No. 38.

ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, March 20, 1901.

The court of inquiry convened by direction of the President pursuant to paragraph 25, Special Orders, No. 290, December 11, 1900, from this office, and of which Major General JOHN R. BROOKE, United States Army, was president, "for the purpose of inquiring into and reporting upon the alleged treatment of former Cadet Oscar L. Booz at the United States Military Academy, upon the measures taken to prevent such treatment of new cadets at the Academy, and the extent to which new cadets are now subjected to such treatment," has reported as follows:

REPORT.

I. THE ALLEGED TREATMENT OF FORMER CADET OSCAR L. BOOZ AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY.

(a) Accusations.

It is alleged in the testimony of William H. Booz, the father of the late Cadet Booz, upon information claimed to have been received from his said son, that the latter during his service as a cadet at the Military Academy at West Point had been forced, on or about the 22d of July, 1898, by the upper classmen of that institution, to take tabasco sauce, and that thereafter on several other occasions, while in camp and in the mess hall, he had likewise been forced to take other table sauces; and that his said son had been challenged to fight another cadet in August, 1898, and that in the fight resulting from said challenge had received a blow and bruises over his heart, causing great and prolonged pain and personal injury, and had both eyes blackened and two teeth knocked loose. It is further alleged by the said William H. Booz that his said son had his blankets pulled off of him, while in camp, at night, had hot candle grease poured over his feet, and, generally, that his said son was brutally treated at the Military Academy, and that after his return from the latter place, in

October, 1898, was never again in good health, and finally died in December, 1900.

Miss Nellie Booz, the sister of the late Cadet Booz, produced two letters received from her said brother, written while at the Military Academy, in August, 1898, in which he states that he had been "exercised" continually and treated badly; that on one particular night he had been "exercised" until he nearly fainted; that the upper classmen, contrary to existing orders, made him frequently assume a constrained attitude, called "bracing," which in itself consists of an exaggerated "position of the soldier" laid down in the drill regulations: that on the 6th of August he had a fight, in which he was whipped and had both of his eyes blackened and received a cut under one eye; that since the fight he had been insulted, threatened, and badly treated by upper classmen, because they asserted that he had dropped out of the fight, not for the reason of being knocked out, as he claimed, but that he did not want to fight; in fact, that he had shown cowardice, and would therefore be looked down upon in the Corps of Cadets; and finally, that fearing not only bad treatment on the part of the upper classmen, but also to be called out to fight again, he asked his father's permission to resign his cadetship at the Military Academy. The same witness also states, that in verbal conversation with her said brother, after his return from the Military Academy, the latter stated that ever since he had been obliged to take table sauce at the Military Academy he was forced to expectorate a great deal and had a peculiar feeling in his throat never before experienced, and further, that he stated that he took the said sauce against his will, had resisted, but was held down to take it. This witness also stated that her said brother's health had been broken down ever since his return from the Military Academy.

Horace C. Booz, brother of the late Oscar L. Booz, testified, in substance, that in letters received from his brother written at West Point, which letters are no longer in existence, having been destroyed, the writer stated that his throat had grown so sore from being compelled to take tabasco sauce that he could no longer eat; that he had been compelled to

go and fight another cadet and was whipped; that he fought until winded, and seeing no necessity of fighting longer dropped out of the fight; and that therefore the upper classmen treated him very harshly, stating that he had disgraced the Academy by his conduct in the fight. The witness further stated that his said brother, in a conversation he had with him, maintained that large quantities of tabasco sauce had been forced down his throat by upper classinen while at the Military Academy. In a portion of a letter received by the last-named witness from his said brother, and submitted to the court, the writer states that he had had trouble with his heart for some days, the result of several severe blows received in the fight.

(b) Proofs.

