The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-06-04
CADET WHITAKER.
The Report of the West Point Court
Of Inquiry.

The conclusions of the Court of Inquiry in
the case of Cadet Whitaker are as follows:
l. The court is unable to believe that such slight
wounds as Cadet Whitaker received could have been
| inflicted by persons i'll the manner and under the
circumstances described by him.
=. 1t does not see why man with his surroundings
and i'll his condition and frame Of mind, AZ shown
10y his own evidence, should have submitted To
assault such ii alleged without summouing assist
ance during the assault or Immediately thereafter.
g. 1t believes person tied as he and left he
claims To have been could readily have released HIM
self had he exerted himself to do so.
4. From the testimony of the Post Surgeon and
others the court is compelled to believe Cadet Whit
taker neither asleep nor insensible when he
examined on the morning of April &, 1880, but that
he was feigning.
g. The court il not able to discover any motive that
any person, other than Cadet Whitaker, could have
had III making such assault. and there is evidence
whatever that any person did it,
&. 1t believes that the har-clpping, hesh-cutting
and binding could all have been accomplished 10y
Cadet Whitaker himself.
T. The theory that the note of warning is an mta-
ton of Cadet Whttaker's handwriting il. in the
opinion of tue court, untenabe. The tests to
which experts in handwriting were subjected and
their positive testimony, pace 1t beyond doubt that
Cadet Whitaker himself wrote the note of warning,
and therefore that he is not ignorant of the person
persons engaged in the affair. This after conclu-
sion il strengthened by the fact that onehaf of the
sheet of paper on which this note is written
found in Cadet Whittakcr's possession.
The opinion of the court is as follows:
From the strong array of circuinstantial evil
and from the conflicting statements of Cadet Whit
taker and lack of veracy eyinced by him in certain
cases during the investigation, shown by the evil
dence, the court is of the opinion that the imputaton
upon the character of Cadet Whitaker, referred to
in the order converting the court and contained in
the official reports of the C0mmandant of Cadets and
Post Surgeon, is fully sustained
When the report was sent to Gen. Schofeld
and read by him, he caused a letter to be adj
dressed to Col. Lazelle, Commandant of
the corps of cadets, directing the arrest
of Whitaker and placing him III
confinement in his room. The order was
promptly carried out, and Whitaker will re-
main under arrest until the case is disposed of,
and guard will keep him under surveillance.
Whitaker still protests his innocence. The
findings of the court have been forwarded to
the War Department.
Prof. II. L. Greener, of Washington, who
was one of Whittaker's volunteer aids, de-
nounces the methods employed by the Court
of Inquiry to convict him. He says the entire
force of the so-called investigation was directed,
not toward finding out who might have COM
mitted the outrage, but toward proving Whit
taker guilty, and that he has been prejudiced
III suggestions, assumptions insinuations and
expert testimony.