The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-05
THE PARENTS ARE ANGRY
DISMISSAL OF CULVER STUDENTS
CAUSES INDIGNATION.
VIII Return to the School
One Cause of Trouble.

Indignation over the action of the au-
thorities of the Culver Military Academy
in dismissing 1O5 students recently is run
ming high in this city, in which reside the
parents of ten of the young meE. A num-
Der of meetings have been held and plans
OF action discussed in an informal way. 1t
is understood that formal meeting of
parents and friends of the boys will be
he'd Thursday night of the present week,
at which the affair will be thoroughly can
vassed in all of its phases. and plan of
procedure definitely decided upon. Prom
inent in one of the gatherings yesterday
to discuss the matter We're DR.. ]. A.
Houser and John B. Cockrum, general
counsel for the Lake Erie G. Western Rail-
road Company. The gentlemen present
agreed upon formal statement of the
case in its various bearings. which they
gave out for publication, follows
1.-The action of the Culver Military
Academy in dismissing los boys from that
institution recently has been the subject
of great deal Of discussion among citizens
of this city who are friends of and inter-
ested in the young men belonging here,
and who were summarily sent home. The
consensus of opinion among all the people
is that the action of the Culver authorities
considered: that, while technically the
rules of the academy had been violated,
yet all of the circumstances surrounding
the affair did not justify the harsh means
the action they did. Ten boys from In
dianapolis were sent home. These boys
are worthy. honest fellows, who are rep
resentatives of some OF the best families
of the city, and they were sent TO the
school to prepare themselves for college
and TO get the benefit OF the discipline and
physical culture that the school affords.
THE people of this city are generally
of opinion that the action of Maj. Leigh X.
Gignilliat towards the boys in abusing
them when he found them out of bounds
was in all respects unfair and unjust The
action of Col. A. +. Fleet in clsmissing
the young men as he did is believed to be
the result of a desire to stand by the
major.
AN INDIGNATION MEETING.
IAN indignation meeting was held at
the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago Satur-
day night, which was attended by the
parents of sixty of the dismissed boys liv-
ing in Chicago and vicinity. This meeting
was also attended by the parents OF boys
from out of town. among these being Gov
ernor Leslie NJ. Shaw, OF iowa.
1T is not considered by the citizens of
indianapolis that any disgrace attaches to
but rather the dismissal is looked upon
as failure of executive ability on the
part of the officers of the school to control
the boys by other measures than the harsh
ones resortea TO, and these harsh means
are believed TO have been INDUCED because
of the i'll temper and unfriendly feeling of
Major Gignillat towards certain of the
boys on account of their desire 10 sympa-
thize with two of their fellow-students.
The facts in the latter case are that two
young men named Beck and Harrington
had been dismissed for going outside the
school grounds. and los of their fellows
went to the railroad station 10 bid them
goodbye These boys lined up and the
dismissed BOYS passed between the ranks,
shaking hands. all of them crying. The
entire squad was in tears when Major
Gignilliat rode up on his horse and ad-
with their fellows as 'brutes, ruf1ians and
a mob The indignation on the part of
parents of the boys I'm this city is beyond