was accorded high respect from subordinates. No cadet could call his captain Tom, or Harry-it was Captain, or Sir. If a cadet met an officer on the street, he saluted him, and if he failed to do so, he received a public reprimand at the next formation. However, I should say that that type of iron discipline does not have its place in the cadet organization today. Mr. Daniel, after graduating from college, was appointed teacher of mathematics at Eastern high in 1901. I-Ie taught there a year and then was trans- Seven

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A HISTORY OF THE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL CADET CORPS By Colonel Gordon Davison, H. S. C. HE BRIGADE STANDS rigidly at attention. The stands have suddenly grown quiet. All eyes center on the Adjutant as he receives his orders, marches to the front, counts, turns. It is all over! The final decision, to which eight- een hundred cadets have looked forward, has been given. A few of those eight- een hundred cadets have won: many. more have lost. But win or lose, the spirit of the cadet corps remains. To those who have lost, defeat is merely an encouragement to try still harder next time. Half a century ago' this spirit was the same. Through the intervening years it has remained the same, and will continue to be passed down through many years to come. In 1883, fifty-one years ago, the Cadets were organized at Old Central by Mr. George Israel, and consisted of two companies of fifty men each. As only fifty Austrian muskets were available, the companies were forced to alternate in the use of rifles. In May of the same year the Cadets made their first public appearance in the Parade of the Grand Army of the Republic. At this time Captain, later Lieutenant Colonel Burton R. Ross was appointed oflicial P. M. S. ia' T. of the Cadets, in which oflice he did much to further the new organiza- tion. Two years later the Cadets marched in the inaugural parade of President Cleveland, and were also present in formation at the dedication of the Wash- ington Monument. Major McCathran was appointed to fill the vacant posi- tion, caused by the death of Colonel Ross in 1913, and held it until he entered the World War in 1916. Under Major McCathran's instruction the Corps progressed both in proficiency of drill and sincerity of spirit. The first Competitive Drill was held in 1888 and was won by Company A of Central. In 1893 the organization had its first colonel, the post being filled by one of the ex-Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Dr. Luther Reichelderfer. Thus, a Corps with established ideals and with a real purpose was rapidly being developed. In 1895 Mr. Allison Nailor presented the High School Cadets with a medal of great value, for the purpose of stimulating the Cadets to the attainment of a higher level of proficiency and skill in military tactics. This medal, known as the Allison Nailor Prize Medal , is the goal of every Cadet Captain. Every year the winning captain is given by the Wash- ington Chamber of Commerce a replica of this famous prize. Because enlistments increased so rapidly, it was soon necessary to consoli- date the divided units. Therefore, the cadet brigade was created under the supervision of Lieutenant N. B. Briscoe, U. S. A. In 1917 Lieutenant Briscoe was called into active service overseas, and former Cadet Colonel Wallace M. Yater was appointed P. M. S. E5 T. to fill the vacancy. This year also saw the first publication of the Ofiicial Program of the Competitive Drill , a pamph- let of twenty pages. Under the capable and instructive guidance of Miss Rebecca E. Shanley, teacher of English, this pamphlet has developed into a large and handsome year book, called THE ADJUTANT, the purpose of which is to make known the history of the Cadet Corps from year to year. During the World War the Cadet Corps received numerous certificates from the War Department for service rendered in assisting in the Registration for the Selective Draft. We are justly proud of those cadets who marched away under their country's flag, some never to return. Upon the resignation of Colonel Yater in 1918, Major Shoults was appointed to fill the position. Then, in 1919, Lieutenant Richard R. Day. U. S. M. C., was appointed military instructor. It was he who introduced the extended order drill into the cadet training, and made the drill much more Nine