The times., 1900-12-26


| and hot macintosh. Then another plebe is
| told to pin about linn comfortable, then an
| other, and on till all the bedding of the
! tent is uSrd There are rule four heavy
! comfortfble> aud four army blankets in Il tent.
| Sometimes there Is more and never less.
Wrapped in bedding till his identity is lost,
| with tent walls baitencd down that no air may
| reach him. under that dead weight OF clothing
! ever growinE greater. the plcbe stands and
sweats In streams the water pours down his
| face. osrr his whole body he perspires as
! freely. Rapidly. lmderclothing, uniform, rain
coat, first layer OF bedding are wet through. Tho
| discomfort OF the awful heat is forgotten
| new asonies present themselves. The weight OF
clothing on the shoulders makes breathing diff
I, cult. Painting cnsues. The circulation almost
| ceases in the upper part of the body. Numhness
| follows. and soon the plebe reels He is checked
from falling by threats from his future brother
| army Officers. So he holds on.
| I'm such circumstances time passes slowly.
| and twenty. twenty-ii and thirty minutes tor
| ture thus thrust on him seem ages. At last
| he i released. In any case the loss OF weight
| is from fiye to eight pounds. Freed at last
| from the weight of clothing, the plebe stands
! half dazcd and semi-conscious for while At
last life returns his body and with it control
results varies of course with the length OF time
| the bath is prolonged. ANYTHING over twenty
minutes will bring on all the symptoms of pam
mentioned. When 'soirce has sweat bath on
| its programme the bath usually comes first. and
| but little exercise is given when it is over
| Sometimes. however, even this mark OF hu-
|
| 'stretcher' and eagle are ordered the
| plebe again gets control of himself
| Even this is not the last on the list of
the newcomers tribulations. There is
a form of hazing eninently calculated to
injure digestion. 1t is qualifying and
| is thus described:
AT each table are seated men from all ela-ses,
| and here the yearlng carries his amusement at
/ Inc of he of he N
| In feeding many. there must be of course
a ssmencss in the food served. and there are
nuaher OF dishes which plebe must qualify
on before he Is permitted to enjoy them IN
/ peace. lie is required to qualify on oatmeal.
, sponge cake. prunes. pie. and, most disagreeabe
| OF all. dish styled sammy This is bread
soaked in moasses After mornings hard drill
| the plebe. hungry. and tired, sits down at table
and is ordered to qualify on sammy. II means
that he is TO make his meal on bread and mo-
lassrs alone. and must eight huge slices
| of bread soaked thoroughly in the sweet liquid.
! Ii he is unable to do it the first time ,e has
! to try agsin until success attends. Us
| u9lly il is two or three days before tile piebe
gets over the effects Of such an unnatural diet.
When as Is often the case 'soiree follows on
| top of such meal. the result is almost IL.
Nariably the retiring Of the pebe TO the hospital
| for extended period OF time.
If the budding soldiers were taken to
some tropical climate in which all these
things must be endured in the course of
! business-where the food, climate, and
accommodations were uncomfortable and
even unhealthy-they might be defended
on the ground that they were being
prepared for future hardships. Even
so, there is some reason to doubt whether
growing and immature youth should he
exposed to evils which he may endure
safely as a grown man. But none OF
these unpleasant experiences resembles the
trials which the young men may have 10
go through in the service. 1t is possible
that the health of Napoleon might have
given out If, as boy. he had been put
through a course of this kind of training.
There is one more paragraph of par
ticular interest, and it has TO do with
the Wes, Point fight. A boy is, by the
testimony of several cadets in the Booz
case. considered coward If he refuses to
fight when challenged. 1t is claimed that
the fight is fair, both parties being OF
the same weight. But here is the state
ment of the writer above quoted:
despite all ever said TO the contrary there
* no fairness in a West Point fight, when it has
for participants a called out plcbe on tile
one side and upper classman on the other
Any plebe is liable to calling out II matters
not whether he be the strongest or the weakest
in the class Offences Can be trunped up by
some one who las taken dislike TO him. ard
| pull easily docs the rest.
Against him. the yeariing class puts cut a
man whose weight Is the same. Here the equality
ends The yearling sent out is the best fighter
in the whole class of that weight. Besides hav-
ing had the benefit OF a year OF hard training
in the West Point gymnasium uadef a most
efficient instructor. he is man who has proved
himself a finished boxer. hard hitter and man
capable OF taking severe punishment Coupled
xith this he Is usually one who has been tram
ing for such emergency, has been 'boning
scrap as it Is called. Against such a man
the pebe stands no chance. He knows 1t 5eiore
going out.
or less serious Sometimes broken jawbones are
the result and frequently the bones of the hanGs
are fractured. The fights, be il remembered, are
without gloves. The unprotected itarid Is nsed IN
match governed by Marquis OF o1IeensbefTy
rules. The whipped party almost always reports
at the hospital"
1t may be that the average West Point
youth would consider Grant a, coward il
he refused to stand up and allow Fitz-
simmons to pummel him. but the world
in general would hardly be of that orin-
ion. Incidents recorded in ''Stalky e. Co"
have been criticised sharply as brutal
and blackguardiy, and 1t is asserted tEat
English public schools are uncivilized TO
permit such things; yet it may be Eoted
that things such as young Stalky and his
| friends condemned as bullying are. ac-
cording to this account of West Point
| life practieed in that institution.
The ''knuckling'' rocking to sleep"
and cock fighting" described by the Stalky
| crew as the invention OF brutal bullies OF
| a bygone generation, are not bit worse
| than "eagling" or the sweat bath.