Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-03-17

The whole country has been stirred of late by fatalities consequent upon hazing and Honorable" school fights. The death. of a lad in this quiet little seat of learning, the violent end of a youth at our naval academy. instance after instance of very serious injuries received at the hands of hazers--all the tragedies resulting from school 'pranks," has led to general protest against the custom, to demand for stringent Investigations. After careful consideration of the evil as existing at Annapolis, the senate recently passed measure regulating the procedure and punishment in trials for hazing.
 In the bill hazing is defined as any unauthorized assumption of authority by one midshipman over another mid shipman whereby the last mentioned midshipman shall or may suffer. or be exposed to suffer any cruelty, indignity, humiliation or hardship or oppression, or the abridgement of any right. privi- lege or advantage-to which he shall be legally entitled.
 The naval academy used to pride itself on the fact that hazing was unknown there, make reference to it as feature of West Point life, wherefore to be ri- diculous. The naval school at first was not a military school, the midshipmen boasted of unlikeness to the military youths. Park Benjamin, author of "The History of the U. s. Naval Acad- emy," and graduate of the class of '67 writing in the Independent, says: Ut was enough to know that hazing was . habit of the army people, to make the mtdshipnlan leave itssevere-, ly alone" Back in the sos the elders patronized the youngsters rather than tormented them. However, MT. Benja- min thinks boys then were not 80 very different from boys now, only that changing conditions and ideals have not been met by the necessary increase in strict discipline. To quote the authors terse words: "The mid shipmen of those days were not an gelic beyond the generality of youths of their age. They punched one an others heads, boy fashion, as circum- stances demanded, and occasionally 'deviled' an over-conceited plebe-not because of his plebeness. but because of his conceit. No corrective much worse than making him chant the praises of himself as printed in his home newspaper was applied, and no harm. in fact a salutary lesson, re- suited" .. ...
 In another article MT. Benjamin rather upholds a mild sort of hazing. For the plebe entering with an ex- alted opinion of himself, thinks it a pretty good thing for the boy that he be brought to a changed estimate; but the author, with the rest of the na- ton. looks with sternest disapproval on hazing as carried to the extreme marking the present. He names sev- eral reasons for the present state of affairs; among them, the exalting of athletics in the school curriculum; the creating in the older students an exaggerated sense of self-importance; handing over so much of the direct discipline to the senior class: the sud den increase in numbers-from 300 to ss1: an inefficient superintendent, weak administration--''th true pre- ventive of hazings lies less in punish ments than in the improvement of conditions. lt has lately been official- ly recognized that there is nothing in the training of a naval officer which especially fits him to be the head of this great educational institution"
 Mir. Benjamin gives a vivid picture of the conditions under which hazjng has developed into it's present exag- gersted and brutal forms-"a great crowd of boys of all ages from 1s to 2i coming from all ranks and condi- tions of life, housed in more or less disorder. treated as mature minds to he convinced rather than immature intelligence to be compelled. left to infer that obedience to law and discI- pline is open to debate. given absurd positions and a degree of authority over one another far beyond their years. led to believe that gladistorial triumphs outweigh professional study as preparation for their future career. weak adminIstration-Is 1t any wonder. with the hazIng law not mere ly nouted as !; vss 20 years ago-but In Cthe) recent instance by both ex- ecutive and congress practically set aside-that these boys disregard the obligations of their Oficial oaihs. slight both law and discipline and evolve codes of honor which do not prevent their lying pitifully on the witness stand or seeking to evade cuIpabilIiy by vretshed ouIbhling over the name they give to their orense7
 Attractions of regulations st the academy are punished by a system of dsnsrits. the number proportioned to the gravity of the ofense. If a cadet receive beyond q certain number q year ts Is liable to dismissal For zors serious brssches the punish