Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-02-22
GOLDSBOROUGH, ANTICIGARETTE BILL DIES
IN HOUSE--IS BELIEVED TO HAVE GOTTEN
DISCIPLINE SATISFACTORY.
Will Leave Affairs of The Academy
In The Hands of The Su-
perintendent.

perintendent.
1t has become definitely known that
the members of the subcommittee ON
naval affairs of the u. s. House of
| Representatives which has been inves-
tigating the subjects of hazipg and
| lighting at the Naval Academy, will
adjourn within day or two-Friday
| probably. so satisfied are they that
/ the subject of discipline at the ;nsti.
tuition can safely. be left to the control
| Of Superintendent Sands and the pres.
ent officers of the department of dis
| cipline
It is almost certain that the report
of the committee win embody a warm
sQmmendation of Admiral Sands
course all through the present out.
break and express confidence that the
system of discipline which he has in.
augurated viii lead to the most salts.
factory conditions. This is known to
be the individual opinion Of the men,
bers of the committee and il has been
freely expressed. Chairman Vreeland,
of the committee said last night:
My opinion is that Admiral
Sands deserves the highest praise for
the manner in which he has dealt with
the trying conditions a. the Academy.
| believe that the system of discipline
which be has inaugurated at the Ma
val Academy viii lead to the best re-
suits. "
The other members of the committee
share the opinion of the chairman to
such an extent that the early ad-
journmenu of the committee has been
decided upon. Chairman Vreeland
thus summed up the result Of the i'm
vestigations of the board
We have found that hazing has
existed at the Naval Academy for
many years and that there has been
great deal of the practice during the
present sholastic year-fTom Septem-
Der to December.
The 200 or more instances of haz-
ing which have come to our attention
vary in seriousness. from making a
| man stand on his head 400 times sue
| cessively, to compelling an under class
man to wake an upper classman or
tell him the days that remain to grad.
uation. The members of the commit
tee stand so straight in their opposi-
tiou to hazing that they lean back
wards. We are determined that means
shall be taken to suppress hazing and
class fights. Fights for some sudden
proyocatioD will occur occasionally
and I'VE agree with Admiral Sands
that each case should be judged ae-
cording to its peculiar circumstances
ami the conduct of each PARTICIPANT.
The members of the committee are
of the opinion that some Of the cases
of hazing which have been brought to
orr attention are serious enough to
merit dismissal, while others should
not be punished so heavily. .
The news that the committee would
adjourn this week was most unexpect-
ed, and indicates, as stated, that any
! suspicion that they might have had
that the authorities of the Naval
| Academy have not done their duty or
are not capable of handling the situ-
alton has been dissipated The testi-
mony has shown that Admiral Sands
and Captain ColvocoIesses, who have
| filed the positions of superintendent
and commaudant of midshipmen since
July last, have been most active and
direct in their opposition to all illegal
customs among the midshipmen. It
| is known that the members of the COM
mittee particularly approve of the
stand taken by Admiral Sands in re-
fusing to make bargains with the mid
shipmen in order to procure their
| promises TO obeS regulations.
/ !
yesterday were Lieutenant Comman-
der @. B. McVay, Jr., of the DEPART
ment of discipline, and Lieutenant O.
p. Snyder. The latter was the Off
Ger of whom certain midshipmen
stated that he made a remark that
| they had understood to mean that
they should haze the fourth classmen.
| The officer denied that he meant this,
as he had in the trial before the court
| martial. Lieutenant Commander Nc
| Way was examined as to the workings
of the department of discipline.
An obstruction to the smooth work
ing of the anti-hazing program has &C.
Cured in the failure of the third class
to pass resolutions similar to those
passed by the second class, indicating
that the members of that class will
also cease the practice. Not only is
this fact, but it is said by midship-
men that there is much opposition
among the members of the class to
taking the stand. 1t is argued by
them that they are in different posi-
tion from the scholars seniors, who
are now inidshipmen officers and
honor bound to carry out the orders of
| their superiors, aud that, therefore,
the under clRssmen are in no wise
\
There is, however, q sentiment at
work among the members of the class
| which may lead to a different view.
i The first witness before the commit
| tee tllis morning was Surgeon q.
! Byrnes, the ranking medical officer of
the Naval Academy. 1t is understood
that Surgeon Byrnes' examination
rather veered the line OF inquiry from
hazing to fighting. The questions
asked him were understood to be for
the purpose of developing whether
midshipmen were ever brought TO the
hospital in condition which showed
that they Lad been engaged in fist
! fights. This fact was strongly indi-
Gated by the testimony..for the defence
in Meriwether's S first trial by court
martial Il was indicated that most
of these instances took place when Ad,
miral Willard II. Brownson was su
perintendent of the Naval Academy.