The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-10-20

/ Deserted.
iOGice Chairman Board OF Visitors
! South Carolina Military Academy,
! Barnwelr, S G, Oct IS, 1897.
! To the Eiito. OF Tne Register:
! VIII you bs good enough TO give
space in your Journal to The following
papers, ,he publication OF winch
seems called Fer by a con- ru1!cstlon
from your Charleston correspondent
ia your issue o. the 10TH inst:
JOHNSON HAGO0D,
/ Chairnaa Board OF Visitors S 9. II.
i.
South Carolina Military Academy,
! OHce of the Superintendent, Cita
! dsl, Charleston S. c., Oct II, 1887.
! Gen. Johnson Iagood. Chairman
| Board Of Visitors
Dear Ganeral:-I deeply regres to
report another case OF desertlon.
Young Way, beneficiary from Holly
Hill, Berkeley county, got leave on
Feiday evening TO visit friends IN the
city, did not return from bis leave at
| iI0:30 D. NJ, and the next morning,
Mr.. Thomas, an attache OF the Nation
al House, brought his cap and gloves,
land stated that the lad had gone home
! that morning IN spite of his advice to
| the contrary. l wrote a. once to his
father Toe lad was very timid and
ihoalesick, but he claimed, Mr. Thom-
as SAID, that he hsd been cruelty III
/ treated or hszea by the older cadets.
+; nave thus far failed to ind any
grounds for tais complaint. Tae
Evening Critic so. hold OF the matter
land published vicious article IL the
Saturday afternoon issue, and this ar
lt;cla was repu5jished, almost verbat.
uc1. il The Columbia Register OF yes
1erday. This morning Cadet Smoak
| (B) class, brought the enclosed COM
mu uaication 10 me with the request
that he be allowed to send it to The
Register, of which paper he has been
2 correspondent. Mindful OF art. 2lO
Of the regulations, Submitted the com.
municatlon to Col. Gadsden and Gen.
Anderson, srd they thought it bcs: to
let you decide the matter. II you ap-
prove, please forward in addressed en-
yeiope enclosed.
While writing this, the followiug
telegram has beeu rec sived from Mrs.
Wesifield. FLETCHER, N. O., Oct.
II, 1897. Col. Coward, Citadel. Am
most anxious that you receive my son
back. Please telegraph if you will do
so. State if you can send some one to
accompany him atmy expense. / am
JANE WESTFIELD /"
= have replied by wire as follows:
Your telegram forwarded to Gen.
Hagood, chairman, who alone can an
swer. Cannot send any one."
In my judgement, the boy should
not be allowed to come back unless he
does so willingly, and conditioned for
some punishment.
I did not write to you on Saturday
about the Way case, because Thought
his father would coma down or write
to get his boy back. I have heard
nothing from him up to this hour,
4 so .. N.
Very respectfully,
AsBURY COWARD,
Superintendent.
At the Citadel, Charleston, S. c.,
Oct. II, 1897.
E1itor Register: In Saturdays is
sue of the Charleston Critic there was
an article given undue prominence in
which il was stated that Cadet Way
was run from this institution by
revival CT hazing. and that he was
cruelty treated. Know wing that the
Critic did not have any prominence
in the state, it was concluded not 10
make any reply, either in the Critic or
in any paper in the state; but when
your paper OF yesterday contained the
same article from your correspondent
at Charleston, the necessity OF re-
ply was obvious, 10 order to stamp as
false, the whole article. The CORES
pondent of the Critic was in posi
ton to have obtained true account
of the reason Recruit Way d. serted,
but instead Of his seeking to give
true and impartial account, he accept
ed garbled story told by Way, who
wisaed to justify his action in leaving.
The cores spondent Of the Critic could
have obtained true report Of the oc
currence by coming to the citadel and
asking either the superintendent, Col.
Coward, any member OF the faculty,
or anv cadet at the institution, but be-
ing apparently prej1diced against the
institution and wishing to lnjure 1t
and also to win notoriety for himself,
he accepted as true an incoherent
statement made by Way, who wished
to lstify his leaving TO his family
ana all who would likely be interest
lin him.
The writer OF that article says: AL
though the academy has only been
open a weak, two cadets have broken
garrison and gone home on account
Of the brutal treatment they received
at the hands of their fellow students.
Now, l wish to say-and in saying It
have the sanction OF the corps-that
the above statement is false. The room
mates Of the other cadet who left the
day before Way did, affirm that he
was not molested in any way by the
old boys" He is, besides, chronic
deSerter, having deserted from an
other school jlst a few days before
matriculating at this institution. We
do not feel it a loss because he left,
except financially, as he borrowed sew
eral sums of money and as yet has
failed to return the same p. \.
Way, bright and promising young
man from Holly Hill, Berkeley couo-
ty," is the latest victim. He cannot be
called young man unless meaning
long trousers makes boy man.
Way was very young to have entered
the institution at all, besides. having
been raised in the country" he should
have had more grit than to have been
frightened into leaving BY the sight OF
city life and ways. He is said to be
very smart boy and came out first IN
his examination by dint of hard stu