The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-09
HAZING AT "THE POINT. y
4 CHAPTER OF INTER ESIING RE-
 CENT HISTORY.
Hazing, Physical and Morni-No Two Boys AllkG-,,"Tho Hod Carriors"-Tho Spread Eagle Test of Endurance.

Boys Alntc-,"Tho Hod Carriors"--Thc
 Spread Eagle Test of Endurance.
 There are two kinds of hazing, physi-
 cal and moral if I may use those terms
 The latter is known here as "devlling,' v
 and although it is not forbidden by the
 regulations it generally tries the soul
 of cadet more than the physical eX~
 ercses ordered by his tormentors'
 When boy comes here fresh from the
 farm, with hayseed in his hair, limld
 and trembling, or from some famous
 preparatory school, conceited and con-
 fident his comrades of the upper classes
 take his measure as accurately as the
 tailor who makes his first uniform or
 the director of the gymnasium, who
 after q physical examination tells him
 how he can expand his chest or broaden
 his shoulders or strengthen the muscles
 of his arms and there is always suhi-
 cient ingenuity in the "yearling' class
 60 suggest the proper corrective. This
 is the first test of cadets manhood,
 the first battle of the soldier.
 There is a great difference in boys,
 as we all know. both in mental and
 moral as well as in physical fiber Some
 can dodge raindrons and find f0Gr-leaf clovers on everybody's lawn, while others stumble over straws and cannot pick rosebud without being pierced by
 a thorn Thus some of the newcomers
 at the military academy sail smllin9ly through the ordeal while the souls of others are sorely wounded, but when a
 ''plebe" becomes a "yearling" and | passes into the upper classes and re- ceives his compisslon as a second lieu ! tenant in the army, and becomes useful | and sometimes famous, he always ad- mits that the "devilingo to which he was subjected did him good, and was as much a part of his training as the instruction he received from the facul- i ty Among the cadets. too, "devilng" 1 is defended as one of the oldest and one of the most necessary features, of the institution, and assert that it is con- ducted in a gentlemanly and humane manner. They condemn as severely as any one the cases of brutality that sometimes occur, and insist that they were accidental or unintentional.
 When Colonel Mills came here he found that a new form of hazing had | been introduced within a year or two. There is a coaching school for candi- dates for admission to the academy at the neighborins village of Highland Falls where an association was formed for physical as well as mental prepara- tion, and the young men practiced cer- tain gymnastic exercises and military drills in order that they might be in ,,tt- training This association was known as The Hod- Carriers" and stxty-four members of the present class of { "plebes'' belonged to 1t. When this fact became known to the ''yearlings" dur ing the camping season last summer the exercises of the "Hod- Carriers as s1ciation" were adopted as forms of discipline to develop or to punish the "plebes," One of these exercises. known as the spread eagle" is q very severe test of endurance and was gen erally introduced into the camp In one case a cadet is said to have tainted from exhaustion, and in several others it is laimed that much suffering was endured.
 Colonel Mills sent for a represen- tativc man of the frs. class and asked him to exercise his influence so that tie new cadets would not be subjected to any treatment that would insult them, injure their self respect or endanger their physical well fare. He said the regulations of the academy forbade such things, bat they did not accomplish what the authorities desired. Colonel Mills sought tho cr- operation pl tbe first class and the cndets generally to stop physlcll haz ing, and particularly the exercises that had been introduced from Highland Falls He also sent for influential mem bers of the other classes, to whom he made the same appeal and from them all he received assurances that the codets would sustain and assist him in ' sappresslng these objectionable forms of hazing,
 The utmost vigilance was exercised by the commandant of cadets and the other officers in charge, and severe punishments were inflicted upon those who were detected, but the hazng kept getting worse and worse. There were five cases in which cadets were charged with subjecting plebes'' to physical exercises so severe as to endanger their health but it was impossible to con- vict those who were guilty, because. in obedience to their code of honor, both the hazers and the hazed refused to testify. Colonel Mills then issued an order that any cadet caught hazing would be sunmarily dismissed
 Cadet Smith of Nebraska was the first offender. He returned one afternoon from his home, where he had been under suspension for two months for awakening members of the fourth class in the middle of the night and com polling them to dress and stand at at- tention, and with his traveling bag in | his hand was walking down one of the company streets in the camp when he ] caught sight of Ulysses $. Grant 3d. | He stopped and said:
 MT Grant, attention!'
 Young Grant sprang to his feet and | stood at attention"
 What is your teck?" the term used | to describe a sentence or few lines | of poetry or other texts which the | 'plebes" are often required to commit i to memory and recite when called upon | by an upper classman. Young Sheri- 1 1p,, I1,l I..0 I