The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-08
Operated Upon by Three Sets of Upper Class
Men in One Night Until He
Tainted Away
Battered Plebs Paraded Through Camp After
Fights With Upper Class Men-But
Officers Knew Nothing of it.

said he positively had no animus against
the institution and had no known enc
mics there, either among the officers or
the cadets. recess was then taken
until 2 oclock
The hearing was resumed at 2:2O
O'Clock. After few further questions
regarding gymnastics at the academy,
Burnam was dismissed. He was on the
stand for over three hours.
CASE OF CADET BRETH.
The case of JOHN Breth, of Altoona,
Pa, who died from an ailment which,
it is alleged, he received indirectly as a
then taken up. The first witness called
was DR.. E. e. Goodman, of Altoona,
the Breth family physician. DR.. Good
man said Breth's physical condition be-
fore entering the military academy was
excellent. DR.. Goodman treated him
two weeks after he came home from
West Point for hemorrhcids. Last Oc-
tober he again treated him for typhoid
pneumonia, from which he died Young
Breth never told DR.. Goodman anything
about hazing at West Point. All the
information the doctor had came to him
from the boys family. He became
very nervous the year he returned from
West Point and the physician often Won
dered what could have caused it. 1t had
been reported that Breth had been COM
PEELED to eat soap at West Point The
doctor knew nothing about that, but if
the boy had eaten soap it would have
explained his physical condition on his
return home.
Samuel j. Breth, father of Cadet
Breth, testified that MS son was dis
missed from the academy because of de-
ficiency in mathematics Mr.. Breth
said members of the family had received
1O4+ II, Io,,
ships at West Point. The father and
mother knew that the boys at the acad-
emy were more or less haZed and Cadet
Breth and his brother Harry had an
understanding between them that if he
had anything to write about hardships
would write to Harry only, so that the
parents would not worry. He said Har-
ry and one of the daughters visited
John at the academy in August, 1897,
John had been severely hazed and that
he had nervous prosuation. At West
Point John told them he had been so Sc
verely hazed that he became uncon-
scious. The only one mentioned as be-
ing among the hazers was a cadet named
Bender. The father learned from the
son Harry that John had been "choo-
chooed.'' On his deathbed the father
said the boy went through the "choo-
chooing" motions.
HAZED TILL HE TAINTED.
Harry Breth the brother, was called
and offered to submit copies of extracts
!, Of letters he received from John. The
committee decided that it wanted the
originals, which are now at the Breth
homestead in Altoona. He was excused
until the letters could be produced, and
| In order that Miss Rosa NJ. Breth. a sis
ter, might return home and send them
to the committee, her testimony was
| then taken. She received a letter from
! her brother while he was in West Point
hospital, in which he said the surgeon
told him that he had light attack of
nervous prostration from overwork.
| John, however, told the other members
of the family when they visited him at
| West Point that his condition was due
| to hazing John said he was hazed
| three times in one night. sgJohn wrote
home that he had to eat eight slices
| of bread soaked in molasses. On his
| deathbed he told me that West Point is
the cause for the breakdown in my
| health
He mentioned the names of Bender,
| Wood and Yonge as being lawful haz-
| ers." While in the hospital, she said,
John told her that he was visited by up
per class men and told that he had bet
| ter get out of here tomorrow
| William A. Breth, another brother Of
John Breth, told substantially this story:
SAT ON A BAYONET.
when John came home he told me
| that he had to do so much eagling' that
| he often became exhausted and his
! muscles were like leather. A cadet nam
| ed Bender made him sit on the point of
a bayonet until he fell off. He was made
to sit on it again and during~this opera
| ton Bender played a violin. On anoth-
| er occasion, a hot July day, after hard
| days drill, he was compelled to don a
raincoat and hold out dumbbells, On
! Saturday all cadets were given a certain
amount of liberty, but Bender prevented
| him from leaving camp. My brother
| made complaint about it, which result
/ ed in Bender exercising him more severe
| ~. He regarded the feet inspection as
| a Joke One night he was dragged cut OF
| bed, leaving the bed clothes behind him
and was dragged over rough stones in
| the company street. On another occasion
| ne was so eXhaustively exercised that on
| the next morning the officer in charge
! of the drill compelled him to drop out of
| line because of his weakness.'
Mary c. Breth, another sister of
Breth's, was called and corroborated the
testimony of other members of the fam
| lily. She said her brother told her that
one night he was hazed by three sep
arate sets of cadets. He stood the first
two. but tainted during the third act OF
hazlng. When he regained consciousness
| he saw several men rubbing him. Thev
| appeared to be greatly frightened Miss
Breth also said that her brother In
speaking of hazing, said he often ate soap
and chewed rope ends at West Point.
| AT O'Clock the committee adjourned
until 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.