The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-20

FORMS OF HAZING
AT WEST POINT

= AT WEST POINT :
''Bracing.-An exaggerated form =
= of soldierly position.
: Wooden Willie. - Continuous =
= gun drill.
= Foot BaIl.-Lying on back and
= raising the legs to q perpendicular
= position and back again several ?
= times, probably for six or seven
MISUNDERSTANDING on toes. =
= Managing on Stretcher.-Sus-
= pended on hands from bar with
= feet not on floor" From cadets
y dictionary Of haZinS, as brought
= out in the Booz inquiry
= ! = = = = = = = = = = ? ,
West Point, y. Y, Dec. 19.-Some in
teresting testimony was brought out
today by the court of inquiry which IS
investigating the alleged hazing OF
cadets al the military academy here, IN
connection with the recent death Oh
former Cadet BOoz.
Thirty-five cadets were examined
during the morning and afternoon ses-
sions and of these, one was the brother
of Lieutenant HobsOn, of Merrlmac
fame; another was the son OF GeneraI
Phil Sheridan, and d third, Marx
Brooke, of Pennsylvania, a nephew of
General Brooke, who is the presiding
officer of the court All three told OF
the hazing they. got during the en-
campment Of 1896 at the time Booz was
their classmate, and not one OF them
said that the treatment received or
things they had to do were either
brutal or degrading.
Hobson's worst ordeal was when he
had to stand on his head in bath
tub in which there was about ten
inches of water. He said he was par
TALLY strangled but was all rlght IN
few minutes. Young Phil Sheridan
was made to ride a broOmstick along
the street in cOmmemOration of MS Ii
lustrious fathers ride, and he had 10
keen shouting. Turn, boys, turn, all
the time. He did not think this was
humiliating, ne said, although he did
not relish the task
In nearly every instance the wit
nesses said that all the more brutal
forms Of hazing were obsolete ana
while ''bracing' was still practiced Sc
cretly. il was against the regulations
and if anyone were detected violating
these regulations he would be sum-
marily dealt with and severely pun
ished.
A rat funeral and other rites of the
academy were described.
There are about a, score Or more OF
Booz's classmates to be examined and
there are several of the first class men
to be heard from as well as some of
the officers, the court may not get
through with the taking of testimony
until Saturday.
Tells What 'Bracing" Is.
The first fifteen minutes of today's
session was behind closed doors. When
the open sitting was begun. Cadet Ray
mOnd L. Linton was examined He said
BOoz was not hazed or treated bTutaily
so far as he knew. The witness de-
scribed "bracing" as an exaggerated
position of the sOldier-the drawing
in of the chin and the throwing back
of the shoulders at the same time,
Captain Dean, the recorder OF the
court, asked:
IF a fourth-classman is unpopular, is
he subjected to more 'Dracing and 'eE-
ercising' than Other5?'
on the contrary, sir, a great deal
less" replied the witness. He is let
alone by the upper classmen and mem
berS of his own class"
In reply TO questions by Colonel Hem,
cOmmandant of the cadets, the witness
said:
There are orders against 'bracins'
and exercising and cadets have been
previously punished for violating these
orders"
Hazing Defined on Blackboard
On a blackboard in the rear Of the
hall the following was written:
ITO haze--To play mischIevous or
abusive tricks on, try the pluck, or tenn
per of, especially by physical persecu-
ton. lower class students in a college
or new conner in an establishment OF
any kind.-Century Dictionary"
Cadet Stephen Abbott, Of Illinois, the
next witness, when sworn, was asked
to read this definition ofathe words TO
II l. hot M -
construction of the words as applied
to the hazing by 'bracing,' etc, which
took place in the academy. he was not
quite clear on the rules prohibiting this
practice. He had been required as a
fOurth-classman to take some few
drops of tobasco sauce on a spoon, but
was not forced TO do it. He took it him
self at the order Of two upper class
men. 1t was hot, but did him no
harm.
'1Did you see Cadet Booz after the
fight with Keller?" asked the recorder.
Yes. sir; his left eye was blacken-
e."
The witness went on to say that y
had never known BOOz to be abused or
il-treated, and denied that BoOz was
interfered with on account of his re-
ligious practices. In reply to the COM
mandant the witness said he had known
cadets. as well as the commandments OF
the mess table, to be severely punish
ed, for permitting or practicng re
straint." "bracing." or other exercises
on lower classmen-
Cadet Albert DOckery of Mississippi
was questioned at length on military
regulations prohibiting hazing. General
Brooke read an extract from the Unit
ed States military regulations prohibit
ing nearly everything which could be
construed as hazing. Then the general
asked: Are those regulations violat-
ed ?"
yes, sir" replied the witness.
On being questioned by Colonel Mills,
SUPERINTENDENT of the academy, Cadet
Dockery said that tobascO sauce, If not
on the table, can be had by asking for
it.
do you know any other name for
it?'' asked the superintendent.
After some hesitation witness said:
Yes, sir The cadets sometimes call
it hell sauce
Cadets Dictionary of Hazing.
Charles McH. Eby of Pennsylvania
was asked about the hazing which used
to be prevalent, but which he said was
discontinued about two years ago. de
described it as follows: 'Bracing' -an