The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-26
EAGAN COURT MARTIAL.
The Commissary General Was Goaded
to Desperation.

The Commissary General Was Goaded
to Desperation.
Washington. Jan. 23.-The board of
army officers to sit as a court martial
| in the case Of Commissary General
| Eagan met this morning at the Ebbitt
house and proceeded to business. The
court consisted of Major General WEES
| ley Merritt, U. 8. A; General James
s. Wade. Y. S. "; Major General M.
z. Butler, q. s. "; Major General $. r.
M. Young, y. S. "; Brigadier General
| Royal =. Frank, Z. S. "; Brigadier
General George A. Randall. y. S. V.,4i
Brigadier General Jacob Kline, q. s.
v; Brigadier General Richard Comba,
U. S v; Colonel Peter c. Haines. Colo
mel George L. Gillespie, Colonel Charles
G. Ruter, corps of engineers; Colonel
Francis L. Guenther, 4th artillery; Lieu-
tent George Davis, judge advocate of
the court.
| After the usual preiminaries the
charges against Eagan were read by the
Judge advocate. At the conclusion of
the reading, on being requested to plead
to the specification of the first charge,
he said mot guilty" not denying, how
ever, that the specifications set forth
correctly part of the language used. To
the second charge he pleaded mot
guilty."
The judge advocate then arose ana
said the case in hand was a peculiar
one but presented no unusual difficult
ties. The accused had seen fit to add to
the plea of mot guilty some words
tending to qualify it, but he did not
think the plea relieved the court from
the necessity of proving the facts al
legged.
Judge Worthington, Eagans counsel,
responded briefly and explained why
MI 4
on his recommendation. The specifica-
lions did the accused great injustice
In that it selected particular express
sions without giving the context, and
in one OF more instances the specifi-
cations quoted begin in the middle IF a
sentence Continuing, Worthington
said he desired to state briefly to the
court the substance of Eagans defense.
Whatever, said he, the court may think
of the propriety of language used by
Eagan before the war investigating
commission, there was no doubt in his
(Worthington's) mind he was fully pre-
tected in using that language by the
laws of the land, in no
court, civil or military he said,
could the accused be held ac-
countable for his language, even if
it could be shown the speaker was act
uated by malice. In addition to this,
the president Of the United States had
instructed the war Investigating com
mission to announce publicly that wit
nesses before the tribunal would he
given immunity from the consequences
of any statements made.
Warrington went over the testimony
given before the war investigation COM
mission by Miles and said Eagan rad
attempted to bring charges against
Miles for his statements, but met re-
fusal from Alger. Counsel said the
newspapers then took up the charges
of Miles and goaded 5Eagan almost to
desperation. He had come to believe
the press and country at large had ac-
cepted the accusations, made by Miles
as true, and the condition of his mind
in consequence grew worse, until he
was in a state bordering on distraction.
The language which Eagan used I'M
der these circumstances was the natural
outburst of an honest man suffering
under unjust accusation.
The court took a recess and the men,
bers were received by the president at
the white house. At 1850 the body re-
assembled and Major G. Mills testified
on behalf of the government.
He was recorder for the war investi-
eating commission. The manner, he
said, of Eagan in giving testimony be-
fore the commission was that of a man
laboring under great excitement but
trying to control himself. The witness
identified some of the language in the
specifications as that used by Eagan.
Major General McCook retired, was
the next witness. He was present when
Eagan was before the war investfgat-
ing commission. 1.-The impression /
had" he said. was that Eagan must
be laboring under great nervous ex-
element"
He recalled some of the language
used and ii agreed sl1bst antially with