The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-01-18
Told Congressional Committee He
Never Had Commissions After
Hazing, Only Cramps"
SAID TREATMENT WAS CRUEL.
Cadet Who Testified Booze Con-
cealed French Novel in His
Bible Admitted That He May
Have Been Mistaken.

West Point. y. Y. Jan. 1.-THE Congress
sional Committee held only two sessions at
the West Point Military Academy to-day.
A night session was TO have been begun at
o'clock. but General Dick decided TO post
pone any further hearing Of testimony until
tomorrow.
From the manner Of questioning by the
members of the COMMITTEES and the general
trend OF the examination, II is believed that
az least six cadets now at West Point will
shortly leave the academy never TO return.
Only two witnesses were examined to-day
The first was Cadet James Prentice. who
had accused the late Oscar L. Booz of
feigning TO read his Bible when he had a
novel hidden inside the cover After a long
examination by the COMMITTEES. Prentice
said that he believed he was mistaken and
Booz might have been reading a lesson leaf
or supplement to the Bible.
The other and more important witness was
Cadet Douglas Macarthur. OF whom the
prooers after facts about hazing had heard
a great deal since they came here
Denied That He Had Convulsions,
Macarthur stoutly denied that he had
ever tainted or become unconscious from
violent exercising. and insisted that he t,ad
not been treated any more harshly than his
terminate and several other classmates.
the tOi0 Ule SOullnlltee tndt ne had been
feeling under the weather before he had
been bszed on the night IN question, and
swore positively that hs had neither con-
vulsions nor hysteria in consequence The
whole matter. he said. had been greatly ex-
aggeratsd and the story that COTTON had
been stuffed into his mouth to stifie his
groans was perfectly absurd.
He acknowledged, however. that Cadets
Doekery and Barry had exercised him until
his muscles became cramped and he lost ali
power over them. He also admitted that
ne lay on his cot and moaned. but did not
cry out.
MacArthur's examination will be resumed
when the committee meets again at to-
morrow morning.
Simply Seized with Cramps
Cadet Douglass Macarthur followed
Prentice on the stand. Mr.. briggs. ad-
dressing him. said:
MIR. Macarthur. we have had a mass Of
testimony given here regarding the fact OF
your having been hazed SO violently that
you - q conyulsions- The committee Is
desiiOus OF having you tell IL your own
way the manner in which you were hazed.
the forms of hazing, the names of the men
who hazed you and the consequences"
Macarthur replied:
Il had been about month in the summer
camp of 1883 as a plebe' when the hazing.
an account of which i have read In the
papers. occurred. Like most reports OF the
kind 1t was n small affair greatly exag-
gerated afterward. My treatment was no
more severe than that given TO others, and
was in no way calculated TO place me in q
severe physical condition
II had no commissions: that report is en-
tirely erroneous. i had what you might
call aggravated cramps and lost control of
my muscles. l most emphatically deny that
/ was seized with commissions 1 was not
delirious nor out Of my mind
THE hazing took place in A Company
street. 1t was not my own tent: there
were other men there. Farnum. Haskill ana
Cunningham. my terminates There was
soiree and several of my classmates were
hazed on that occasion. The soiree lasted
about an hour / got about 80 eagles. hung
on the stretcher for two minutes at a time
and did some dips. 1t was very warm
night and / had been feeling under the
weather all day ard was rather weak. IL
was dark when the soiree began. and per-
spired profuseiy. but by taps l was all
right again"
ConKressmeu Much Surprfsed.
Did you consider the treatment you re-