The news & observer., 1901-03-17
WEST POINT THEN
WEST POINT NOW
Continued on Third Page.)


ond" Of the second party of the second
part.
''What do you demand?" was the an
swer brought back by the messenger.
"An ample apology from each and all
Of yaH for your ungentlemanly treatment,
and pE9aise to abstain from such in the
future
Il am authorized to say that such de-
mand will be complied with by all OF us,
was the prompt rejoinder.
For once the hazers were hazed, and in
nate cruelty taught a lesson which was
borne in mind for many day thereafter.
History tells of another plebe in the
dim bygohe who, single-handed, held the
bridge" against advancing hordes of nor
NAL brutality Who will say that the in
cident mentioned does not entitle the
later plebe to kindred plane with that
since held by "the brave Horatius?" The
$bsttsman's intuition on discharge told
the boy t68t there was only blank cart
ridge in his gliR, and missing his target,
pair of legs, at that short range set
tied it beyond doubt, heRee his resolve
to try "phlebotomy' as curative for
cowardly practical joking. 1t has been
seen how it worked.
1t may be asked whence the obvious and
admitted degeneracy in the tone and es
brit de corps of the Military Academy of
late years.
FIFTY years ago" continued SeneX,
'thA West Point corps OF cadets was the
most truthful. chivalrous, hish-toned
body of youhg gentlemen that could h@
found in the world Truth, courage, re-
gard for the rights of others, especially
the weaker-in a word, Unborn and cul-
tivated manhood-developed men, herees'
end gentlemen, SURPRISING for the tlne
Of it's brief existence any other schooi
that the world had known in that re-
gard lii these haleyon days ! had
cadet friend Zone Of many 10 whom was
deeply attached Until the inception OF thc
war between the States; he cspousihg the
Northern and | the Southern side OF the
great question at issue. The estrange-
ment thus produced continued f"r many
years thereafter, when by mutual con-
sent we met again Jn the old tfampihs
ground. War questions were, by 'aclt un-
detstarding, ignored and we were IN our
middle tnanhood-boys aSain-~roamlne
over familiar scenes and recalling cid
friends and incidents of the early man
hocd days He had been n ripe and ready
scholar, and graduated near the head OF
his class, and been a close student ever
since. AS a consequence, almost Gn
emerging from the section room he had
been called to fill one of the most i'm
pcrtatit chairs In the academic staff, and
he flied it credItably. In one of our
turns about evening parode, / stopped
and put this direct question to him:
Tell me, amigo mio, whether the
same high sense Of honor pervades that
line that did in our day, when the slight
est suspicion of prevaricatioii or false
hood, even to avoid suspensions or dismis-
sal, would consign the culprit to the cate
CORY Of the dogs, Anglice, social par
iahs?
ellis answer follows, in effect; 1T
grieves me, old fellow, to tell you no. SO
far from it, indeed, that bare-faced lie
on lesser inducement entails but little
loss of caste among his fellows
" TO what do you ascribe this woeful
detcriorationg was the next Query.
Partly to the demoralizing results of
war, but more to the loss of typical
sectional equipoise as counter-b balance
"Be his diagnosis Of cause correct or
otherwise, nevertheless, conceding the
predlcate, ana IL is easy 10 dcCouht loi
the continued downward grade culminat-
ing in the abyss of infamy for the cul-
rrits now being developed.
Macauley asserts that lying is common
to all inferior races, and heaven-given
to protect themselves against a superior
race. II so it be, what more natural than
the transition to the individual man of
like base instinct from liar to torturer.
The Hottentot, the Indian, and the
"heathen Chinese" are masters of each
accomplishment. The man with white
hide rarely proves a laggard in any field
of competition on which his ambition
prompts him to enter. w. j. G.
Fayetteville, n. G.