Evening star., 1901-06-12
APPOINTMENT OF CADETS
1T Is NOT VESTED IN MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS.
Authority Rests With the President
Little Prospects of Having Dis
missed Students Reinstated.

The alleged purpose of senator and
a representative from the state Of Ne
| braska to obtain the reinstatement in the
| Military Academy Of young Bowlby, one
Of the five cadets recently dismissed for
mutinous conduct, is not at all likely to
succeed, unless there is a radical change
| of mind on the part of the President. The
! plan of the Nebraska statesmen is based
on the theory that appointments to the
Military Academy are vested in members
of Congress. 1t is true that there is gen.
eral impression that such is the case. The
fact of the matter, however, is that such
appointments can legally be made only by
| the President of the United States.
Power of Appointments.
The law on the subject is contained In
section of the act of Congress approved
June 6, 1900. which is as follows:
THAT the corps of cadets shall consist
of one from each congressional district,
one from each territory, one from the Dis
trict of Columbia, two from each state at
large and thirty from the United States
at large. They shall be appointed by the
President. and shall, with the exception
of the thirty cadets appointed from the
United States at large, be actual residents
of the congressional or territorial district,
or of the District of Columbia, or of the
state, respectively, from which they pur-
port to be appointed.
At the last session of Congress the
strength of the corps of cadets was In
creased by the addition of two at large
from each state and the at large appoint
ments of the President were also increased.
No change was made, however, In the
method prescribed by law for making the
appointments. 1t. therefore, appears that
while members of Congress may, through
the courtesy of the President, nominate the
cadets from their respective districts, the
t~a1~
clusively to the President, who may or
may not accept the nomination made by
the congressional representative. AS rule
these nominations have been approved by
the President and it is probably on that
account that what is merely privilege has
finally come to be regarded by some as a
right.
The regulations prepared at the War De-
partment to govern the admission Of cadets
to the academy, expressly state among
other things, that 'the appointments lex
cept those from the United States at-large
and from the District of Columbia) are
made by the Secretary of War at the re-
quest of the senator, representative or dele
gate in Congress- In this matter the Sec
retary of War acts merely as the repre-
sentative of the President.
Reinstatement of Dismissed Cadets.
Even if the President were disposed to
reappoint one of the recently dismissed ca
diets at the request of the congressional
delegation of the state, it is said at the
War Department that it could hardly be
done without violation of the spirit of the
law enacted at the last session of Congress
designed to effectually suppress hazing at
the Military Academy. The law in question
provided that ANY cadet found guilty OF
participating in or encouraging or coun-
tenancing such practice thazing) shall be
summarily expelled from the academy and
shall not thereafter be reappointed to the
corps of cadets or be eligible for appoint
ment as commissioned officer in the army
or navy or marine corps until two years
after the graduation of the class of which
he was a member
Although this provision of law applies
specifically to dismissals for hazing, the
Secretary of War and the adjutant general
of the army have agreed to apply its prin-
ciples to all dismissals from the academy.
The statement was made at the War De-
partment today that the Secretary of War
has determined to maintain the highest
state of discipline at the academy, and
that it could be done only by a castiron
rule against the reappointment of any and
all cadets dismissed for good and sufficient
rea sons. +'