The Washington herald., 1910-07-03

ed hour. and besieged the quartermas-
ters' tent In force.
There was evidently something 'fn the
wind" which the ''plebes' neither under
stood nor appreciated; the sentinels
shouting vociferously, corporal OF the
guard. No. 6; corporal OF the guard, No
7; corporal of the guard No. s." The
reason for this became manifest so soon
as the sergeant OF the guard, with his
patrol. appeared upon the ground. New
cadets, fall I'M was the command. and
away we marched as prisoners OF war,
but without our allowance Of stationery
As this was 'the first night In camp
many OF US svere treated 70 the toboggan
process and later on In the stiffness Of
the midnight hour tent here and there
might be seen to sink slowly TO the
ground. its canvas walls enshroudfng its
occupants, who, like phentoms in white
and pink. crawled out from under, as
does the early worm.
II has been held that hazing cannot be
effectually stamped out so long as human
nature remains as IL Is II is clear how
ever that the authorities have accom-
plished much In this matter, since the
people or the country have been m en-
tire sccord with the present policy.
Standard High at Academy.
For those who have been disposed to
eriticise the administration OF the Mill
tary Academy at any time. we must say.
with life ''tflat It's standards are high:
that to speak the truth Is essential 20
comfort there; that there is no influence
against religion. and that high character
/ is as much appreciated there as at any
institution IN the country. The question
may be asked. viii any detraction heaped
upon this institution incline prudent par
ents 10 keep their sons away? Not a
Bit" Congressman charged with the re-
sponsfbility Of the selection Of candidates
for the Academy generally prefer at the
present day TO open wide the door 10 all
Corners under the now general system Of
competitive examination. and presumably.
weight should be. il 1t is not, given by
the examining boards TO the moral attri-
butes of the youthful aspirants. so that
the service in this way may be provided
with a gentlemanly class Of men-"Gen-
tlemen not so much as respects wealth or
social pretensiOn. but as regards that IN
deniable quality OF manhood which Is the
basis OF character The blood in a horse
will show itself even though he is hitched
to a butchers cart; and II will reveal tt
self in A man however lowly his estate, -
Modification Of the rules of testimony
at the Academy has effected a radical
change of late years. The cadet can now
no longer constitute himself the Judge
OF what question he will or will not an
swer, as was the case for so many past
years
Nor can men under the rules Of military
~txat4 eo1r
tions which they will or will not obey
at pleasure.
Indeed. it has been said that the cadet
defense for hazing or "bracing'' more
particularly. is that when this is done
away with, the military bearing of the
cadet cannot be preserved.
Glass Organizations Abolished.
The authorities of the Academy on the
other hand. contend that matters Of this
kind can well be provided for under the
military system of the Academy, and for
this reason they have abolished the class
organizations which as an imperium in i'm
perio tended to pervert that unity of or
ganization and thGt directness of respon-
sibillty which are essential to the very
idea OF military government" Even older
Ngraduates of the Academy are brought
into line. az this hour, and agree that
the system can no longer be tolerated,
though many practical jokes were in past
years enjoyed by the victims. quite as
much as by the perpetrators; in fact some
have gone as far as 10 advocate a WELL
ordered system OF "hazing" By way
of illustration let these remarks be
applied TO guard duty or the sentinel as
viewed from humorous as we'll as seri-
Gus standpoint. The sentinel of course
always takes himself seriously, and
is rarely, if ever. in a joking moods
Probably for this reason more than for
any other. from the very peryersity of
human nature he is deviled-just as we
devil the crab. because 1t Is our fun and
not the crabs.
On what line then should We (all OF us,
not even excepting the Investigators and
lawmakers themselves) expect the ''haz-
ing" of the plebes at the government
academies to run. if not on the line of
the sentinel's post. All of us, of course,
respect the flag, the nations ensign.
Then. why not the sentinel. the nations
ward? And yet that we do not, cannot
be denied.
Insult TO Nation.
It is all one, whether that sentinel clad
In the uniform Of the United States army
was shot down at the gate of deserted
Moultrie or whether the ensign halyard
was shot away from the staff at Sum-
ter. In either case the insult was to the
nation itself, and in either event the
word comes back and with no uncertain
sound. Hands off
Why should the sentinel at the sally
port stop a free and Independent citizen
and inquire his business? What bust
ness has he with my business?' says the
citizen? What's he here for anyhow?
If he wants lighting why doesn't he 90 to
the Philippines and get It? Here every
thing is peace and aCiet-what,s the use
tEditor q The army and Nary Journal.