The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-13
CALLED MILES A LIAR
Eagan Made a Bitter Personal
Attack on His Commander.
THE BEEF WAS ALL RIGHT
The Commssary General Branded Miles
as Social Outcast-The Most Sem
sational Act in the EN-
balmed Beef Drama.

washington, Jan. 12.-COmmiSSary
General Charles p. Eagan to-day reap
peared before the war investigation
commission to answer the charges of
General NelsonA. Miles concerning the
commissary supplies furnished the army
during the recent war. General Eagan's
statement furnished the sensation of the
war commissions history and was re-
garded by old army officers as one of
in the history of the service General
Eagan's statement to the commission
was bitter personal attack upon Gen
eral Miles. SO entirely unqualified as to
scope and language, that the war COM
mission, on hearing its conclusion, or
dered a brief executive session, after
which the doors Were opened, the wit
ness was recalled and business resumed
in the usual way.
The subject in controversy was Cen
eral Miles already famous "embalmed
beer testimony. and the letters and
documents supporting it. General Miles
had charged that the canned and refrig-
orator meats sent to the army in Cuba
and Porto Rico were unfit for use; that
they were preserved by the use of
chemicals and that they had been
bought and sent TO the army under pre-
tense of an experiment" This reflec
ton upon both the ability and honesty
of the commissary department had an
gered General Eagan and caused him to
request to be recalled in reply to Gen
eral Miles charges. That his stale
ments concerning the commanding gem
eral We're not the result of a sudden out
burst of passion was clearly shown by
the fact that General Eagan read his
remarks from q carefully typewriter
copy. Not the least remarkable phase
of General Eagan's statement was the
language in which it was couched. There
was scarcely a phrase that would not
have been characterized as sensational
in ordinary official utterances.
General Eagan, after the hearing was
over refused to say whether he had
any further move in prospect in forcing
an issue between himself and General
Miles
Il have said al! [ intend to say for the
present. he replied, land if any one
wants to bring the matter to a court
martial | am ready for that, too, as I
have already stated before the commits
sion"
Miles Noncommitta1.
AS soon as the nature of General Ea-
gan's statements became known, at
tention was directed to army headquar-
ters to ascertain what move would be
made by General Miles. The latter,
through Colonel Kitchener, his chief
aide, beyond saying that he had stood
for the soldiers, declined to make any
statement, saying that now was not the
time for talk. and before taking any
action it would be only proper and
necessary to wait until he had an op
portunity to receive through the regular
channels and to consider the testimony
furnished by General Eagan. He would
not talk about a court martial, alto
gether the intimation construed being
that General Miles would act with de-
liberation if he decided to take any ac-
ton at all: and there was a faint sug-
gestion that he might decide to ignore
the statement altogether
OF course, a decision to that effect on
the part of General Miles would ter
inmate the incident but should he de-
eide to take notice officially of the at
tack the next step would be for him to
prefer charges with the president
against the comnissary general. These
might be based on several technical
grounds, such, for instance, as conduct
tending to the destruction of good order
and discipline. 1t would be for the
president to pass upon the demand and
Refuse it, grant it, or. instead, order a
court of inquiry. In this latter case the
body would have the power to go into
the question of Veracity which has been
raised, and in fact, the conduct of both
generals would be practically under ex-
animation.
Gen. Charles P. Eagan, commissary
of subsistence, was then recalled to an
swer regarding the charges of General
hot 1al OIL Il
beef was furnished the troops in the
field. General Eagan had prepared a
typewriter statement covering his side
of the case and was allowed to read it.
General Eagan referred to the fact that
General Miles had refused to be sworn
and commented on the fact that he
was only one of five hundred witnesses
who had refused. General Eagan said
he himself preferred to be sworn. Cen
eral Eagan began by calling attention
to General Miles appointment of Major
John D. Black. a civilian, as chief of
staff, and said that this was largely
responsible for the trouble that fol-
lowed. He said that Major Black had
been furnished $4,000 before starting for
Porto Rico and that he had apparently
not known enough to provide himself
with a check book and had not left his
signature with the secretary of the
treasury, nor made any other prepara-
ton for availing himself of the funds
at his command. There were expert
enced disbursng officers in the island
who. in the aggregate, had over 100000
in their possession, and yet General
Miles had complained that there were
no paymasters in the islands, SO that
the soldiers had no money with which
to buy food for themselves. General
Miles had then called on the depart
ment to put $4,000 more in the hands
of Major Black, and this General Eagan
declined to do. putting $4,000 to Major
Blacks credit in New York
yellow journal knaves.
General Eagan referred to the myste-
rious manner in which papers disap-
peared from the files of the war de-
partment. He said that while General
Miles was at Tampa he wired to the
commissary general to know what
stores and supplies were on hand at
Tampa and some other point Gen
eral Eagan replied in the usual way,
though at that time the railroad tracks
at Tampa were piled with millions of
rations. General Eagan said he was
astonished the following morning to see