Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-05-14
THE TROUBLE AT CLEMSON.
Settled by the Reinstatement OF
the Boys Who Left-PreHfdeht
HartzOn Resigns.

lege, commenced ldSl IhuiouhJ "'oA
and concluded Saturday at noon. Cadet
E. A. Thornwell and the entire sopho-
more class, have been reinstated and
the board has in it's hands for future
consideration the unconditional resig-
nation Of President Hartzog.
When the board convened for work,
it found itself confronted with formal
charge against President Hartzog, alleg-
ing partiality, incapacity and general
responsibility for all the existing trou-
BILE, and also the formal appeal OF Ca
det E. A. Thornwell from the recent
action of the faculty. The charges
against President Hartzog were signed
by committee, representing the entire
student body, and the appeal, which
was in proper and respectful form. was
signed by young Thornwell and his
father, the Rev. DR.. J. H. Thornwell.
ALI witnesses were put under OATH
and DR.. Bracket, the professor who
reported Cadet Thornwell to the facul-
ty for taking glass tubes, was first
examined. DR.. Bracket said that the
cadets were not allowed to take appa-
ratus from the stores without permis-
sion. While surrounded by members
of the class to which he was lecturing'
he happened to notice Cadet Thornweli
reaching for the case in which the test
tubes are kept. In reply to question,
Thornwell said he was after test tubes,
and Bracket asked, Don't you think
you ought to get them through me?'
Thornwell's reply to this was unin-
tellieible, as was also his reply to
question as to whether he did not know
it was wrong for him to take such
things without permission. DR.. Brack-
EFT gave Cadet Thornwell four test
tubes, the number he said he wanted.
Then he waited a day for an explana-
ton and as none was forthcoming, he
renorted the matter to the faculty. The
onlv explanation that Cadet Thornwell
made was that he thought he had
right to take such things and that the
other members of the class were Of the
same opinion. He presented a state
ment to that effect signed by 81 MEM
bers of the class. The charge against
Thornwell was sustained by unan-
imous vote of the faculty, and he was
sentenced to suspension for the balance
of the session. DR.. Thornwell subjected
DR.. Bracket to severe cross examina-
ton, and brought out the facts that no
rule had ever been promulgated against
the taking Of apparatus. and that
Bracket himself had not approved the
verdict of the faculty.
President Hartzog was the next wit
ness. He testified that he had taken no
actual part in the suspension of Thorn
we'll; merely presided over the meeting,
and did not vote one way or the 9TH
er. DR.. Thornwell questioned President
Hartzog closely. 1t came out that DR..
Thornwell had appealed to President
Hartzog to reverse the decision Of the
faculty or send the matter up to the
board of trustees. and President Hart
zog had not answered the letter. He
gave as an excuse the statement that
he knew the case would be appealed
anyway, and he did not care to pre-
judice the matter by giving out in ad-
vance a transcript Of the testimony.
| Cadet Thornwell testified that while
engaged in chemical work. he found
that he needed four test tubes and that
he went to the case in the presence OF
the entire class to get them. DR..
Bracket asked him what he was after,
he replied, and DR.. Bracket gave him
the tubes. He said he had never known
things, and that he certainly had no
intention of doing anything wrong. He
explained also that at the beginning of
the session, each student was required
to deposit 50 as breakage fee, and 1t
was customary to turn whatever might
be left of this fee, at the end of the ses-
sion, to the athletic association. He
expected to dispose of his deposit in
that way, and, therefore, could have
had nothing to gain in taking tubes to
replace such as may have been broken.
Cadets Norton and Hall corroborated
the testimony of Cadet Thornwell
throughout, and Rev. DR.. j. H. Thorn
well took occasion to refer to an edi-
torial in the Columbia State rejecting
upon the honor of Clemson. He char
acterized the editorial as cruel and un-
just and held that the present standard
of honor of Clemson is as high as has
ever been the standard Of the South
Carolina college in its palmiest days.
After the hearing of the testimony ir
the case of Cadet Thornwell, the board
took up the case Of the sophomores
Cadets Douthet and Roberts, testified
that while the Thornwell case was
pending, Cadet Hill went to President
HartZog for permission to go to Pen
dleton; but Hartzog refused the per-
mission. They said they believed the
refusal was based on the assumption of
the president that Hill wanted to see
Colonel Simpson for the purpose Of en-
tering an appeal to the board of trus-
tees. President Hartzog examined Ca
det Roberts closely and asked him If
he believed that he, Hartzog, would
have suppressed the appeal. Roberts
frankly answered in the affirmative,
and said that the decision of the boys
to leave was based on the fact that
they had but little confidence in the
faculty. Douthet's testimony was to
the same effect, and so also was the
testimony Of Cadet Zeigler, and sew
eral others.
During Saturday morning the COM
mittee representing the cadet body that