Arizona republican., 1898-10-05
GENERAL WHEELER ON THE STAND
He had No Fault to find With the Manaue- ment of the Santiago Campaign and Refutes Charges Regarding the
 Conditions at Camp Wikoff.

Washington, Oct. 1.-The military investigating committee has made public the letter Of Secretary Alger to the president and the request the com- mission made upon the war depart ment, all of which go to show that the investigation is to be wider and more thorough than any ordered by any gov erenment at Washington. The oppon- ents of the administration who have been predicting a whitewash will find 1t difficult to suggest any line of in quiry which has not been started and invited. President Mckinley when he ordered an investigation of the conduct Of the war decided that it should be thorough and complete. The commis- sion. taking the president at his word, has begun the inquiry on a scope that may well satisfy all persons, those who complain and those who do not, that l if there is anything left uncovered when the commission has ended its work it will not be the fault of those who are conducting the investigation, but Of those who are not ready to pre- sent in specific form their complaints i and the proofs that will show the jus tice of those complaints
 The first calls for information the commission has made on the war de- par tment indicate that the investiga- tiCn is to be bsgun at the beginning
 The commission will take up not only the recent complaints regarding the treatment of soldiers, but will go back and take up the first complaints that were made by the democrats over the contracts that were awarded for muni- tionS of war, transports and everything else supplied to the army. It will also investigate the mobilization of troops, the quality of their equipments and the transportation of sroops by sea and land, in order to show under what conditions and with what intelligence and honesty tks great work of prepara- 1 ton for war was conducted.
 The investigators will also endeav- or to get at the inside movements of the war department in preparing the campaigns that were conduoed. The commission has called on the secre- tary of war for the first plan of cam paign, the plan of the campaign at San tiago, the reasons for the selection Of Tampa as base of operations, the es- tablishnent Of summer camps in the
 south, and the holding Of troops On board the transports for several days after embarkation, the date of the Porto Rico campaign was determined, and the reasons for that determination. Those questions will bring out the se- cret history Of the war over which there has been much controversy, but which has never been made public in official form.
 The commission has decided that thsre need be no reservation or fear on the part of any one il presenting com plaints against the war department. It has called. on the secretary of war and all the bureau chiefs for all complaints
 which have been received by them
 since the first Of April touching the conduct Of the war. 1t has also in vited everybody who has complaint
 to make and is ready to father it, to send that complaint in writing to the commission It does not even demand
 proof from these who present their complaints All it asks is that those who are making complaints about the abuse Of the soldiers and the misman- ageEent of campaigns shall make them directly to the commission and be ready to testify that they have knowi- edge and not simply hearsay Of the charges which they prefer.
 The commissioners agree with the president that the people have the right to know the whole truth regard 1 ing the conduct Of the war, and if there has been mismanagement, corruption or intentional cruelty that it shall be shown in 3 way to allow no guilty man i to escape. They believe that to un- cover the whole truth they must begin at the beginning and show what has been done as well as what has been left undone. In their efforts to do that they are ready to investigate the com ] plaints of the humblest wherever those complaints really touch the conduct of the war by the war department, Or those over whom, it had direct control. such as bureau chiefs. staff officers and general officers in command.
 The war investigation commit tee began the examination Of witnesses today by placing Gen eral Joseph Wheeler on the stand. Chairman DcGge stated to him the scope Of the commissions duties and asked General Wheeler whether he had any objections to be sworn. He replied that he had none, and Major Mills, re- corder for the commission, adnlinis