"In vain did Smith appeal to the Secretary of War for an opportunity to be re-examined; in vain did he ask permission to go back and join the class below--all appeals were in vain. 'Gentlemen,' says the secretary, 'I don't wish to be misquoted as saying that I can't give Mr. Smith a re-examination, for I say I won't do it.' The victim of the army has since published a three-column card in Fred Douglass's paper, in which he says he was dropped for politico-military reasons, and in the course of which he makes an almost unanswerable case for himself, but the Radicals have dropped him in his hour of necessity, and he must submit."(From the New York Sun.)CADET SMITH'S EXPULSION.
"James W. Smith, the first colored cadet appointed to the Military Academy of West Point, was dismissed after the June examination, having failed to pass an examination in some other studies. Recently the Sun received letters from South Carolina charging that the prejudices of the officers of the Academy led to the dismissal; and to ascertain the truth a Sun reporter went to West Point to investigate the matter. He accosted a soldier thus:
"'Were you here before Smith was dismissed?'
"'Yes, sir; I've been here many years.'
"'Can you tell me why he was dismissed?'
"'Well, I believe he didn't pass in philosophy and some other studies.'
"'What kind of a fellow was he?'
"'The soldiers thought well of him, but the cadets didn't. They used to laugh and poke fun at him in Riding Hall, and in the artillery drill all of them refused to join hands with him when the cannoneers were ordered to mount. This is dangerous once in a while, for sometimes they mount when the horses are on a fast trot. But he used to run on as plucky as you please, and always got into his seat without help.
Some of the officers used to try to make them carry out the drill, but it was no use. I never saw one of the young fellows give him a hand to make a mount. He was a proud negro, and had good pluck. I never heard him complain, but his black eyes used to flash when he was insulted, and you could see easy enough that he was in a killin' humor. But after the first year he kept his temper pretty well, though he fought hard to do it.'
"Captain Robert H. Hall, the post adjutant, said:
'Young Smith was a bad boy.'
NATURALLY BAD
His temper was hot, and his disposition not honorable. Ican assure you that the officers at this post did every thing in their power to help him along in his studies, as well as to improve his standing with his comrades.
But his temper interfered with their efforts in the latter direction, while his dulness precluded his passing through the course of studies prescribed.
"REPORTER--'He was always spoken of as a very bright lad.'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'He was not bright or ready. He lacked comprehension. In his first year he was very troublesome.
First came his assault upon, or affray with, another young gentleman (Cadet Wilson), but the Court of Inquiry deemed it inadvisable to court-martial either of them.
Then he was insolent to his superior on drill, and being called upon for an explanation he wrote a deliberate falsehood. For this he was court-martialled and sentenced to dismissal, but subsequently the findings of the committee were reversed, and Cadet Smith was put back one year. This fact accounts for his good standing on the examination next before the last. You see he went over the same studies twice.'
"REPORTER--'What was Cadet Smith found deficient in?'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'HIS worst failure was in natural and experimental philosophy, which embraces the higher mathematics, dynamics, optics, mechanics, and other studies. He missed a very simple question in optics, and the examiners, who were extremely lenient with him, chiefly, I believe, because he was colored and not white, tried him with another, which was also missed.'
"REPORTER--'Is optical science deemed an absolutely essential branch of learning for an officer in the army?'
DEFICIENT IN HIS STUDIES.
"CAPTAIN HALL--'It is useful to engineers, for instance.
But that is not the question. In most educational institutions of the grade of West Point, the standing of a student in his studies is decided by a general average of all studies in which he is examined. Here each branch is considered separately, and if the cadet fails in any one he cannot pass. I will assure you once more that in my opinion Cadet Smith received as fair an examination as was ever given to any student. If anything, he was a little more favored.'
"REPORTER--'What was his conduct in the last year of his stay at the Academy?'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'Good. He ranked twenty in a class of forty in discipline. Discipline is decided by the number of marks a cadet receives in the term. If he goes beyond a certain number he is expelled.'
"REPORTER--'This record seems hardly consistent with his previous turbulent career.'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'Oh! in the last years of his service he learned to control his temper, but he never seemed happy unless in some trouble.'
"REPORTER--'Have you any more colored cadets?'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'Only one--Henry O. Flipper, of Georgia.
He is a well-built lad, a mulatto, and is bright, intelligent, and studious.'
"REPORTER--'Do the cadets dislike him as much as they did Smith?'
"CAPTAIN HALL--'No, Sir, I am told that he is more popular. I have heard of no doubt he will get through all right. And here I will say, that had Mr. Smith been white he would not have gone so far as he did.'
"Other officers of the post concur with Captain Hall, but the enlisted men seem to sympathize with Smith. One of them said, 'I don't believe the officers will ever let a negro get through. They don't want them in the army.'
