Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1912-12-11
rs. MD. WEDNESDAY. DEcEMBER II. 1919.
MIDD|ES ENGAGED IN
WHOLESALE BETTING
Guilt Of Four Hundred is Estab.
lished by Investigation.
DIRECT VIOLATION OF ORDER
One Caught Early. But in Spite Of This,
Others Persisted in Backing Foot
ball Team.


ball Team.
That four hundred members of the
brigade of more than seven hundred
midshipmen wagered money on the
outcome of the annual football game
between West Point and Annapolis,
played in Philadelphia on November
80, in direct violation to special or
ders issued by Superintendent Glib
bons, was developed by an investiga-
tion that was conducted by a board
of oficers Of the Department of Dis
eipline at the Naval Academy during
the last few days.
The proceedings Of the inquest are
now in the hands of the Superintend-
ent, and pending their review the
punishment TO be inflicted against the
offenders is not known. 1t is under
stsod, however, that il will be in the
nature of restrictions, in addition to
the assignment of number of demer-
its. And it is not unlikely that in
cases where the offenders hold rank
as cadet officers Of the brigade, the
holders will be disrated.
1t was admitted by the authorities
that the middies were not content
with making individual bets, but that
they put money into a pool. the very
thing that Captain Gibbons has been
| determined to break up ever since be
took charge of the naval school, The
amount OF the pool raised, it is stated,
! aggregated $4,000, and it was wager
ed at even money with the cadets of
the West Point Military Academy.
Just how the authorities got wind
of the wager having been made is not
known, but there were persistent re-
ports that the middies were persist
ent in backing their team with the
"long green, and when word went
down the line that an investigation
had been ordered to ferret out those
who broke the regulation, there was
a great furry among the brigade.
Incidental with the uncovering of
the betting from a monetary stand
point, there are all sorts of rumors of
other bets having been made. One
report has it that a midshipman and
rival cadet, who were close friends,
wagered their overcoats on the
game, while Billy" the Navy goat
and mascot also came into possession
of the blanket belonging to the Army
mule. The middies, it is said, have
stored this away somewhere as a
mascot. Behind the overcoat bet
which. it is reported from reliable
sources to havs beer made, there is
an interesting story. The names of
neither the MILDLY nor the West Point
cadet was given.
true to che conditions of the wager,
however. the soldier lad surrendered
his service coat to the winning sailor
lad. The MILDLY proceeded to Annap-
oils after the game, and kept the coat
in hiding through some means, lest
the watchful eye Of one Of the disci-
pline officers night discover it, while
the loser made the return trip up the
Hudson with the battalion of cadets
minus his coat, and, incidentally in
breach of the regulations, which were
enforced during the days trip. Then
the complications followed.
On arriving at Annapolis the mid
| shipman knew not what to do with the
garment he had won, for he could
hardly succeed in smuggling it into
Bancroft Hall. A thought suddenly
struck him, however, and knowing the
address of the West Point cadet he
arranged to have the coat expressed
to the cadets home.
Meantime, so the story goes, the
| Superintendent of the Military Acad-
envy communicated with the Naval
Academy authorities, the circumstan-
ces of the incident, for it is said that
the unlucky cadet was hauled before
the authorities when it was discover
ed that he had no overcoat. That
alone, it is understood, gave the local
authorities "tIp" that betting on
the game had been done by the mid
dies and was one Of the thidgs that
started the thorough probe.
Later, it is said, the midshipma.,
realizing zthe folly of sending the
overcoat to the cadets home, wired
to the parents of the West Point lad
to forward the package to the Mill
tary Academy Immediately upon it's
receipt.
And Billy" What form OF pun
ishment will be meted out by the au-
thorities to bis goatship? Certain it
is that the goat is the proud owner Of
the Army mules blanket, but lust
how the bet was made that brought
it into his possession, no one seems
to know. To send Billy to the prison
ship Reina Mercedes, which will like
| ~ be the punishment imposed in the
cases Of some Of the midshlpmen,
would hardly be to the liking Of the
ewner Of the big Buck. A coIored
man in town owns the goat, and it is
10 70 ] bet that Billy would win
his way with the crew of the captured
Spanish trophy to the extent that it