New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-12-19
HAZING AT WEST POINT
CLASSMATES OF YOUNG BOOB TESTIFY
BEFORE THE COURT.
PRACTICES OF EXERCISING" AND "BRAC-
ING" DESCRIBED-THE TOBASCo
SAUCE TREATMENT.
icy TELEGRAPH TO THE TR1BUNE.I

subdue too frisky ''pebe' was the administer
| ing Of a dose OF tabasco sauce.
Oscar l. Booz was a student at the Academy
! two years ago. and his parents make the accusa-
ton that the hazing he received contributed
directly to his death. They charge that his
| throat was injured to such an extent by having
Tobasco sauce forced down it to bring the
! disease from which young Booz died.
Continuing their Investigations into the crcum
| stances of the cadets death, the Military Court
of Inquiry sat at West Point to-day. The Court
examined numerous students, all of whom stated
that as fourth classmen they had been hazed,
while several of them confessed that their col
leagues of the upper classes had occasionally
prescribed Tobasco sauce for them. From the
evidence given yesterday it would appear that
the hazing, as a general thing, confined to
exercising" and "bracing' In the first named
category was comprised many ingenious schemes
for testing the endurance of student. Among
the more less gentle tasks set the "plebes"
was the holding out at arms length heavy
rifle hanging by the hands from bar with the
feet drawn up from the ground; standing i'm
movable in the with the additional dis
comfort of wearing rain coat, and laying vic
tim on his back and compelling him to keep his
feet moving in the act to initiate running.
"Bracing,' which is still in vogue at the
Academy, is a species of casthenics devised to
knock the rough corners off the poor 'plebe.'
to give him military carriage" as one witness
described it yesterday. The cadet who is
''braced'' is compelled to assume constrained
position is ordered 20 lay his shoulders well
back compress his stomach ana draw in his
chin.
BY an agreement reached among the classes.
Exercising" was abolished last year, but it was
brought out in evidence that "bracing cor
tinues. One witness. after artessly admitting
that he had seen two cases OF "bracing" as re-
Gently as two days ago, was asked If he knew
the name of the upper class man who imposed
the correctional measure. He said he knew the
name, and when asked to divulge it, responded
without quibble TT was myself"
1t seems that the two "plebes' were 'braced"
because they had the temerity to help them
selves to dessert before the upper class men had
taken the first pickings.
The classmates of BooZ were a unit In declar-
ing that he had been subjected to TO worse
treatment than they. None of them had ever
seen tabasco sauce given TO him, and they as
serted positively that such a thing as forcing
sauce down a "plebe's' throat had never been
known TO occur Tradition and moral force were
the influences which induced the "plebe" to sub
nit to hazing Physical force, the cadets swore
was never resorted to. except in the case of
fair standup fight.
No attempt was made by the witnesses to hide
the facts relating to the fight which Booz was
drawn into. The name Of his opponent and
the names Of the two seconds were given to the
! court. More than one of the cadets, in describ-
| ing the fight bluntly charged Booz with exhibit
| ing coWardice. In consequence of the showing
| he made on that occasion, they stated, Booz
was afterward looked down upon and cut" by
| his comrades. One of the classmates of the dead
| cadet said that Booz left the academy because
he was low in mathematics and because his eye
| sight was falling him.
THE FIGHT BOOZ Fad.
Henry NJ Nelly swore that "bracing" was the
severest form of hazing that Booz underwent to
| his knowledge. Examined upon the incidents
| of the fight in which the dead cadet took part
Nelly, who present at the encounter. readily
| told all that he knew about it. Cadet Keller of
| the present first class, he said, was the opponent
| Of BooZ. Cadet Tyler Of the second class vas
second for Booz. while Cadet spalding of the
| first class, seconded Keller The witness went
! on TO say that after the fight he saw Booz In
the company's street. "Booz was smiling"
| Nelly said, "as though he did not care 1 did
not notice any visible injuries on his face"
orville n. Tyler. the who acted in the
! caracity of second for Booz. was next called.
He named several cadets whom he remembered
seeing at the fight. Many of those he named
| belong to the present first class, and they will
| be called upon to testify before the inquiry
| closes. Asked if a knockout blow had been
| given TO Booz the witness replied: The last
| time he was hit, he was hit in the stomach and
he claimed that it knocked the wind out of him."
Did you see the blow delivered?"
Il did, replied Tyler.
WAS il a blow that was likely to knock hin,
out?" '''-''
'Booz said the wind was knocked out OF him
DID his breathing seem to be difficult"
yes 10 some extent but It did not take hin,
long to recover. 1t was not very hard bIou,
TO begin with"
WAS he able to get up before he was Counted
out?" N'""'eu
Personally, think he was"
Iyler said Booz had one OF his ewes Hal,
eneo' put so far as he knew no blow was Iaraos
over the heart- There was little difference -
weight between the fighters Rooz. the v,,tress
SAID did not go to the hospital nor did he CO.,,
pam OF injuries after the fight. Booz also boa
slight cut under one Of his eyes ExnI.ini,,o
now ne came 10 be Booz's second TvIer .oid.
lie came TO me and asked me to be his saoo5
II rs custom when a man does that not 80
refuse him, When he went out he seemed 10 ho
very confident, and after it was over he cor,a
back all right. told him that / did NOT tbir,,
he had behaved very we'll in the fight" ryIer
said he had been hazed while in camp in 1Sos
ana he had also taken dose OF three or four
drops Of tabasco sauce. He had never beep
physically injured by the hazings He had DA,-a,
seen the sauce given TO Booz
Was life made burdensome for Booz7r the
witness was asked
NO. SIR he replied, except that after the
night he was left alone. he was cut"
describing the forms of hazing to which he
kn1