Evening star., 1898-12-22
The Conference.

No sir; l do not think the recommended
llonS made III that letter of May - were
| approved. was Cen. Corbin's reply
The Conference.
Cen Dodge-'Was it the custom. in NOV
ing larg7 bodies of the men for the de-
| partment. to assemble the heads Of the
various divisions for consultation and in
struction?"
Gen. Corbin-"Yes. sir. Not only that
but copies of the order under which it was
done were handed to the various com
manders."
Gen Dodge-"Then there were frcnuent
cOnferences?"
Gen. Corbln-"Frequent. And perfcct
UNDERSTANDING.
Gen. Dodge-"Complant has been made
Lhat paymaSters We're not ordered TO Porto
general" ans
/ ly, too" ''''''' 'i'' ''9
Ihe witness then stated that the pavma,-
l.rS were sent on a ship that touched at
Santiago One had yellow fever and tho
health authorities quarantined the vessel
ihey were not sent to Porto Rico. by Cen
Miles own direction because they bai hen
/ exposed to yellow fever.
Gen. DOfge-''How prnnntIv pyerc ,ba
other officers sent?"
Gen. Corbin-"By the first ship"
Cen Dodge asked if daily rcports vycra
received as to equipment and supplies daily
ny telegraph. from the various commands.
The Daily Dispatches
Gen Corbin-'Yes, sir. And as fast as
they were received by me a copy of each
was sent the same day to the heads of the
departments concerned. Often the Secra-
'dfF himself indorsed them with the order
10 hur1y along the things needed Eerv
frequently the Secretary would call for the
| ofhcial and discuss with him the best wly
| OF attending to the matter. | want to saw
! 'hdt all dehCie.Icies reported were due to
the lack OF the existence of those articles
/ From these daily reports We not onIy knew
what hai been received. but also the num-
Der of uniforms, wagons. etc. issued and
To whom, every day"
Gen. Corbin then volunteered to srnrI>,
lhe commission with any records in his of
nee At any time he would be pleased TO
| furnish everything desired. He was thank
eG by the commission
Col. Denby-"What are the du,ias re tho
inspector Seneral?"
zen C0rbin hesitated, and then SLOWLY
responded. 1T should be in time of u,a =
as well as in peace to inspect the cannns nf
soldiers and report their condition -
Col. Denby-"Are the duties of his suh-
ofulndteS the Sdme?
Gen COrbin-'Yes sir rrbair ra. -
forwarded to the adjutant general ,ybo
transmits them to the Secretary of War
Tor his Information"
Gen. COrbin Hesitated
Col Denby-''How does it happer tban
tAdt the conditions at Chickamauea were
not reported by the inspector general?"
zen. Corbin seemed n0npIussed by the
question and repeated it several times. He
! de-dyed replying a long time His en-
paifassnent was so plain that a smile over
spread the faces of Gen. Dodge. Col. Denbv
| Gen. McCook and Col. Sexton.
Gen. -Eorbin, finally-'I have not seen apv
report OF inspectors at Chickanauga. They
were sent TO the commanding general there
IL was his duty to remedy any defects
pointed out"
Col Denby-''We are in a very difficult
position. Gen. Corbin-"
Gen COrbin-"Tve occupied one myself
for some time 1t is not a new thing for
me- A0-
Col Denby-"There has been talk that
the efficiency of the inspector generals
office was not kept up. What do YOU think
about that?"
Gen. Corbin-"I think that is largely an
error. There was no interference
Gen. Corbin gave routine and technical
details concerning his work and then the
commission adjourned for the day They
will not adjourn for the holidays Only a
! Christmas recess will be taken as Col
Humphrey is expected to arrive every day
from Havana. The expectation is that Sec