The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1880-04-15
WET PoIaE

NEAN rOaA
Tie outrage Ieesluy PeFSALAlsd o.
eAdst WHITAKER, a. WeA Point, has
bsen aigm4iLsed " politicians u bah
parties a. al at q revealing cr1sltyp
for which the perpetrators Should suf-
fer eondign punishment No well mean
ing person can differ from this univer-
sal expression OF disaPprObation- The
act was Of the most henlous character,
and the actors, whosoever they were,
committed q diAbolical crime for which
they should be punished BY . term Of
years in the ~penitentizry-
But while we heartily eoneur in the
d~enuneiAtions uttered against the auth
ors Of the crime, and sympathize with
the public Indignation il has occasiODed,
We By no means agree with those men,
bers Of congress who endeayor to make
West Point accountable therefor, and
who talk wildly Of the abolition OF the
institution In our opinion West Point
is In no way responsible for the outrage
committed on the colOred cadet; nor
was the crime the result Of any partic-
ular system or custom characteristics OF
the academy.
II Is ridiculous TO maintain that
Whitaker was the victim Of devilling,
as hazing Is termed at West Point.
The time for devilling him had gone by;
as every e~ollegian knows. bazing Is
praeticed ON the new comers, and on
them only. The very practice consists
in taking advantage Of their yerdancy;
OF their ignorance Of rules and regula-
tons governing the school. After they
have become accustomed TO the insti-
tuition and learned Its rules, they are no
longer subjects for hazing.
1t was impossible TO derii cadet Whit
taker, who had been at the academy
three years, and was thoroughly ae-
quainted with its every custom n
usage. We would remark here that the
public have a very exaggerated idea Of
the practice OF hazlng at West Point.
In recent speeches in congress relative
to the present case. the practice has
been denounced rs brutal In the ex-
treme, and the cadets a. n class stigma
tized rs little, or no better. than felons.
II is true that the practice In some par
tlculars is Objectionable, and perhaps
should be discontinued. The same may
he said Of every college. In some colleges
the system Is not so bad, In others worse
than al West Point. When the acade-
my was so vehemently assailed in con-
gress, did none OF the honorable gen.
tlemen, graduates OF Princeton; recol-
lect the recent tragedy at their alma
mater, resulting in the death OF a new
conner, who fell u victim TO hazingr
Probably In all, or nearly all, Of our
great colleges, the practice Of imposing
on the ignorance Of newly arrived aspir-
ants for collegiate honors, Is carried to
q greater extent than at West Point.
But the latter being u rational institu-
ton, In which the public have an inter
est, causes every event connected with
II to acquire peculiar importance, and
every abuse to he published In exagera-
ted shape to the world.
The above outrage, II committed by
cadets, was the act Of men Of deprayed
mind and brutal impulses, whose pres
nee would disgrace any institution
West Point was simply unfortunate In
being the theater Of their crime. But
to vehemently denounce an institution,
because such an esent happens once in
a hundred years, and for which none Of
the authorities a be blamed, Is unwise
and unjust. In no other college In the
land would more honest effort be made
to detect the real offenders, and in no
other would the offense be punished
with so extreme severity. The author
titles interested will do all that al be
done to bring the criminals to justice,
in which attempt we hope they will
meet with abundant success.