Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-06-18
EVIDENCE OF INVESTIGATING BOARD NOT TO BE CONSIDERED
Court Rules That This VIII Have No Bearing Whatever On Findings As
Result Of the Present PrObe-Munix First Class Holds
That Original Defendants Have Been Made Goats"
Of the Whole Affair

Suspicion that midshipmon may have
combined 10 purchase copies of exam
ination questions from some one EN-
ployed at the Naval Academy. and of
alleged contributions TO a fund for
that purpose, was limited in course of
this mornings session of the naval
court OF inquiry that is probing irreg- I
ularities in the Snnual examinations
and other matters at the Academy
This developed through two Ques-
tions puJ by the Judge Advocate 70
several midshipmen who were heard
as witnesses before the court. None
of the middies however had ever heard
of such state of affairs. nor even Of
reports OF it, Attempt is also being
made in behalf of the Governments
side Of the inquiry TO show that
number of midshipmen have conscien
tious scrupIes against 'he use of dope
or any other Information pertaining
to examinations in any shape
This came about through the fact
that mention was made OF two mem !
bers of the first class who refused TO |
use the dope that was I'm circulation AT
the late annual examinations, because |
Of their belief that it came through
some illegitimatc channel Bat of
the five witnesses examined this morn
ing. there vas only one who admitted !
:hat he had put his foot down on the |
use of such information. This was Ut
o. Carson who said that when he first
entered the Academy he resolved to !
himself that he would not do So ana /
that he had held fast with but one eX-
ception. This exception he said was
an OCCASION some time ago when he
was a patient at the hospital. and that
his roommate brought him consider
able dope to study and help him out
on test
He said that on this instance he did
study it, but he failed on the examina-
ton anyhow. Carson said it has been
his practice to rely on his own guess
es. rather than place much faith IN
the dope that is ordinarily Eiven out
by instructors in the section rooms
other witnesses heard this morning
were J. X Davis, w f. MEGA c. u.
Hinton and Hitchcock, ali OF the first
class. Davis and McCa, had been
mentioned as declining ouse the lope
on the late examination ~ modern
languages because thsy thought %
might have been secured from au im-
proper source. This, however, they
denied saying lat they had no reason
to suspect that such illegal informa-
tion was being circulated
When Midshipman Davis was Civ
ing his testimony, Ensign Struble. who
has been drawn into the inquiry as a
defendant, caused good bit of laugh
ter in the court room when he put a
question that was somewhat out of the
ordinary, bu tin line with the fact that
the middies are up to all sorts OF
tricks and plaguing one another in
connection with getting dope or some
sort of information about examina-
tions.
Struble asked Davis if he had ever
heard Of a report of an incident where
| the examination questions had been
| secured through a negro messenger in
one Of the departments, who, wear
ing white trousers, sat on the mimeo-
graph machine, and later is supposed to
/ have sold the trousers TO a midship-
man. Davis admitted that he had
heard Of such an instance, while every
| one broke out in laughter
Other witnesses examined before the
noon recess was taken we're A.C.MiIes.
G. F. HHusey. L. W. Bagley and r. X.
| Jones, but nothing new was adduced
| by their testimony.
A point that is regarded as very IA
vOrable to the interests Of the original
| seven defendants was scored yester-
day when the court ruled that the pro
/ cedings Of the first board OF investi-
CATION detailed by Superintendent Ful-
lam would, in no wise, be considered
as evidence in the present inquiry. but
that the findings OF the court would be
based entirely upon the evidence now
being gathered. This ruling was an
nounced by Capt Robert L. Russell.
president Of the court, after Congress
man Carlin, of counsel for the defend
ants, had raised the question.
| The accused midshipmen were found
/ guilty by the board of having in their
possession advanced copies Of exami-
nation questions, or onenses connected
| Herewith, entirely upon the testimony
| given by them before the board, when
they had been told they were on trial
and, threfore. had the right to refuse
to answer discriminating questions.
So, if the seven accused midshipmen
when they testify in their own be-
half should decline to answer ques-
tons pertaining to the character OF
the examination papers alleged TO
have been received by Midshipman
Moss. the present court would be left
in the dark.