It must be remarked at the outset that, although frequently questioned by his relatives and others as to the names of the upper classmen at the Military Academy who had treated him brutally and forcibly administered tabasco sauce to him, former Cadet Booz refused to give any information in this particular. It therefore became the duty of this court to bring before it as witnesses, and thoroughly examine, the classmates of the late Cadet Booz now at the Military Academy. The examination resulted in the development of the fact that the members of the class to which the late Cadet Booz belonged while fourth classman were subjected to severe hazing, having been required to perform so-called "exercise" to the limit of their utmost endurance, these so-called "exercises" taking an exaggerated form of the exercises laid down in the drill regulations in the School of the Soldier," and were known as "eagling," "wooden-willying," etc. In addition thereto, fourth classmen were required to take "sweat baths." This consisted of the cadet being required to retire to his tent with the walls down, putting on his rain coat and covering himself with a blanket, and thus remaining in a recumbent position from half to three-quarters of an hour in midsummer. Another form of hazing was indulged in in the mess hall, under which the fourth classman was required to eat a quantity of molasses with bread or a certain number of prunes. It was also not infrequent that fourth classmen, and at times upper

classmen, were pulled out of their tents at night on their bed ding and dragged along the company street. So-called baths in the company street were also administered to fourth classmen after dark, consisting of the cadet being obliged, in a nude condition, to run from one end of the company street to the other, the other cadets being aligned on both sides with buckets of water, throwing the same upon him as he passed by. In camp, as well as in barracks, table sauce, known as tropical pepper sauce, was given to fourth classmen in very small quantities. Fourth classmen were further required to render personal services to upper classmen, as, for instance, cleaning their guns, carrying water for them, making their beds, and sweeping out their tents and running errands. A practice of so-called "inspection of feet" was also in vogue, which consisted in the lower classman, who had retired for the night, having his feet uncovered and a few drops of grease from a lighted candle dropped upon his naked feet; testified to by a number of cadets as leaving no mark or causing any great pain. So-called “ridiculous and nonsensical performances " were also required from fourth classmen.

The classmates of late Cadet Booz generally have no particular knowledge of the latter being hazed to a greater extent than any other member of his class, but there was an impression among them that he had been less severely treated than themselves after the occurrence of the fight with an upper classman, from which time on he was generally "cut" by the members of the Corps of Cadets and severely let alone, on the ground that he had shown cowardice in the fist fight. The fistic encounter on August 6 of Cadet Booz with an upper classman-Cadet Keller, of the then third class-had its inception in the failure of the former to obey, while on post as a sentinel, the injunction, correction, or direction of an upper classman, not on duty, to walk the full length of his post, coupling this failure with an alleged impudent remark. This conduct of Cadet Booz was reported to the president of the next higher class, who took action thereon under a seemingly well-defined code in vogue in the Corps of Cadets, under the rules of which a member of this class of nearly equal weight and height was designated to challenge Cadet Booz to a fist fight. This fight took place between Cadet Booz and Cadet

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Keller of the third class, each combatant having two seconds, and a referee, timekeeper, and witnesses as sentinels being provided for the occasion. The victory was awarded to the upper classman. The cadets present on that occasion stated that Cadet Booz showed no other injuries than blackened eyes and a cut under one eye. The testimony elicited shows that Cadet Booz did not seek medical aid in consequence of his injuries received in the fistic encounter. His name does not appear upon the sick report of the Corps of Cadets during the remainder of the period of time he remained at the Military Academy, and a transcript of the records produced by the Commandant of Cadets shows that during the whole time of his service at the Military Academy Cadet Booz did not miss a single day's duty and was but once on the sick report, namely, on July 20, for diarrhea.

Two ex-cadets of Cadet Booz's class were also examined as witnesses. The first one, Sigmund S. Albert, now of Philadelphia, Pa., testified that he had been a tent mate of Cadet Booz in 1898, that table sauce had been administered to him in his tent in a small quantity, but he did not know whether Cadet Booz was present on that occasion or not. He further stated that he and his tent mates-former Cadets Booz and Burnham-were hazed, this consisting of being required to perform what is known in the Army as "setting up exercises," with some variations, in an exaggerated manner; besides this, being required to render for a time personal services to upper classmen, such as making up their beds, etc. He also stated that they were required to do nonsensical and ridiculous acts. This witness knew of no special injuries having been inflicted upon him or Cadet Booz through hazing or taking table sauce. The other ex-cadet, T. B. F. Smith, now of Carbondale, Ill., testified that he and Cadet Booz were severely and cruelly hazed with others of their classmates in Cadet Booz's tent, being required to perform so-called "exercises" for an hour, but that he himself felt no ill effects from the same.

The present members of the first class of the Corps of Cadets, who were third classmen in the academic year of 1898 and present on duty in the cadet encampment of that year, were examined as witnesses and generally admitted that hazing of the fourth classmen during the summer was