Evening star., 1900-12-11
WEST POINT HAZING
Investigating Board Of Army Officers
Appointed.
FHE Case OF FORMER CADET BOOB
Action of House Military Affairs
Committee.
REPORT OF COLONEL MILLS

REPORT OF COLONEL MILLS
The Secretary of War has appointed a
board of officers. composed of Maj. Gen.
Lieut.. Col. John w. Clous, to meet at West
Point on the 18th instant, soon there
after as practicable, ''to inquire into and
report upon the alleged treatment of form
er Cadet Oscar L. Booz at the Military
Academy. and upon the measures taken to
prevent such treatment of new cadets at
the academy. and the extent to which the
cadets are now subject to such treatment.
The board will have authority to visit such
places as may be necessary for complete
ascertainment of the facts, including the
home of the late Oscar l.. BooZ.'
General Brooke is in command of the De-
partment of the East, with headquarters at
New York; Colonel Gillespie is member
of the corps of engineers, and is now on
special duty in the West Indis; Lieut.. Col.
Clous is member of the judge advocate
generals department Colonel Gillespie and
Lieut.. Col. Clous are attached to the De-
partment of the East.
The Secretary of War announced his ac-
tion in this ma tier in communication TO
Representative Hull. chairman of the House
a communication from that committee re-
lating to the Booz case. The committee
forwarded to him a copy or House reSolu-
ton No. 3u7, relating to that case for re-
mark
1.-The newspaper articles" says Secretary
Root in his letter, which, l suppose, are
referred to in the resolution, were i'm
media tely, upon coming to the notice or the
department, referred to the superintendent
of the Military Academy. who has aldeady
made and competed a searching investl-
CATION. and has reported the results to
the department..
\ copy of the superintendent report
was transmitted to the committee. Ine
Secretary said that in pursuance of the
request with which that report closes he
has appointed a military board to lnVestl-
gate the case of ex-Cadet Booz Inc re-
port of the superintendent of the Military
Academy is dated at West Point, n. Y, and
is as follows:
Report of Col. Mills.
Il have no personal knowledge of Cadet
Booz. he having left the Military Academy
October 4. 1898. shortly after | assumed the
duties of superintendent, September 70,
1898 Any ill-treatment he may have re-
ceived at the hands of elder cadets must
have occurred after his admission and our
ing the summer encampment, which ended
August %, 1898.
.The following is Cadet Booz's official
record: Admitted to the Military Academy
from the seventh congressional dlstrlct Oh
Pennsylvania. June 20, 1898; submitted ms
resignation as a cacet, Septehinei -|, go,
left the academy October 4, 1S9S. having
been granted leave of absence pending &C
ceptance of resignation by the war De
cause of resignation recorded as
weak eyes; resignation accepteu oS "".
Department to date October 81, lSlS. Caoet
Booz was on sick report July 10. lS9o' anu
was excused by surgeon from orlll l0r .ilat M
day on account of acute diarrhoea. He was
1,.f
at no other time on SICK report. MS
corded demerit from July 10 (When de-
merits of enw cadets commence to count)
ia october s. 1898, is SO. In his studies ms
total mark in English is proficient, In
mathematics it is deficient.
Inquiry Among Officers and Cadets.
"From the nature of the assertions IN thls
case I have been obliged to seek informa-
ton by institutng a general inquiry ana
have accordingly made careful and thor
o,rh inquiry among officers and cadets to
ascertain all possible facts concerning "a
det ROOFS career at the academy. Ofncers
VI, no were on duty here at the time have, with
h,,t ono exceptiOn no distinct recollection
Of him and there appears TO be nothlns,
beyond what his record shows, to nave spe-
clallv impressed his individuality upon any
of them. Cadets have freely come forward
To give all the information in their possess
son. Among them Cadet Rooz was known
by the members OF the present nrst anu
second classes, the latter being his own
class | have carefully questioned the ca
diets of both classes who have been able In
anv way to give light on the matter. me
answers of all have been free, frank, 1uil
and free from the slightest apparent desire
to hold in reserve anything pertaining 10
he INQUIRY AS the result of this inquiry l
am convinced that until Saturday, august
&. 1898. there occurred nothing TO draw tne
special attention of older cadets TO Cadet
Booz and l can find nothing to snow that
he was in any way treated differently from
his classmates cruelty or violently hazed
Engaged in Fight.
.On the day mentioned he engaged in
fst-fght with a cadet of the then third
class. now present here in the first class
This fight appears to have had it's origin as
follows: On August . Cadet Booz was a
me mber of the cadet guard, and about lo
pm was on post as a sentinel on post NO
) about the cadet encampment. Several
other cadets in the vicinity noticed that
he was not walking his post, as his orders
required. They claim they cautioned MIN
about the matter and advised him what he
should do. Cadet Booz, however, they say
did not act on the advice they gave him.
but replied in a way to incense them, and
the fight followed at the first opportunity
thereafter, the next Saturday. The fight
was witnessed by six cadets, all of whom
are at the academy now, four being in the
first class and two, classmates OF Cadet
Booz, in the second class. These latter
state that Cadet Booz invited them TO at
tend the fight, and that he went to it and
engaged in it willingly, and in the begin
ming was the aggressor. All these witnesses
unite in stating the encounter was OF short
duration, of little severity, and that Cadet
Booz was in no way injured in it, and bore
away no perceptible marks of having been
in a fight. The cadet with whom he fought
was not an adept in fighting and had not
before engaged in a fight. Another cadet.
who had occasion to speak to Cadet Booz
immediately
the affair has stated to me that beyond
red mark below one eye Cadet Booz show
ed no appearance Of having been engaged
in fight. and that he laughed when the
matter was referred to. The words Of these
cadets, which l believe are worthy Of full
credence, regarding the injury done Cadet
Booz in the fight are corroborated by the
absence of his name from the sick report
that day any subsequent day, where it
surely would have appeared had he suf-
fered injury or been disfgured to any ex-
tent to be noticed by the officer under
whose almost constant observation new ca
diets are held. In view of the above l be-