former is usually known as headquarters, contain- ing the offices of Superintendent, Adjutant, Quarter- master, etc. Opposite is the Academic building, erected in 1891-95. It is, like the other, of granite, and cost in round figures $500,000. It forms the east side of the quadrangle, of which the cadet quar- ters constitute the north and west sides. The Chapel lies to the north of the Administration and to the east of the Academic buildings. It was built in 1 836, and is decorated within with flags, cannon, and other trophies. Tablets honouring the memory of Washington's generals are placed upon the walls, one alone being remarkable from the fact that the name is erased, leaving only the dates of birth and death. It is that formerly inscribed with the name of Benedict Arnold, who tried to betray West Point to the British enemy. Above the altar is a picture representing War and Peace, painted by Professor Weir, who at one time was instructor in drawing at the Academy. The Library, a comparatively new and well-equipped building, is the repository for some forty-five thousand volumes. Of this collection, Mr. H. Irving Hancock, in his recent book on West Point, says: " The average annual appropriation of Congress is $3000 — an amount decidedly inadequate to the maintenance of the library of the foremost military academy in the world." Our space is insufficient for the mention of all the structures devoted to the use of the national school, or even for a description of the notable statues and Digitized by Microsoft® West Point 377 monuments that adorn the grounds. But not to be passed over without notice is the classic structure of purest Greek design, in pink granite, that stands on the edge of the plain overlooking the river. It is the Memorial Hall, provided for in the will of General CuUum, and cost above $25(3,000. It is a museum of war trophies and memorials, besides containing the large and beautiful Assembly Hall and the Thayer Hall, fitted with a stage and all the accessories of a well- appointed theatre. The conditions of good work have grown more ex- acting with every year, till the Academy has been cramped for the lack of modern facilities and equip- ment. The barracks have been overcrowded and in- sufficiently furnished with such conveniences as light, water, and heat. The cavalry and artillery drill-room and grounds have proved inadequate to the needs of the school; the lecture-rooms and laboratories are too small, and are constantly overcrowded, and all of the scientific departments are cramped. To meet the demands that have so obviously grown out of the real needs of the institution. Congress, dur- ing May, 1902, voted in confirmation of a bill calling for the appropriation of five million dollars to be expended principally in new buildings and topograph- ical improvements at West Point. The additions when completed will include an extension of the barracks, a new academic building, a power-house, officers' mess hall, chapel, cavalry and artillery barracks and stables, Digitized by Microsoft® 378 The Hudson River additions to several of the buildings now in use, and an enlargement of the plain for purposes of cavalry and artillery drill. But it has been wisely considered inadvisable to destroy the old buildings now in use or make any radical changes in their structure or arrange- ment. They are the witnesses of a hundred years, connected with the names of the nation's heroes, and rich with the traditions of successive generations of brave men. In spite of the fact, or it may be because of the fact, that we are not a soldier people, the senti- ment of the nation centres at West Point more really than even at the White House or the Capitol. Per- haps no nation on earth has ever seen a case parallel to that of the United States, that has gone through most of its history without a standing army worthy of mention, yet has persistently trained men (as few men have ever been trained elsewhere) in all the sci- ence of war and the practice of manly exercises, to find them in the hour of national stress the nucleus of an army of unexcelled strength. Within the confines of the Military Academy at West Point the United States has concentrated its standing army. Because the knowledge of this fact appeals to our imagination, and also for another reason, that the Academy is the con- crete symbol of that altar of patriotism upon which so great a treasure of blood has been offered, it has be- come to us a place of sacred associations. We have seen how both of the contending parties in the Revolution recognised the military importance of Digitized by Microsoft® West Point 379 the Highlands. The contest for