El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-26
He Tried To Have General
Miles Court
Martialed
DISH0N0R TOO GREAT
And He Took the Only Means
He Saw To Refute the
Charge Of Poison
ing Soldiers.

WASHINGTON, Jan. ZO.-1Q0 Eb86u
court martial resumed it's session at
the Ebbitt house at 10: 10 this morning.
Gen. Eagan had arrived three minutes
before. He looked pale and troubled.
His eyes, better than anything else,
showed the strain under which he was
laboring.
Colonel Alexander and Colonel
Davis, associated with Eagan in the
commissary department., testified that
the day preceding Eagan's testimony
the commissary general was in state
of intense excitement, 60 much SO that
he could not attend to his Office duties.
Davis tried to reason against the
strong statements but could not. The
man was almost beside himself.
81 will not change anything" de-
clared Eagap; 81 have been branded as
q msrderer and q thief by Miles and
cannot stand it.'' Esgan was not
amenable to reason when he started to
appear before the war board.
Both witnessed paid an eloquent
tribute to Eagan's honesty and sinceri-
ty of purpose. Esgan told them Of his
endeavors to courtmart1sl Miles,
which were vain because OF the presi-
dents promise of immunity.
Miss Millard. the commissary gen.
erals stenographer, was the next wit
ness and testified to taking the state
ment, and to the intense excitement of
Gen. Eagan during the dictation.
There was q stir when the next wit
ness was called. It was Eagan himself.
He stated his age at So, detailed his
connection with the army. and brought
out important features of his record.
He was wounded in the Modoc war and
was breveted captain for bravery,
He became commissary general May
4. In his official capacity he has ex-
pended between nineteen and twenty
million dollars.
OF his testimony before the war
board he said: sI was summoned be-
fore the board and gave my testimony
undersoat preferably so. I WANTED
to appear before the board to refute
Miles q statement and was called in re-
sponse to my request, but was not
given as much time to make my state
ment as had desired.
81 had q conversation with Secre-
tary Alger. told him that desired
to meet those charges that was q liar
aud a thief, butswss told that General
Miles, under the presidents promise,
could not be reached.
s.The interview with Miles, publish
ed in New York, nearly drove me
crazy" The voice of the witness be-
came husky. ST felt that I would be
better dead in the gutter than
in this condition." he continued.
"My wife, my children, my
self disgraced. I didn't know what to
do. The intimation was that I had
poisoned soldiers under pretense of au |
1 had no redress. 1 +
believed the honor of soldier should |
no more be impugned than the virtue
of a woman"
Attorney Worthineton here report
ed that he was stopped in proceedings
because of the absence of witnesses.
Judge Advocate Davis was author.
lied to invite the secretary of war to
appear tomorrow and the court ad-
iourned until tomorrow.
It was evident that Eagan's testimo-
ny had made. quite an impression upon
The members of the court. Yesterday
hey treated him formally; today at
,he conclusion of the court session
hey pressed forward and. number
spoke to him cordially and shook him