The times., 1900-12-23
Hazing at West Point.

The Times is in receipt of the subjoined
letter from the Superintendent of the
Military Academy at West Point:
TO the Editor of The Times
II have read clipping from your Issue Of the
18th instant entitled Mills May Have to Co.
] ask your attention to the following quotation
from it:
az He has on several occasions. and especially
within the last month, issued several orders 10
the cadet corps, which. it is alleged have almost
caused mutiny. II is reported 10 the War De-
partment unoifcislly that recently he issued
order forbidding cadets OF the first senior
class from speaking to 'iplebs-" members of
the fourth class, and that so ineensed was the
corps so it Is alleged that the officers of the
battalion sent in their designations. winch the
superintendent declined TO accept, and compro-
missed by modifying the terms Of the order
% The foregoing statements. In 50 far as they
concern my actions are untrue, and without
foundation in fact. As they are injurious and
harmful to me- and ] have no reason to be-
lieve you wish to do me injustice, ask that
they be corrected.
Respectfully. yours,
"A I. MILLS,
Colonel. L. S. Army. Superintendent.
'Hdqrs. Z. s. Military Academy.
West Point, " Y, Dec. q, 1909"
The article of which Colonel Mills com
plains agreed with press reports sent
out from West Point I'd printed in every
newspaper of co"sss.ence in the country.
That he could -isrepresented by all the
newspaper correspondents stationed at
the Military Academy did not occur to US
at the time, and We are sincerely CORY
il we have done him any injustice.
But there is a much more important
point to consider, and it is one with
which Colonel Mills, in his official capac-
ity, is very much concerned. 1t is not
r.. a.
to hear. on the testimony of the parents
OF two hearty boys, that they were so
maltreated at West Point that they died
in consequence. One of them very likely
may have earned the contempt of his
schoolpates by reading his Bible, and the
other possibly may have incurred enmity
by parting his hair on the wrong side.
There is an evident and concerted attempt
on the part of our military students TO
cover up and lie out of what really hap
pened. Perhaps we should not blame the
young men too severely. They are in the
piliory of public opinion and probably
feel that their careers are in danger
They also convey the impression that the
standard Of honor at West Point is
false one, and that, in maintaining II, the
cadets show that they are actuated by
conceptions of moral responsibility which
may account for the failure OF court
martial at San Antonio TO consider
crime with which a high officer was
charged, because the facts in the case
would bring disgrace upon the service.
All the sane, Congress and the think
ing people OF the country are very much
in earnest about eradicating this hazing
evil from our national schools. That
there Is grave reason for action in the
premises is demonstrated by the testi-
mony adduced before the court at West
Point. Now, we do not wish to assume
the position that American boys ought
not to fight. Under proper provocation
they ought to, and always. But that does
not involve the corollary that they
should be bullIed and forced TO fight un-
necessarily. 1t may be true that Cadet
Booz showed the white feather in the
fight into which he was dragooned with
Cadet Keller. That has nothing to do
with the case. He should have had his
chance not under duress, and the evil
dence goes to show that his punishment
in that episode was the elimination OF
contemplate persecution which should
consign its perpetrators TO the whipping
post. AS stated by his fellow students,
Booz got into trouble in the following
way tive quote from the evidence ad-
duced on Friday:
Cadet William II. Bettlson, Of Kentucky. si,e
centre rush Of the cadet football team Was the
upper class man who hsd the Original trouble with
Booz out Of which grew the fight. lie testified: