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1895-06-20: ​tour stops---images---audio---~TRANSCRIPT~---notes---links---site navigation
WEST POINT EXAMINATION

The examination for the cadetship at West Point took place for this district at Alliance Thursday.  Congressman Tayler was not present, but the following named gentlemen constituted the board of examiners:

​Mental - Prof. C. B. Galbreath, Mt. Hope college, Rogers; Prof. J. M. Dixon, Youngstown; Prof. T. H. Smith, Massillon.

Physical - Drs. E. O. Portman, Canton; C. L. Morgan, Alliance; Lindsay, Salineville.  Dr. Morgan took the place of Dr. McCurdy of Youngstown, who was absent.

The following were the applicants: William P. Stokey, J. R. Kirby, Canton; H. C. Armstrong, J. F. Steele, J. H. Moflatt, Lisbon; A. G. Resch, Richard Little, E. O. Rogers, Youngstown; Byron Henry, Alliance; P. P. Stewart, Coitsville; G. H. Metzgar, New Berlin; H. W. Bowden, Minerva; John Walters, Rogers; J. K. Holibaugh, Marlboro; John Schrader, Canal Fulton; W. S. Edwards, Massillon; Bert Stoner, Massillon; Ralph Shaffer, Alliance; C. R. French, Canton.

Only four of the boys failed in the physical examination.  Charles French of this city was third, having a grade of 60 in the physical examination

[Illegible after that]
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1895-06-20​: ​​​tour stops---images---audio---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
This edition of the Stark County Democrat was published on June 20, 1895, which was a Thursday, and it says that the examination took place on Thursday.  I can't decide if it the examination took place on Thursday, June 13, or on Thursday, June 20.

On whichever date it was, what were Will's chances of getting an appointment to West Point, with its free education and pay starting from the day he entered?

As I understand it, the nominations are made by state and by congressional district.

An answer to a Quora question online told me:

-Each Senator can nominate up to 5 cadets at any one moment to attend (they must also meet the admissions and physical requirements set for attendance). These 5 individuals are normally spread over the 4 classes. This guarantees up to 10 cadets can be in attendance from each state (assuming none drop out or are dismissed for academic or other reasons) at any time.
-Likewise, each Voting Member of the House of Representatives has the same authority to nominate; this means no State has less than 15 possible cadets at any one time based on their House representation (and most have more). For Wyoming, this is 15 Cadets, California 275).

For Will's district, Representative Tayler could nominate 5 candidates.  There are currently 15 congressional districts in Ohio.  If there were 15 districts in the 1890s, that would be a total of 75 candidates from Ohio nominated by district.

For the state of Ohio overall, the two senators, John Sherman (a Republican) and Calvin S. Brice (a Democrat) could each nominate 5 - i.e. 10 for the whole state.

75 district candidates plus 10 state candidates makes 85 candidates.  But these were spread over all four classes, so there would be about 21 candidates per class for the state, and with 15 districts, that's just 1 or 2 candidates per class per district.

So, we have 1 or 2 openings, and 19 candidates being examined on June 19.  Out of the 19 applicants listed in the article, four were eliminated at the examination, leaving 15 applicants for the 1 or 2 slots.  So Will may have figured (using the arithmetic skills developed with his father, Papa Charles) that he had a 7% to 13% chance of getting an appointment.  Unless I've gotten something wrong here.

I don't know how the examinations were set up.  Maybe each candidate came individually, was examined individually, and left individually, without seeing any of his competitors.  Or maybe they all sat together in their best suits in the same room as, one by one, each candidate was called.  "Mr. Stokey?  Please step this way, sir."  And all the other guys would be looking at him, smiling politely, but inside thinking, "How do I stack up against the others?"

I'm no filmmaker, but I love imagining the scene in my mind.  And the background music.  Gotta set the atmosphere.

And then, after the examination, it was nine-plus months before they finally knew who made the grade.  Will was the only one who did - see:
...and the summary of his career is here:
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