El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-22
Use of Purloined Examina
ton Papers Causes Sen
sation in Navy.

& NNAPOLIS, Nd, June 22.-The
~ revelation Of widespread use OF
purl0ined examination papers by
the young men Of the United States
navay academy Is causing a pang to
every officer in the service today, for
it hits them in a quarter of which they
are very jealOus-their honor.
The high traditions of the service
have been stained-this graduates Of 10
and 20 years, standing admit. The sit
uatiOn seems to be mat the course Of
study IN the academy has been made
too severe for the material which it
gets. The prescribed studies are fitted
to turn an exceptional candidate into
an exceptional naval commander, and
the academy gets only the ordinary run
Of young Americans
However, this Is not givea here as a
palliatiOn. The naval code Of honor is
a peculiar one, but it does not in any
way cover up cheating TO pass exams"
Becomes a Machine.
To succeed at Annapolis the ordinary
young man has TO work very hard. The
authorities do all they can to turn him
into a machine.
Six DAYS a week he must Jump out
of bed at o'clock, and on the seventh
at z.
He has his allotted number Of min
utes for dressing and for breakfast;
he has his study hours and his recita-
tons hours all rigidly marked off and
at 10 o'clock he mus tgO to bed, willy
nillv.
He must keep his room in apple pie
order, hang his bedclothes over the
footboard in a prescribed way every
morning and be ready for inspection Of
his bureau drawers at all times.
Even his dancing Is prescribed and
forced down his throat whether he in
elines to the society Of the fair sex or
not.
Under this rigid discipline the naval
cadets have developed certain peculiar
customs, some of which are continued
after they leave the school. They have
even their own peculiar language, which
is largely unintelligible to an outsider.
The duel persisted in the navy many
years after it had died out in American
society elsewhere. The frequent serious
and sometimes fatal boxing matches are
a relic of the old time encounters of
pistol and sword.
The fatal Braneh-Meriwethe boxing
match in 1905 was the cause of revela-
lions of peculiarities in the academy
The fight was held in a room of Ban
croft hall during supper time one even
ing.
Many such fights had been held be-
fore, and everyone, including the sur
geOn who had to patch up the partici-
pants, had winked at the practice.
But this time Branch became uncon-
seious In the 22d round and later died
without regaining consciousness. A
rigid investigation was held and punish
ments were meted out, but the very
superior officers who imposed the pen
10 a.
because they realized that everyone in
Yolved had simply followed the code.
Indeed, to a landsman it seems that
the naval cadet will tell a falsehood to
protect a brother officer at any time.
It IS a part of the code that no class
mate shall report another for a viola
ton Of academy regulations unless as
a consequence of his failure to make
such a report he himself viii be re-
ported and for a more serious offence
than that of which his classmate is
guilty.
Daniels Makes Improvements.
Conditions have improved somewhat
at the academy Of late years. Secretary
Of the navy Josephus Daniels has
stamped out serious hazing by dis
man guilty of violating an
order in this regard. lie further threat
ened TO sentence hazers TO one years /
confinement. He said in transmitting
an order on the subject:
4 have no sympathy with hazing. A
hazer is essentially a bully and must |
have in his nature a streak !
of the innate cruelty possessed bv !
brutes who torture dumb animals for /
the pleasure Of watching their suffer !
ing"
Betting is another forbidden delight /
to midshipmen. In the fan Of 1912
half the students or about 400 men in /
volved in a pool Of $1,000 which was |
raised to be wagered against an equal I
amount collected at West Point on the /
result of the army-navy football game. |