Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-27
MEETING WAS DELAYED
Short Session of the Meri-
Wether Court.
AUTOPSY ON BRANCH
NOT YET KNOWN WHAT Has
BEEN DISCLOSED.
resumption Of Testimony Regarding
the Fight-Neither Participant
Seemed to Be Much Hurt.
Special From a Stan Correspondent

| ANNAPOLIS, Md Noyor,bor ~ --,
| court-martial of Midshipman Meri,yatbe-
1 charged with manslaughtef in conne.tfo,
| win the death of Midshipman Branch
ifo'i the eHects of fist fight which has
gone far beyond the question Of personal
| gullt OF the accused and is now aImost .
| ulal or the academy, reassembled this
| morning at i:30. Some of the court IT,
! SelI' the Official stenographer and others
were caught by delayed train and did
| not get into the court room til half a,
| h'dr after the usual time o. meeting.
| Inc witnesses began again with midship-
| men Of the academy, the object of the de-
| fenSc apparently being to pie up evil
| dencS showing that, whatever the guilt OF
| the accused might be under the law hs
| had only followed the practice OF the acad-
| emy in seeking Il fight with Branch There
| was also the question of the autopsy yes
terGiiy, which, ii was stated. had disclosed
important facts bearing on the case. What
| these facts are cannot be known. of course.
| until the medical witnesses take thc stand
but 1t is believed they will have an iinpor-
| tant part in the disposition of the ca sc
But the trial has assumed more seri-
Gus phase to naval men than the one fight
| involved would Indicate. The defense has
been allowed 10 uncover the whole history
of the so-callcd code of honor and has
| shown that fighting was carried on with
| the tacit, IL not the explicit approval OF
| the authorities. In the eyes Of the mid
| shipman witnessed the code seemed 10
! take precedence Of any other rules gov
erninS the school, and the result was that
! fighting was rapidly becoming rot an oc-
| cascnal last resort but the fashion Of the
school.
Investigation of the Code.
| Naval officers all realize that tlis has
| laid bare spot that is sure TO he vigor-
ously probed by the Secretary of the Navy.
| or Congress, or both. The decision of the
| court Saturday to allow the introduction of
| correlated testimony changed the likelihood
/! of this inquiry from a possibility to almost
| q certa inty. Thus the trial from now on
will be watched as much more for its
bearing on the academy than for the de-
| cision TO Meriwether, 1t appears from
the testimony already introduced that the
| code has grown in recent years Ii was
testified that lighting increased immedi-
! ately with the so-called abolition of haz-
| Ing though mdshipmen on the stand have
| referred incidentally TO standing with books
| on their feet, putting their heads into lock-
| ers and answering all sorts of foolish ques-
| tions. This has been technically known
| running" though it does not seem to
| differ materially from hazing.
But the code the main question has
| been forced on the attention of the court.
| OF course il may be held that fighting is
! brutal and degrading, or that II is a neces-
! sary accompaniment of bringing together
500 high-strung boys in single school
| But whatever view may he taken of So
| called unavoidable fights the testimony up
| to date has shown that fighting between
| the classes had been reduced to a science.
| Fighting rapidly approaching the stage
! of the sword fights of the German univer-
! stiles. The testimony of the upper class
| men indicated that the rules were made by
| the upper classmen and redounded partcu-
| larly 10 their benefit. The statement was
| made that If a man offended the class
above him he was Systematically called
out by the offended class till some man
was found who could knock him out. II
was testimony of this sort that has been
rapidly accommodating and that is turning
the trial from an individual matter into
an investigation of the school.
Clothes Found by Branch.
Mdshpman Koheler, who class
mate of Meriwether, was called and stated
that the civilian clothes found in Meri-
wether's room belonged to witness. Branch
had found them and went around to hoheler
warning him to get them out he
about to report Meriwether for having them
in his locker. koheIer had loaned the clothes
to Meriwether to use while on leave
This was another point intended TO bring
out animus existing on the part o: Branch
toward Meriwether.
Midshipman Bradley who was on duty
with Branch, said that he had been ques-
toned by Branch and told to LOOK out for
Meriwether and report him for various
small offenses, but Bradley had refused TO
use his official position 10 prosecute
Rranchs private quarrel with Meriwether.
He had reported the conversation TO Meri-
wether, thus putting him on his guard.
Lieutenant Commander Robinson an
nounced that he was ready to proceed with
the testimony on the manslaughter charge,
on which there had as yet been no evidence,
and it remained for the court To decide
whether It would proceed with the regular
line of examination or await the report on
the autopsy.
1t was stated that the report was not
ready, MiGshipman Noyes, who was the
timekeeper in the fight, was recalled Noyes
said there were three falls in clinches dur
ing the fight. The first two were heavy.
In one Branch struck his forehead. and in
another the back of his head. The third
did not seem to be a heavy fan. But
Branch did not appear to be injured by
any of them Several times Meriwether
was knocked against the wall, and Branch
struck the wall once. There were TO clean
knock-down blows, but both men at times
went to their knees.
Branch Seemed None the Worse.
Midshipman Fitch, the referee. was then
caIied and told of the same three falls. lie
said in the second fall both men were in a
clinch and both strucS the door in falling.
In the last fall, about the seventeenth
round, Branch, in falling, hit his head on
the bookcase. After the twentieth round
Branch forced the fighting. and seemed
none the worse for his fall. Witness said,
however. that after the last fall 1t took the
best part of minute to get the men dis
engaged and on their feet. Neither man
showed any inclination to break away.
Witness was cross-examined Dy almost
all of the officers about the details OF these
falls, but he could say In regard 10 them
only that Branch had struck the left side
of his head in the last fall He did not re-
gard any of the falls as particularly serious
az the time.
Judge Advocate Mark then took up the
examination, but failed to develop anything
further
The court then adjourned for she morning.
The Autopsy on Branch.
Much is hanging on the report Of the
board that performed the autopsy on young
Branch. This board does not expect to
finish Its report before late tonight. When
this is done is will go into the hands or
the defense and the Judge advocate. but
the officers performing this autopsy will he
called TO the stand to deliver their testt-
H.ony.
Thsrs are many stories aaoat a. to what