Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-04

Crs. to show their disapproval of their
treatment. went to unprecedented lengths.
Marching in body out of the academy q
am speaking of the Wooiwich cadets to
Blackheath, where a fair was being held.
three miles away, they utterly ignored the
orders Of Their officers, and or being threat
ened with police interference, declared that
they would Immediately set free an entire
menagerie of wild animals, which was one
of the features of the fair, if Il policeman
dared to show his helmet near them. Need
less to say. these young daredev!s effec-
tually cowed the local Dogberrys. When
the fair was over the cadets returned, and
were all placed in arrest on bread and wa
ter. of which ordinance the emily notice they
took was TO seize all the bread they could
lay hands OH. load the old Waterloo" can
mons with the loaveS and deliberately turn
them on the governors house. the windows
of which suffered considerable damage.
THUS was the backbone of a most per-
Eicious system OF persecution broken, and
now all is quiet in the shop" save for
the occasional ''tosching' or Tagging of
ar ObjeC tiCnaD!e man by his fellow termers.
'TC sching' is u form of amusement which
consists of forCibly immers:ng the victim
in a cold water bath. and IS generally con-
fined to winter. while 'ragging man
Is 10 continually irritate, annoy and in
convenience him by petty insults. such as
making hay of his room or cCnccalns
his aCcoutcrmCnts.
Distinctive Features.
The distinctive feature Of both Wool
wich and Sandhurst is the great atten-
ton devoted to sports and athletics. In
tercollegiate contests occur annually ut
foot ball, cricket and athletics, and in the
respective seasons Of the two great IA
tional games matches are made with Il
large number of other clubs and the teams
always get leave from studies and drills
for the day of the match if necessary
II they play away from home the insttu-
tion pays their travelling expenses, and If
they play at home a good luncheon is al
Ways forthcoming for the occasion. In
fact. a cadet who is never seen joining
in the games is always in disfavor with
the authorities. while an athlete is pro-
portionately liked
Liberty of action off parade and the
amount of leave" given is another point
wherein the military schools of the two
countries differ greatly. In England the
cadet off parade is free to dress himself
in cricket fannels and amuse himself as
he sees fit, being in no way bound by any
strict rules OF decorum such as prevail
at West Point The young Englishman is
supposed land with good cause) to have
had all the nonsense" knocked out of him
at his public school. and to be therefore
fit to associate with his fellow cadets ac-
cCIding to the "schoolboy's code of honor"
Leave of absence is given to all whose
parents consent to the arrangement every
Saturday from II noon till Sunday night
at IL o'clock. Most of the young fellows
having friends or relatives in London it
Is nice relaxation after the weeks work
TO assume plain clothes again and forget
that there are such things as parade or
punishment drills. Three months yaca-
ton is given in TIE year one at Christ
mas and two in midsummer, so that con-
Sidering everything the cadets life Is n
fairly happy one. as he is willing to ac-
knowledge when he has left the "shou"
stme years behind him.
IN conclusion it may be safely said tina.
American oh
equally good in their way, but neither is
suited to the other country. The ancient
piCVerb of one mans meat being another
iran poison explains the situation fully
Tor While Woolwich and Sandhurst are
essentially aristocratic institutions. West
Point is truly democratic