The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-29
MILLS AND HELM TESTIFY
West Point officers Before the
Board of Enquiry.
of the Military Acad-
eny and the Ceniuandant Of Ca
defs Tell of Their Efforts to AboI-
ish HazIng-Evidence Given by n
CIa~smate OF the Late Oscar Booz.


last day of taking testimony
Colonel Helm, the commandant of the
cadets, had TO finish soma testimony that
he vas giving last night when the court
adjourned.
Colonel Helm was called to the stand as
soon as the court met He produced the
sick reports covering Cadet Booz,5 term
here, which showed that Booz had been
on the report but once, when he had been
excused from drill because of illness 1t
was also shown from other reports that
Booz had been absent from no meal while
he was here. The delinquency book show
ed that he had missed supper formation,
although ne had been present at the meal
Booz, Colonel Helm said, had not missed
a practice march at any drill except the
formation mentioned It was on the rec
erGs that on the afternoon OF his fight
with Cadet Keller, Saturday. August 6,
Booz had taken advantage Of the privilege
accorded to Cadets on Saturday afternoon
to go anywhere on the reservation. Booz
reported for departure" as it is called,
at 1:5S and reported his return at ais
O'Clock.
LOl0IEi HEN SalQ t1dl IL ,eLIS 10 tHS
knowledge CT the faculty in the summer CT
1889 that there was brutal hazing in the
camp, that an investigation was made. but
that il was bafied by the refusal OF cadets
TO testify. Cadets Macarthur and Haskell,
for example, who had been reported as Sc
vereiy hazed. would not make any accusa-
tions. Submission TO hazfng Is forbidden
by the regulations and the cadets took ad-
vantage OF the privilege given 10 them Of
.qrss Tt7ur1
Il called the fourth class together said
Colonel Helm. "and told the members that
they could rid the Academy Of foul blot
on its reputation If they agreed and prom
iscd me not 10 submit 10 haZilg. They so
agreed. Shortly afterwaTd they asked TO
be released from the promise I refused"
Previous testimony has shown that the
cadets OF that class considered themselves
absolved from the agreement 5y the mere
fact Of their request for absolutioa-
y heard also" continued Colonel Helm.
that candidates preparing al Highland
Falls were being bazed. made an IN
vestigation and several cadets were Sc
yeTely punished
Further testimony by Colonel Helm de-
veloped the facts that beginning with
the summer of 1895 when the penalties
for hazing or interfering with new "a
dets" we're increased as being Inadequate
and non-datelrent, the authorities had
been vigilaBt and energetic IN their ef-
forts 10 stop the obnoxious practices, ttat
detection OF offenders became more fIe-
quent and that punishment was swift and
severe IN the summer OF 1S6c. said Colo
mel Helm, interference with new cadets,
so far as the authorities knew, had teen
reduced TO little besides bra2ing.
Colonel Heir suggested that there
should be added to the oath which tie
cadets are required 70 take en- entering
the Academy a clause by which they
bound themselves net to haze and 10 re-
port any cases which came under their
notice.
the colonel also declared that he did
nos believe that the authorities could
suppress fazing altogether so long as
there were many persons in civil life and
in the service who thought the custom
commendable.
zrCadet T B. h Smith. of Illinois,
was sworn He vas here from June. 1888
to January, 1888 zFnen he was discharged
for deficiency in studies He remembered
an occasion when ex-cadet Harlee had
exercised him. together sith Booz and FIVE
other cadets. in tent No one tainted
that he could recall.
81 was never exhausted" F." said Smith,
from any exercise 1 was very tired
several times. 1 was exercised more Sc
vereIy than many men in my class.
hausted on the evening of which ] speak.
I recall another occasion when Mr.. Booz
was hazed. he was required TO hold out
dumbbells, do wooden willies, do dips
and the like No one was exhausted
there that know of. Some were SO tired
that they had to rest We were exer-
eised almost daily Mr. Meyer and Mr.
Nelly exercised me frequently. Mr.
Booz never complained tC me of being
badly treated I don't know that he was
ever required 10 take any table sauce
Mr. Caples required me to take several
drops He dropped the sauce on my
tongue. / did not swallow It never
experienced any ffI-effects from hazing
I thought that when 7 went away that
was in better health than when 1 came
here
Cadet T W. Carrithers, Of Illinois. a
third class man, told OF a fight he had
had with Cadet J. W Shannon of the
present second class IN the summer of
1889. in which he was knocked out his
jaw was broken. and as result of which
he spent two weeks in the hospital Why
were you called out7'' he was asked.
-For disregarding the corrections OF upper
class men and general freshness, replied
the witness.
First Lieut.. ". C. Revers. of the FIRST
Cavalry, adjutant Of the Academy and
CUSTODIAN OF the TGCOIaSs W6S SWOEu ne
offered a copy of BooZ's record here which
was attached to the evidence IN the case.
Col. A. l. Mills. the Superintendent OF
the Academy, was then sworn. It devei-
oDed IN the course Of Colonel Mills exami-
nation that Colonel Helm had fled many
reports and records that Colonel Mills had
prepared. Colonel Mills formally review
ed all that ne had done with view TO
ending hazing and called especial attention
tn The faet that he had increased .he re-
sponsibilities of the first class with regard
to the protection Of the fourth class and
had encouraged athletics, especially foot
ball '.in order 20 end TO some extent the
Isolation Of the Academy and the corps and
for the benefit that might accrue from the
association with students of other col
feges''
Colonel Mills made addition to The eYi-
denee bearing OF the summary punish
nient of cadets given by the eommandant
Of cadets and read many orders issued by
| him relating to penalties
IN investigating reports of hazing,', said
Colonel Mills. .'we found ourselves baffled
by a paragraph CT the regulations which
the cadets had been permitted to eenstrue
| in such way as TO allow them &c refuse
TO testify on the ground Of self-inerifnina-
ton. We found. by Gre Investigation. that
IN FIVE cases IN 1855 cadets had been ex-
| ercised to the point of endangering their
physical wen-being. Yet the cadets refus-
ed to mention names or circumstances
which would furnish a basis for inhieting
panishIuenfs. The War Department re-
fused to alter the paragraph on account of
the constitutional questions involved. while
: offering TO sustain the superintendent OF
the Academy IN his measures TO pzIt dcwn
haZing.
E1xuu.K eusfrxsu College. sth ana K.