Remarks at the United States Military Academy Alumni Luncheon, West Point, New York.

General Bryan, my classmates, and all the sons of West Point here assembled:

I am indeed highly privileged to have these few moments to say a word to you. The hall is packed with my personal friends. My life does not have the freedom that it did once that would allow me to search each out and exchange a word as I would like to do. So, by according me this privilege, I can say God bless each one of you, I should like very much to see you and talk to you alone.

I am very mindful of the admonition we have, that we are to clear this hall early, and I am not going to be guilty of consuming too much of your time. Moreover, my next engagement is to pay my respects to the distinguished president of this association, and I hope I may conduct your good wishes to him, at the same time--General Fenton.

I think any man in this spot would search his heart in the effort to find some new way in which he could pay a special tribute to our alma mater. I am not going to pretend that I know enough about this institution to be here in the position of a preceptor. There are people here who have devoted their lives--I heard General Bryan say he personally was on his fourth tour here--have devoted their lives to bettering this institution. And I, for one, think they have done it.

Last evening I was reading an advance copy of a book written by Colonel Reeder--I hope he will take it as a plug, too. It is a book about plebes in West Point. An old grad came to West Point on the day before the graduation parade, and three plebes were standing in their rooms, bracing as hard as they could. And the old grad said, "Don't they haze plebes around here any more?" And these plebes looked at him with some amazement considering their positions. And he said, "I do hope, when you get to be yearlings, you will really restore the plebe system."

As we all know, the place isn't what it used to be, and never was. I think that is lucky for all of us.

The special tribute I would like to pay would be more about methodology, I think, than anything else. As some of you may know, my experience in my new life is short but it has been rather intensive; and I have had a very great deal of opportunity to compare standards and methods and practices--in the life I now find--with the standards and methods and practices that I knew through 40 years of service with my associates from this Academy, and others that make up the Armed Services.

We are trained to deal in facts. To be truthful. To present our case as forcefully, as eloquently, as our talents may permit. To accept the judgment handed down by our commander and to perform our duty to the very best of our ability.

We learned long ago from the examples of those leaders we admire, that bad deportment is never to be confused with strength of character. If a man is sure of himself and the integrity of the processes he has used to reach his decisions he can be strong but he can be mild.

In the life that we find outside the Armed Services there seems to be a prevalent notion that if you call enough names, if you hammer enough desks, that you are a great leader. Happily, this Academy has never subscribed to any such false belief.

Now the reason I mention this is because I find throughout this country an ever-growing respect for West Point. A few years back, I was a member of a board called by Secretary Forestal to determine whether or not the Air Force should have their own Academy, and I declined to serve as chairman because my mind was made up but I was perfectly willing to serve and cast my vote the way I thought it should be.

On that board was an eminent group of educators, presidents of colleges, deans of great schools, professors. Without exception they testified to the excellence of the education in West Point and in Annapolis. Both institutions they searched very carefully through the medium of task forces. And they were struck by this one fact. They said there seems to be a spirit prevalent in these places that makes the truth and integrity the first thing--the first standard that all students must observe. The breadth of the education here impressed them. Because there was, of course, a sort of prevalent notion in our country that if you were trained for the military, you were necessarily narrow. They commented at great length upon the type of education here, the methods used so as to produce leaders who did deal in truth, in fact, and in sound conclusion.

I think their opinions of West Point are fully borne out by a record that was communicated to me yesterday by the Superintendent, that this institution provided more Rhodes scholarships in the next class than any other in the country. I believe there are four to go from the Academy, and there would have been more except that cadets had to compete against cadets in the final competition.

Moreover, I think it is perfectly fitting and quite wonderful that the First Captain, the man who in the military tactics is concerned for military discipline and procedures, won the highest awards from the tactical staff, and is one of those men showing not only the breadth of his own comprehension but of the education he has here received.

So I say again, if with the great spirit--the purposes--of this Academy, if we can show and continue to show through this spreading knowledge of our Academies throughout the country, we may finally convince people that leadership is something of the heart and of the head. It is not merely of a fluent and wicked tongue. I could rite examples all through our history. And I do say this: I believe that if we have found a man who has had to resort to desk-pounding, if he were a great leader, he was in spite of that habit and not because of it.

To each of you my very best wishes. I hope that in the few hours remaining before graduation, I will get to see some more of you that I have not seen. Thank you for your attention.