The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1898-09-15
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Goo POD rrsaIar eorrsspondenl.l

uict, nhdhcH utubr, dhA ShdbtCu w
e gether as friendly as any two oil
comrades might be expected to do
This must be surprising to those VIII
: believed, or pretended to believe tina
when the two men met, there woul'
! be drawn swords and contest o
the regulation Three Guardsmen'
order. If the men are really as un
friendly towards each other as one
might infer from reading recent news
! paper publications. they are both
past masters in the art of concealine
their feelings. There was certainly
no signs of enmity when they met in
the office of Gen. Miles, in the War
| Department, that could be detected
Gen. Miles will talk every time he
gets an opportunity about the neces,
sity Of charging the regular army
and the recommendation he intends
making to Congress on that subject,
but he says the statement he gave
out as soon as he landed in New York,
contained all he has to say at present
concerning the campaigns in Cuba
and Porto Rico. 1t is believed that
the President will take no notice
officially of what Gen. Miles said re-
hecting on the War Department, un-
less circumstances compel him to do
so, if Miles doesn't do any more of
the same sort OF talking. He has
met Miles twice since he returned to
Washington, but nothing was said
by either about those newspaper pub
lics tions.
The President has decided to have
an investigation of the entire con-
duct of the war made by Commits
sion of the most prominent men he
can get to assume the task-men
whose names will cause anything they
say to be accepted by everybody with
out question-for the purpose of try
my to put an end to the charges and
counter charges now being printed in
the newspapers While the Alger
Miles wrangle is said to have had
nothing to do with the idea of having
this investigation, which was oSten-
sibly asked for by Secretary Alger,
it may have much to do with it, as
Gen. Miles is not a witness that is
likely to be overlooked by the Com
mission. That he is anxious for the
investigation all the world knows.
The heads of the Departments of the
Army most directly concerned in the
investi9ation-the Commissary Gen
eral, the Quartermaster General and
the Surgeon General-all say that
they will welcome the most rigid IN
vestigation into the acts of their sew
eral Departments, and Gen. Shafter
assured the President, personally,
hat the more thorough the inveSti-
CATION of everything connected with
he campaign against Santiago was
made, the better it would please him,
because he was certain it would result
II adding to the credit of the men {
Who took part in that remarkable |
and in making the people {
more clearly understand the nature of I
he difficulties that were successfully ]
q
No President for long time has I
een on such good terms with Con-
ress as Mr.. Mckinley has been and t
) likely to continue, as long as he S
ticks to present methods lie never I
oes anything important before con ?
erring with members of both branches a
f Congress, not only of his own a
arty, but Of all parties. He asks a
hem to freely express their views, II
nd frequently accepts them as better e.
r more expedient than his own. P
'othing could more distinctly accen- a
rate the Presidents policy Of keep a
lg in touch with Congress than the fl
ersonnel of the American end of the Ii
eace Commission, which is to meet m
! Paris, Oct. |, to negotiate a treaty 10
peace between the United States TO
I'd Spain, that shall determine the al
ture government Of the Philippines. &c
hree out of the five Commissioners Il
e Senators-Davis, Frye and Gray ye
and all of them are members of the ID
'nate Committee on Foreign Rela-
ons, whica will necessarily be an wi
Iportant factor in determining "
neither the Senate will ratify the TO
'aty. after it is made. The first tn
o are republicans, and the last
The President is doubt. an
IS correct in assuming that any co
eaty approved by these three SEN hi
ors, is likely to &c approved by the Sci
cesSary two-thir DIS of the Senate. Ju
10 other two Commissioners are tn