Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-19
| HE DEATH OF CADET BO0Z
Examination of Classmates is
 Now Going On.
They Deny That Any Brutality Ex- isted at the Academy-They Also Testified That Booz Was Unpopular, Untruthful and Coward


 Cntruthful and q Coward West Point, N. Y., Dec 10.-1he eX- animation of cadets wno were in the same class with the late oscar l.. Booz. at the military academy here two years ago, was continued this morning by 1h;. court of inquiry appointed by the war department 10 probe the charges of the brutal haZing of the cadet Buo2. who resigned two years ago anu oieu 1 two weeks since at Bristol, Penn. Fourteen of BooE'S classmates, who nu.nber sixty-Cight. testified at yes l ter,lay's proceedings. and each one of them denied that any brutality existed at the academy. The only ha2ing whic., was in vogue consisted. they | said Cf "correctiunal measures such ! as Dlucing and exercising, which were l in uo WAY injurious or huiniliatin@ l The use of tobusro sauce came up very l frequently.
 I;orvrt R. Ralston. young Penn Gy!vanian. who looked the picture of l lealtll told of his being requested 10 stand on his head in bath tub con- 1 taininE about ten inches of water. l 1'lle court asked him how long did he remain in that position and Ralston re | rlied Oh just only while l said '@NN'NN l long t took him tu dc 1t in his inTert- 1 e.l position was not made clear | This was the only case other than l tA0sr of bracing, exercising and stt- i tin:H or standing in strained positions | which came to the knowledge ot 'hC | court. and the Pennsylvania cadet Was 1er,. emphatic in denying that any haA- i,lr which le or others has undergone 1 was i'll any way injurious.
 | The cadets Were all of the same 1 olyiniun when asked as to the churitr- 1 ter and standing of BooZ while he Was 1 here in ':,S They said that he Was very unpopular. bccausp he mad shown ccwnrdice. and was nntEuthful.
 They denied that lle was despised i'll l any Way for his religious actions o" 1 tnrdcncies The story of the fight be- 1 tween Bocz and Frank kellar. oI Mis- souri now of the first class. Weo played right end of last years foot | ball team Was told hy Orville \. IN- i ley. oI Maryland. Tyler was BooZ's secono and Il" said BoCZ did not act likc q man. He quit hC sAid, before
 Ie was licked. BO0Z got q blew oVrH the stouiach and rolled over the ground ] saying the wind Was knocked out of i hiIn Tyler S:iii BooZ was q cOWar<t, and that although he got T black cN@.
 
 1 sluil, on lis face.
 When the word coward is applie'i
 to d man ill academic ethics he is ''rn-
 bcoeu'' or ':cut." and his resignation
 iS generally the result.
 rEn court convened at 9:30 o'clock.
 and after fifteen minutes devoted tC
 executive business the doors wero
 opened to the public. Among the spe'
 tators who entered were several w0Hl-
 en who were accommodated with seats
 in inc gallery.
 Cadet Raymond l.. Linton. of Alicn
 ican was the first witness. He knew
 former Cadet BoOz Tn 'jiS -At thai
 time Rooz seemed to be i'll good health
 lie said that BooZ was not hazed ol
 treated b1utully so far as he knew
 The witness described ''Dracin%. as
 an exa@geratcd form of the position of a soldier. Il w2s q drawing ill ot the chin and the throwing back of tht
 shoulders at the same time.
 If fcurth class man is unpopular
 he is generally let alone Dy tue upper
 class men and members of his oWf
 class.
 Cadet stephen Abbott. of Illinois
 tLc next witness was not quite clea
 OH the rules prohibiting the haZih3
 practices. He had been requested a:
 a fourth class man to take some lev
 drops of tObasco sauce off q spoon. Du was not forced 10 do it. He took !; . himself at the order of two upper cla- ; men. It was hot. hut did him II
 harm. He saw BooZ after the figh with Keller.
 The formers left eve was blackened He had never hncWn BooZ to De abused , CT ill treated and he also denied Ina Booz was interfered with on accoun of his religious actions In reply t.
 Commandant I{ein. tEe witness SAi,
 that he had known cu(ieiS. as well a.
 the commandants of the mess table f to be severely punished for Dermittin' , CT practicin@ ''restraiut, "bracing c | other ''exerciscS" on lower class men Pefcre the next witness was calle' | in General Clous asked permission l. : make a statement. He complained o
 heing misnuoted yesterday coDcefnin :. his request to have the commander n 7, of cndets and tho superintendent of tn | academy present st the hearing. an | he asked thc stanO"raphpr to read tn - words which he had used
 This was done but no exDlanatio
 of the cause of the interruption wa
 made.