The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-20
HAZINGS IN DAYS PAST
Experiences of Military Cadets
During the Civil War.
Gen. Charles King Relates His Ca
rcer as Yeariing at West Point.
Sons of the Most DISTINGUISHED Men
the Greatest Sufferers - Buiiies
Rarely Found mt the Academy.

Hazing at West Point Military Acad-
envy, at the Naval Academy at Annapolis,
and at colleges throughout the country is,
Of course, no new feature, though in all
probability in former days there was
more of what might be called devil
ment" in the process than brutality, and
it was by no means pleasant to those who
were the subjects of it. For that reason
it is perhaps that many of the older army
officers feel somewhat lenient toward the
the offenders in the BooZ case. They were
all to a more or less degree made to feel
that for the period of time they were
serfs, plebes, and lower class OF hu-
mainly generally, subject to the whims of
upper class men. 1t seems that military
officers as rule do not look upon such
an army millennium as the complete alb
sence of hazing whatever may be the out
come OF the present investigations into
the recent properly styled outrages. In
the Milwaukee Sentinel" there is story
OF the experiences of General Charles
! King, who, while he is not inclined to cor
daily approve the hazing system as it ex-
lists at present, does not look forward
/ with much confidence to a future when
hazing will be altogether obliterated.
Abiding 20 his own experiences. Gen
eral King says:
Il suppose that there never has been
such hazing at the Point as there was dur
ing the period Of the civil war" ne said.
| Graduates generally Acknowledged that,
| and as entered in 1862 l came in for my
| fun share. The plebes who correspond 10
~ L. -
were completely at the mercy OF the older
/ cadets, though most of the hazing Was
done by the third year boys-the year
/ lings.' as they were called. The plebes
( reached the Academy about the first Of
! June and the discipline they were imma-
/ diately subjected to was something to re-
member a lifetime. They were drilled
] tlnea times a day and 'devtled'-whieh is
I the expressive West Point term for ha2-
/ ing-about three times that number. Our
I class was about siXty-ilve strong, Wnen
/ we went into camp in the summer Of 81,
/ and among our number were some voIun-
teers from the ranks. l among them. Be-
cause OF the fact that We had seen some
actual service it was deemed essential
that our taking down process should be
a thorough one and we escaped none or
| the usual forms of 'deviling.
There's fundamental principle under
lying the whole hazing system he went
on THE general idea is 20 bring all ca
diets down to a common level at the start
of their academy life and 1t is always the
rule that sons Of wealthy or well-known
parents suffer the most. This is particu-
lariy true of the sons of men who stand
high in the service. 1t was along in the
COS that the Southern States began to
send a good many boys TO the Point, and
perhaps that is why haZing fOurished so
in those days The Academy is thorough
Ix- dam IL md 10 cadpfS do everything
for themselves short of backing their own
boots, and they would be required to do
that If it were not for the fact that the
dormitories would suffer more than it is
worth to keep someone to do it for them
But all the rest of personal service they
perform for themselves, and naturally
when Southern cadets arrived accompan-
led by body servants they had to run the
gantlet.
''rhe deviling was generally done by the
yearlings, though occasionally The older
cadets did not disdain to take a hand in
tormenting sons Of distinguished sires,
particularly If the latter were in any way
connected with the Academy. 'Deviling'
took on different forms. 'Yanking' was
the most popular amusement during the
day in camp. Plebes as well the Older
cadets slept on the wooden floors of their
tents, with one blanket under them and
another over them. ANY number of times
during the night skilled hands would
seize the edge of the under blanket and
slide II, plebe and all, into the company
street. If the plebe was slow in gather
ing up his belongings and returning to his
slumbers he would be given another slide
and sometimes he would land in the deep
and dewy ditch at Fort Clinton. 1t was
astonishing TO rote the dexterity with |
which a plebe could be surely and safely |
landed in its black mud. One night, as |
result of some solecism, possibly because !
of too much talking back ! made flying |
trip clear across the plain TO Execution /
hollow, where in the old days they used |
to shoot prisoners. And | remember dis |
tinctly that one of the most active parfci- |
pants In that affair was a Wisconsin boy |
VINO had been the head of his class the |
winter before, who is now high in the ar
tillery service and one of my dearest |
friends. little thing like that didn't
affect our friendship. Did we take ii good
naturally? OF course. There wouldn't
have been any sense in doing anything
else.
Tossing in blankets was sometimes
INDUCED in, riding the rail very rare
ly. smoking out was form that was
used for the correction of very fast
plebes-that is, the youngsters who
had too good an opinion OF them
selves. 1t was a process attended with
an inevitable leveling, which was the
thing aimed after in all the deviling.
Smoking out was just what its name
implies. The plebe to be smoked out was
imprisoned in his tent on some rainy
day when there was no danger of
drill Then every opening was carefully
battened down, the plebe made fast to the
corner farthest from the flap and be-
tween thirty and forty yearl ngs woulds
take possession Of his quarters and armed
with pipes and tobacco would see how
long it would take to make him ILL., When
they felt queer themselves they made
their escape to the open air, but there
was no such luck for the plebe, who had
TO stand it until he 'caved. Then he
was released.
In speaking Of the reports of serious re-
suits from hazing, General King said he
had never known of case in his own ex-
perience
Talk Of brutality" he remarked. you
take 200 or 400 boys anywhere and If you |
dont ma some brutes among them they
must have been recreated bully is
rare at West Point. He's sent to Gov
entry so quick that he speedily mends his
ways. I'll admit that there have been
cases OF brutal hazing, but I'd like to say s
here and now that it was only INDUCED in |
by few who never succeeded in gradual
ing IL | except one-no, three men. But |
none of these three was great success |
and some of them went to the bad. Bru- {
tally was not popular at the Point in ! '
my day and ! don't believe it is now. and
haZing was then as it is now, nine-tenths | {
pure fun and mischief. The trouble is | :
that occasionally it is carried too far and |
though in my own cadet days no one ap- | I
cared a rap what was done to us