The Penn's Grove record., 1908-08-07
PRESIDENT DENIES
ACTION ON CADETS
Statement Says He Neither Ap-
proved Nor Disapproved.
WRlGHT's DIFFERENT STORY
From Oyster Bay Mr.. Roosevelt Issued
q Correction in Which He Said
He Had Taken Absolutely No
Action in the Hazing Cases.

Oyster Bay, L. President Roose-
welt reversed himself again in the
matter of the dismissal of the eight
West Point cadets. In a statement
which is considered remarkable here,
the President takes issue with both
Secretary Loeb and General Luke e.
Wright, the Secretary of War, in say
ing he has taken no action in the
case whatever, but is waiting on Sec
rotary Wright to come to some de-
cision. The statement was given out
by Assistant Secretary Forster, Secre-
tary Loeb being away on his vacation.
1t is as follows:
. No action whatever has been
taken by the President in the cases
OF the cadets, the statements that they
were originally ordered dismissed and
That they had been ordered kept, be-
ing equally erroneous. An appeal
was originally made to the President
to interfere. He declined to take any
action or to interfere in any way until
the Secretary of War had expressed
his opinion, the view of the depart
ment then being, seemingly, that the
cadets should be turned out, but the
Secretary not having come to any
final decision.
THE Secretary then notified the
President that instead of making any
report he would like to discuss the
matter with the President in person.
He accordingly came on and the dis
cussion was held, but no final decision
was reached, the Secretary stating
that he was not able to make a final
and definite recommendation as to all
the cases, and preferred to make none
as regards any until he could do it as
regards all.
THE President has not yet heard
finally from the Secretary, and thera-
fore, of course, has come to no final
decision. This is the first
ment that the President has made in
the matter at all, and he has never
at any time come to any decision one
way or the other, excepting to state
that he would probably follow the
views of the department"
Contradicts Loeb and Wright.
The Presidents statement is in d.
rect contradiction to the statements
OF both Secretary Loeb and General
Wright, the chronological record of
which is:
On July 25 Secretary Loeb was
asked by the newspaper men if the
President had approved the recon-
mendation of the military board at
West Point that the cadets accused Of
hazing be dismissed. Mr.. Loeb was
very emphatic in his reply. He said
in substance:
The President has already signed
the report. He is strongly opposed
to hazing in the army and navy, and
he is going to put his foot down hard
in an effort to stamp it out"
On July %, after the cadets hal
first gone to Washington to plead
their cause before Secretary Wright,
and later had come to Oyster Bay in a
vain effort to obtain an audience with
the President, Mr.. Loeb was again
asked If the President had taken any
action in the matter, and he once
more said to the newspaper men:
THE President has signed the
cider recommending the dismissal,
and the matter is now up to Congress,
as only a special act of Congress can
bring about their reinstatement"
On July 81 Secretary Wright ar
rived at Oyster Bay, and was asked
If he had come to discuss the cadet
question with the President. He re-
piled that such was the case, and hat
in the morning, on his return, he
would have something to say about
1t.
On the morning of August 1, after
spending a night at Sycamore Hill
and after a long conference in which
Assistant Secretary of State Bacon
Joined, Secretary Wright voluntarily
Informed the newspaper men that the
question had been settled; that both
he and the President had decided that
dismissal would be too severe punish
ment for the cadets, and that al
though the President had signed the
order before he (the Secretary had
actually promulgated it, the matter
was now settled and the cadets would
soon return to West Point.
Secretary Wright went on to pay a
compliment to the cadets and ended
up by saying that after their rein
statement they would be properly dis
ciplined according to the methods of
the Military Academy.
After Secretary Wright's statement
had reached the Executive Office here,
1t was given out there that the action
of the. President in signing the order
before it had even been promulgated
was done merely as a joke to brighten
the young men.