The San Francisco call., 1907-06-08
TO PRESS SUIT AGAINST
WEST POINT OFFICERS
Lieutenant Colonel Ayres
Declares He Will Stand
by His Wife
TO RESENT SIGHTS
Academy Men Must Face
Action for Damages for
Barring Woman

HIGHLAND FALLS, N. Y, June T.
After reading communication from
the war department, Lieutenant Col
onel Charles G. AyreS declared tonight
that he would support his wife In the
action that she has instructed her at
torney to institute against Superin-
tendent Hugh Scott and other officers of
the West Point military academy.
Colonel AyreS returned from New
York this afternoon and found the let
ter from Washington awaiting him.
While declining to discuss its contents.
he intimated that they touched upon
the course adopted by Mrs. Ayres. He
made it plain that he proposed to see
LIS wife through to the finish" He
added that he would not make public
the letter from the war department un-
til he had first shown it to his wSfe's
attorney, in whose hands it would be
placed tomorrow.
Mrs. Ayres' attorney, Mann Trice of
New York, has been instructed to file
damage suits aggregating 100000
against Colonel Scott; Lieutenant
Colonel Robert l.. Howe, commandant
of cadets; Captain Llewellyn w. Oliver.
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen C. Mills in
spector general.
Mrs. Ayres, it is understood, bases
her allegations upon alleged discour-
tesies shown at West Point, which cul-
minated in the colonePs wife being
forbidden to enter the reservation. The
Ayres home adjoins the academy
grounds.
WEST POINT, N. Y, June Tn the
absence of her husband. who has gone
to New York for the day, Mrs. Eliza
beth Fairfax Ayres declined today to
discuss the details of the suit for dam
ages which she is about to bring
against several of the high officers at
the United States military academy.
Mrs. Ayres said that the case was in
the hands of a New York lawyer and
that the formal papers in the suit soon
would be served
If the case comes to trial 1t is be-
1feved that some interesting sidelfghts
will be thrown on the social life at
the academy. Under ordinary circum-
stances any misunderstanding in
which the officers of the academy or
their wives might become involved
would be threshed out before court
martial and the testimony never pub
lished. In this case, however, appeal
is to be made to the civil courts. and
many facts will be given in public.
Mrs. Ayres is the wife of Lieutenant
Colonel Charles G. Ayres, who returned
Saturday on leave of absence following
duty in the Philippines, and is now
stationed at the academy. She resides
outside the reservation, in Highland
Falls, and under a recent order issued
upon request of the academy officials
Mrs. Ayres is denied the privilege of
visiting the academy grounds.
The order of prohibition. which is
said to have a large place in Mrs.
Ayres' complaint in support of her suit
for damages, does not apply to her hus-
band or to her son, who is cadet at
the academy. The order of prohibition
against Mrs. Ayres, which was issued
before her husband had returned from
the Philippines, followed a long period
of misunderstanding between Mrs.
Ayres and the academy officials. The
facts are disputed, and it is believed
that Interesting testimony may be in
troduced by both sides to the contro-
versy should the case come to trial.