The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1898-12-27
GENERAL MILES
is INVESTIGATING The
CAUSES
Of So Much Disease and of
the Short Supplies
nnanu TIT
FURNISHED THE ARMY IN THE
LATE WAR.
And It Is Reported He Will Be
Court MartiaIed.

In our Fridays issue, we gave extracts
rom the testimony of Gen. Miles, the
)ommander-in-Chief of the Army, be-
ore the so-called investigating COM
nittee at Washington. Officers and
men have many of them been afraid to
testify, fearing that they would be
court msrtialed by their superiors, or
put themselves forever out Of the way o
Gen. Miles is too much OF
! true soldier and too high in rank to
stand in fear of any of the martinets
who have acted the tyrant over those
below them in rank, and he told some
truths to the committee that has caused
. great stir among the officers in the
War and Commissary Departments.
We published the most important part
Of his testimony that was given to the
public, showing that there was at all
times deficiency Of supplies, an entire
lack in tho medical department, and
that much of the sickness was caused by
the canned beef that was furnished.
Since we published this part of the
Generals testimony, dispatches from
Washington have stated that Gen
Eagan, Chief of the Commissary De.
partment, will prefer charges against
Gen. Miles, and have him court martial
ed. This is right, for if Gen. Miles hai
slandered his inferior officers, it is righ
that he should be court martialed
What the country wants, is the truth
about the whole matter, and the punish
ment of the guilty.
General Miles is not frightened
by this threat, but tells the publi
that part OF his most important testi
mony was suppress ID, and that he j
carrying on an investigation himself.
When Congress meets, committe
will be appointed that will have powe
to investigate, and Gen. Miles viii
doubtless be one of the first to be calle'
before that committee to tell all that b.
knows.
Gen. Miles was in Cincinnati, Friday
and in an interview with Representative
of the Commercial Tribune, made som
very startling as well as some very II
terestipg statements. From these "
clip the following:
"Major General Nelson A. Miles is in
vestigation the army beef scandal. Th
much he told the War Investigatin
Commission in Washington az wltnei
Wednesday:
"During the course of conversatio
with Gen. Miles by representative I
the Commercial Tribune at the res
dence of Mr.. Frank Wiborg. in Cliftol
yesterday afternoon, he was asked
amplify his testimony given before IL
the War Commission on Wednesda
Attention was directed to the fact tn
the newspaper reports sent out by tel
graph were necessarily meager, and
was pointed out to Gen. Miles that Il
newspaper readers Of the entire Matte
were eager to hear just what he had
say to the board.
He admitted that great deal of b
, testimony, including statements
army officers, which he had presents
to the Commission in support of b
evidence, was not included in the pre-
report, but he absolutely refused to gi
out names of these officers or the n
, ture of their report.
When asked as to the Investigate
into the beef ration scandal he is NJ
> making to which he referred in
testimony, Wednesday, Gen. Mil
said:
"My suspicious were aroused sevel
months ago, and at once instituted
, in vestigation into the matter Of sendi
beef to the army in the West Indi
The item in my testimony of Wedn,
day, rela ting to 327 tons of refrigera
:. beef and 1913 900 pounds of canned fre
-. beef, which was unfit for food, is only
= item. This quantity was sent to 9
N town in Puerto Rico alone. How mu
more was sent to Puerto Rico I do !
know.
= "How about the beef supply for I
" army in Cuba?"
ut was just as bad. The conditit
&c there were no better than they were
~ Puerto Rico, as indicated in my tes
;" mony."
"How much meat was sent to CT
: only to spoil7"
"That lam unable to say"
o. "How about rations before the ar
- embarked? Was the supply no bet
- before the transports sailed than al
:. the army was established in Cuba7"
70 "It was the same at Tampa and
same at Jacksonville"
-. "How about the chemicals used
preparing this beei?"
re- GAS stated in my testimony, I
le. lieve that the action of these chemi,
~ was largely responsible for the sickr
in the army. I have medical author
d. for this statement, and believe it to
he true"
~ "Will you give your authority?'
,ot "No, sir. I gave to the commiss
,ly yesterday the names of many offit
We and men and their statements in q
=. ss port of my assertions"
nd The report of the Associated p
sent out Wednesday night contains
names of officers or their ststeme
such as General Miles referred to,