The record-union., 1898-09-26
1t Will Formally Begin Its Lahors
To-Day.
General GrenYilIe N. Dodge Elected
President.
It is the Presidents Desire That
the Investigation Shall be Rigid
and Searching and No Limit is
Placed Upon It-Who the Men
Are Who Compose the Commis-
sion.

s1ons
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25-The COM
mission appointed by President McKin-
ley to investigate the administration
of the War Department in relation to
its conduct of the Hispano-American
war will begin it's labors formally to-
morrow. The commission effected an
organization yesterday by the election
of General Grenville M. Dodge as Pres
ident, Richard Weightman Secretary,
and Major Stephen c. Mills Of the reg
ular army Recorder.
That it is the Presidents desire that
the inquiry should be rigid and search
ing was indicated by his statement to
the commission when it assembled at
the White House for a conference with
him yesterday. No limit is placed by
the President upon such investigation
1t is to include every department OF
the army and the President assures the
commission in advance that he Will af-
for1 it every facility in his power for
the prosecution of the zost searching
inquiry into every part of the admins
tration of the war; Among other things,
the President said: Il cannot impress
upon you too strongly my wish that
and complete that your report, Wen
made, will fix the responsibility for any
failure or fault by reason of neglect,
incompetency or maladminiStratlon
upon officers and bureaus responsible
therefor-if it be found that the evils
complained of have existed.
The people of the country are enti-
tied TO know whether or not the citizens
h,A W Tpcnoo6p1 n "a
of duty have been neglected or misused
or .maltreated by the Government to
which they so willingly gave their
services. If there have been wrongs
committed, the wrongdoers must not
escape conviction and punishment"
The following are biographical
sketches of all members of the COM
mission except DIR. Connor of Cincin
natl, who has not arrived in Washing
ton.
Major General Grenville NJ. Dodge,
President of the commission, was born
April i. 1881; graduated from Nor
wich, VT, University as a civil en-
gineer. He entered the service April,
1861, as Captain, was made Colonel of
the Fourth Iowa Infantry June 10,
1861, Brigadier General March 10. 1867,
Major General May 10. 1863; command
ed Sixteenth Corps in Atlanta cam
paign, 1864. In November, 1864, he
commanded the army of the Depart
metn of Missouri In 1860 he was as
signed to command of the Indian cam
paign He left the army in 1866 built
the Union Pacific road and Texas Pa
cific; was a member Of Congress from
Iowa. Since then he has been connect
ed with railway systems of the United
States: President of several railroads;
succeeded General w. T. Sherman as
commander of the army of Tennes-
see; now commander of the military
order Of Loyal Legion, State of New
York
Major General Alex. Med. McCook.
u. s. A. (retired), is a member of the
fighting McCook family of Ohio.
He was born April %, 1881, and ap-
pointed 90 the Military Academy in
1S47. graduating in 1862, and was as
signed to the Third Infantry. When the
civil war came he was on duty at the
Military Academy. He was appointed
Colonel of the First Ohio Volunteers
April Is, 1861; promoted to Brigadier
General of Volunteers September ),
1861, and Major General of United
States Volunteers July Il, 1862. He
d
the operations in Kentucky in 1861 OF
a division in the Tennessee campaign
of February June, 1862. and of the
First Army Corps in the advance into
Kentucky which resulted in the battle
of Perrysville. He was in command of
the right wing of the Fourteenth Army
Corps in the Tennessee campaign OF
1862 Including the battle Of Stone
90 +Ies T%zs-np tail
Corps at the battle OF Chickamauga-
He was engaged in the defense of the
Capital at the time of Early's raid.
and in 1865 was sent with the joint
commission of Congress to investigate
Indian affairs in the West.
At the close of the war he was ap
pointed Lieutenant Colonel of Twenty
sixth Infantry, and served for many
years on the staff of General w. T.
Sherman. He became Colonel of the
Sixth Infantry in 1880; commanded the
infantry and cavalry school at Fort
Leavenworth, Kas.; was appointed
Brigadier General United States army
in 1890: promoted Major General in
1894, and retired on April 22, 1898. He
was selected by President Cleveland
as the official representative of the
United States at the coronation of the
Car in 1896
Brigadier General John NJ. Wilson.
Chief of Engineers. L. S. A. was born
in the District of Columbia: appointed
from Washington Territory to the Mil
itary Academy in 1860. and after serv-
ing short time in ordnance and
artillery was assigned to the Engineer
Corps. He served throughout the Civil
War, first as an engineer, afterward
as an Inspector General, and engaged
in many of the battles of the war.
At the close of the war he returned
to engineering, and was in charge of
many important duties. In 1880 he
became Superintendent of Public Build
ings and Grounds at the Capitol, serv-
ing in this capacity until 1889, when
he was made Superintendent of the
Military Academy, where he served un-
til 1893, when he was again made Su
perintendent of Public Buildings and
Grounds, ard served as such until the
1st of February, 1897, when he was
appointed Brigadder General, Chief of
Engineers.