Evening star., 1909-08-19
SUTTON HAzERS OUT
President Taft Dismisses
Seven West Point Cadets.
LETTER OF LAW SUSTAINED
Announcement Is Made at Academy
Today.
INVESTIGATION WAS RIGID
Sutton Was Attacked at Night by
sheeted Cadets and Sc
verely Injured.
LETTER OF LAW SUSTAINED
INVESTIGATION WAS RIGID

WEST POINT, n. Y, August 19.-By
direction of President Taft seven cadets
we're dismissed from the. United States
Military Academy today for being involv-
ed in the hazing of Rolando Sutton. SUIT
ton is a brother Of James n. Sutton, jr..
Of the Naval Academy. whose death was
Investigated at Annapolis recently.
The cadets ordered to be dismissed are
John H. Booker, jr of West Point. Ca,
first class: Richard w. Hooker, Kansas
City, Mo-. third class; Earle w. Dunmore,
Utica. N Y, third class; Chauncey C.
Devore. Wheeling. w. Va, third class:
Gordon Lefebre. Richmond. Va. third
class; Albert E. Crane. Hawarden. Iowa,
third class. and Jacob s. Fortner, Dothan,
Ala. third class.
the cadets were paraded at noon today.
Charges were made several weeks ago
that Sutton was assaulted while on guard
duty, walking lonely post, and beaten
down by men wrapped in sheets and
masked with pillow cases.
He was found almost dazed and sent
to the hospital suffering from severe in
juries. On account of the law passed by
Congress to stop hazing at the Military
Academy. a rigid investigation was made.
The board which conducted the inquiry
was composed of Lieut.. Col. Sibley, Capt.
Oscar J. Charles OF the 18th Infantry
and Capt. NJ. F. Smith Of the Goth In
fantry. More than 12J witnesses were
examined.
Taft Takes Firm Stand.
The action of President Taft and
Secretary Dickinson in directing the
dismissal Of seven cadets convicted OF
"hazing" Cadet Sutton is accepted by
the officers of the army at the War De-
partment and the civil officials at that
department as a. clear indication Of the
purpose of the administration to fully
support Col. Scott, superintendent Of the
United States Military Academy, in his
efforts to eradicate the practice of haz-
ing in all Its phases from student life
at the academy.
1t was at the suggestion OF the Presi-
dent that the action of the War Depart
ment in this matter was made public by
Col. Scott at West Point instead OF
through the adjutant general at Wash
ington. AS q matter of fact while the
offlcials here were informed Of the ac-
ton. they were cautioned against giving
out any Information on the subject. -,
dences Of revival Of hazing had been
found in the investigation OF the Sutton
case at West Point and that seven cadets
had been convicted of that offense by
brought to bear on the President and the
Secretary of War for lenient action.
While it was admitted by the friends of
the accused that they should be punish
ed, ii was argued that their Offense was
but "boyish prank" and not sufficient
ly serious to subject them to the odium
of dismissal from the service at the very
outset of their career.
That these appeals were lnenectual is
accepted as a demonstration that the
President means to follow the letter of the
law of Congress bearing on such cases by
imposing the special penalty provided In
the law for "hazing" by dismissing the
offenders.
The action in this case is in decided
contrast with that taken by the preced-
ing administration in cases of similar
character just about year ago.
Last Years Case.
In July. 19OS eight. cadets of the Mill
tary Academy were suspended for hazing
members of the fourth class. They were
William T. Russell and Harry G. Viewer
of the first class: Byron Q. Jones. George
Spaulding. William Nolle and James A.
Gillespie of the third class. This action
followed a mon, his work by an tnvesti-
eating board.
Secretary Loeb at Oyster Bay that
President Roosevelt had approved the
action of the West Point authorities
and that the men would be permanently
dismissed. Then on August l IT was
given out that President Roosevelt had
seen Secretary Wright of the War De-
partment, to whom the cadets had ap-
pealed, and had decided that the Of
| fensc of the boys had been mild one.
Secretary Wright said after the CONFER
| ence that the President had come to the
conclusion that dismissal was too Sc
we're.
Considerable public criticism of what
was considered undue leniency followed.
Then August 3 President Roosevelt
gave out an offic' al statement denying
that he had as yet come to any decision
regarding the case and that all other
| reports had been errors. There follow
ed conferences between Presideqt Roose-
Welt, Secretary Wright and Col. Scott.
! in which it was suggested that all the
| men be suspended for year and then
| reinstated. Col. Scott, however. insisted
| that for the sake Of discipline more
drastic punishment was needed: Ac-
dismiss the two first-class men and sus-
pend the other six without pay or al
| lowance.
Wright Explanation.
Secretary Wright. in explaining the
said the President, on first receiving the
report from Col. Scott recommending
dismissal had been inclined to uphold
it. but had directed the Withholding OF
| the order of dismissal pending further
| investigation. In this way, he said. a
wrong impression had gone forth.
! One of the forms of hazing practiced
was to compel 'plebes' late at the first
roll of drums in the morning to gather
each a hundred ants in the company
streets and store them in their lockers.
| Another was TO make the victim hold
his toes against the underside of the
| table while he ate. 'Bracing," "knuck-
ling tagging" cleaning rooms and
darning socks were also enforced. In
| 1901 Congress passed law forbidding
all forms of hazing at the Naval or Mill
tary academies.
II am very. very sorry for those boys
said Mrs. Rosa B. Sutton, the mother OF
the young cadet on whose account the
dismissals occurred. when informed OF
the Presidents action by Star re-
porter. II look upon the affair as q
| boyish prank and don't see why the
seven cadets should have been dis
missed. For my part, / never asked that
anything be done to them. Their dis
| missal will naturally have serious eff
| feet on their future careers, and il is
| too bad that their punishment should be
SO severe.
The letters receive from my son
are to the effect that he is getting along
splendidly. He does not appear to be
| in the least unhappy"