Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1904-01-11
FEELING AMONG OFFICERS
Bill Introduced For Restoration
of Hazers Does Not Meet
With Approval At
Academy.

There Is naturally great deal of
feeling among the naval officers over
the bin introduced by Representative
Lacy, of Iowa, to restore TO the Naval
Academy the three midshipmen,
Lofiand, of Iowa, Little, of Ohio,
and Chafee, of Wisconsin, whom a
court martial recently dismissed for
hazing Tie officers are, however,
very guarded in their expressions, as
it is contrary to naval regulations to
discuss any matter which is pending
before Congress and which pertains to
the navy
The natural position of the authori.
ties ON the subject however, lis this.
Congress has passed law forbidding
hazing and fixing the penalty upon
conviction of dismissal with the fur
ther provision that a midshipman so
expelled can never again enter the
navy. The authorities of the Acad-
emy after q strenuous effort, succeeded
in procuring pledges from the whole
bodies of the second and third classes
that they would not take part in any
more hazing. Then three members
of the first class, who were midship-
men officers and as such charged with
the duty of preserving the discipline
of the Academy, fiagrantly disobey the
rules and are convicted of hazing,
practically confessing the offense.
Should Congress pass the bill to rein
state these youths the authorities of
the Naval Academy could only con-
clude that Congress and the country
did not approve of the efforts to put
an end to hazing.
Some attepmt has been made to be-
little the offense of the trio of mid
shipmen. As matter of fact while
the haizng was not particularly brutal
itself, the testimony at the court
martial showed that it was just the
kind that had prevailed at Annapolis
and West Point in previous years and
of a character extremely dangerous
when foolish school boy is the Judge
of the extent. The hazed youths were
compelled % perform the setting up
exercise and other extremely tiring
actions. In instances these things
have been kept up until the youths
have tainted or have been compelled
to go to the hospital and the midship-
men who were expelled were convict
ed of engaging in just these practices.
1t was also said that the under class
men were hazed in this particular case
because they had infringed some regu-
lations during the drill. Instead of
being a justification for the act it
made it more fragrant offense. If q
breech of rules had been committed by
the under classmen it was the duty Of
the midshipmen officers to report it to
the proper authorities, not to under
take to punish the Freshmen. In
failing to. do this they were guilty of
an additional offense against the dis
cipline of the institution.
Hazing has existed in an aggravated
form both at Annapolis and West
Point for years and it was not until
the Congressional investigation of
the Booz matter at West Point indi-
Gated to the public the extent of the
matter at that institution that here
was any steady effort on the part of
the authorities to stamp out the
practice. 1t was supposed at the time
that the country was bittrely opposed
to the hazing ssytem and il has had
its effect in stirring the authorities at
the two schools to action. If this bill
to reinstate the three midshipmen who
are expelled should pass it would
amount simply to "a declaration that
Congress and the nation are not be-
hind the authorities in their efforts
to eradicate hazing and a most serious
blow would be dealt the discipline of
the Naval Academy.
Following is the complete text of
the bill introduced in the House of
Representatives last week by Mr..
Lacey to reinstate the expelled mid
shlpmen Chaffee, Little and Lofiand
to the Naval Academy:
A BILL
Granting authority to the secrs.
tary of the Navy, at his discre tion,
to restore certain midshipmen to the
Naval Academy. "Be it enacted by
the Senate and House of Represen-
tatives of the United States of Ameri-
ca in Congress assebmled. That the
Secretary of the Navy be, and he is
hereby authorized and empowered, in
his deiscretion, to restore to the
Naval Academy and to the naval SER
vice the three midshipmen Of the then
first class who were dismissed ON the
sixth day of November, nineteen
hundred and three, pursuant to the
findings and recommendations of a
courtmartial, and to assign them to
the class next below that from which
they were dismissed. F"