Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-03-14
PRESENT SYSTEM VICIOUS.
MIDSHIPMEN SHOULD NOT BE
EXPELLED FOR HAZING.
Subcommittee Makes Report And
Says Cadet Officers Fostered
HaZing = Censures a
Former Superin-
tendent.
C0MMENDS PRESENT DISCIP-
LINE AT THE ACADEMY

| % New York. chairman of the in.
vestieating committee OF Congress on
fhe ga' al'Academy, the sub committee
! named BY the House Committee on
Naval Affairs 10 Investigate hazinR al
th0 academy, made lis report to the
" ho.e inu ittee Yesterday.
II ls human nature to say uufavor-
able things abOat jtst mt onGs and these
nos IA position TO defend thelnsel, q,
anti so in Its report the committee
censored Admiral Rrownsen the form
er superintendent, for exactiug a
pledge from midshipmeIinOt 10 engage
III hazing, and for allowing tie mid.
ship neu tn think the pledge MAS por.
sahsl to him, and aid NJ held after
R@Hr admiral Sands became superin.
tenreat at tie Academy. 1t would be
Interesting 70 hear inst what Admiral
Bro%ns "a has TO say alb ut this ana
his side OF tie question
IIeut. G. Z. Snyder also is cepsured
mildly fer having couuteuRnced haz
luR. Graduated punishment fer baz-
ing = recommended by the snb.com.
mlttce, which is firmly Cf the op'uioa
tlat the present system of eXDeiling
all inldsiipmen found guilty OF haz.
Tug IS vicious. Rear Admiral Sands
and other Off i3ers now at the Naval
Academy are praised for the discipline
they are maintaining. The repsrt
shows that cadet officers have Teen
chiefly responsible for hazing.
As a result of its examination of
witnesses aud records, the sub-com
mittee found that 2Sl members of the
three upper classes at the Academy.
including the class which was recent
ly graduated have been guilty of haZ.
ing and on trial could be expelled
from the Academy. The result would
be great and unnecessary loss to the
Government, in the opinion of the
member of the committee, who found
that many of the offenses were trivial
fhe Investigation of the committee
showed there aIe three forms of haZing
at the Na"al Academy physical hazing
running and Tagging " They are
defined at length in the report. Phe
physical hazing consists OF fighting,
compelling midshipmen TO stand on
means of punishment. Tagging
is the forcing of under olassmen to
do mental service for UPPER class men.
such as blacking shoes and serving
meals. Running is the forcing of
under classmen to do ridiculous feats.
One of the most popular perform
ances under this classification was Civ
ing an exact imitation of sunrise on
the farm, " which consisted of imitat-
ing roosters and other domestic fowl.
Under the forms of physical hazing,
sitting on infinity' was one of the
most commonly practised. 1t was
generally practised at meal time, and
was the forcing of a midshipman to
maintain sitting posture after his
chair was withdrawn from under him.
Cadet officers tolerated all such prac-
tices. and, in fact, encouraged them,
according to the report of the sub
committee. Forcing youngsters to do
such things was one of the most cher.
ished rights of members Of the first
class intrusted with maintaining dis.
cipline.
The report recites the methods
which the committee obtained its
information, and states there was
frankness and willingness on the part
of both officers and midshipmen to
testify. The most striking virtue of
the boys at the Academy, which the
committee found, was their truthful
ness, there b ing the greatest abhorr-
ence and detestation of lie. So far
as the mmittee was able to ascertain
ex xcspt in one minor instance, where
cadet officer was a disciplinarian,
there was no connivance on the part
of officers of the Academy in hazing,
although there were instances where
the surgeons knew that there had been
fights, but not from personal observa'
tion.
Tagging" the report describes as a
practice borrowed from the English
schools and is a comparatively recent
innovation. some of the features OF
which are more repTehenisble than
physical hazing. Under its practice
and upper classman requires a lower
| clasman to waken him at certain
| hour in the morning, to set his watch
| to appear in full uniform in his roon
| and open the window; then reappeal
/ in the morning at certain hour ano
/ close the window, and at the same
/ time tate the noises of farm fowls
Ii also consists of requiring a mid
| shipman of the fourth class to carry
meals, attend to an upper classman' I
linen and do other acts sof humili
| alton
Running is an old practice. ant
until the time of the Investigation
| was on the ;ncressr. j csesists o
| acts G 1Tu O. fer the entertain
| ment If upper ! ssmen, such as sing
ing comic songs. telling stories (oftel
obScene) and giving realistic lllustra
| items of them. For the improvement
of the table manners of the lowe
classmen they are required TO ca
under the table, and again to eat with
out touching their hands TO the tsbl
at any time.
Further. the upperclassmen have
code of laws for the government o
the lower classmen, such as fixin
days upon which the iplebes" ma,
visit the Academy barber shop AM
various ways whereby the lower class
men is treated as an inferior person
He Fmay not speak to an upper class
man, except upon certain days an
under certain conditions, and at time
he is not allowed to look at an uppe
| clsssman; a fourth classman may nc
swing his arms when walking, and h
must not walk on certain paths abou
| the Academy.
The report eommends the action c
the firstclass, which voted to discou
inue the practice of ha2ing, but ex
| presses the opinion that there is
tendency on the partj of cadets gener
q "a