Hutchinson gazette., 1899-02-23

he Appears Before the Court Of
Inquiry.
PRESS INTERVIEWS ARE EXPLAINED.
Me Gives lIis Opinion Concerning the
Meats Issued TO the Army
Many Letters Offered
s in Evidence.

Washington, ID. c., February 21.--
The Miles court OF inquiry Monday
made good start In It's work. The
court was comfortably quartered In
the old meeting room OF the Lemon
building, with accommodations for
representative OF the press associa-
Hons and the local papers.
i'he court returned at 1905 from
its NSit OF courtesy to the president,
and after two photographers made
pictures OF the court, Colonel Davis
Qnnounced readiness to proceed, and
read the orders conyenlng the court
and its instructions. Following the
reading OF the order, which has been
published already, Colonel Davis read
q letter from Adjutant General Cor.
bin in response to a letter from Gem
eral Wade, president Of the court, ex-
planning specifically the lines along
which the court was expected to In.
yestlgate.
The court was then sworn and Ma.
jor General Nelson A. Miles was pre-.
sented as the first witness. lie Gpa
peared In fatigue uniform and was
sworn. After stating his rank and
Office, he was asked about his state-
ment before the war committee. He
said he made one, and upon Colonel
Davis submitting printed report OF
that statement General Miles exam
ined and approved 1t.
Then he was asked about an alleged
interview which appeared in the New
York journal Of December 29, wheth-
er II represented completely or in
part what he said,
General Miles said: 81 do not re.
call anything in that interview that
had not been given in my testimony,
or transmitted in my reports. You
will observe IL contains a number OF
my decllnations to name officers or
any authorities and refusals to answer.
VI must, therefore, be incorrect in its
representation"
lHe then commented upon the gen
eral Slight lnaccuracy OF newspaper
interviews, owing to the dependency
OF writer's upon their memories. Hard
ly day in SIX months had passed
THAT au interviewer had not applied
and because Of the Kindness Of tn .
press 10 the army and especially the
enlisted men he had endeavored to
give them such information as he
thought wise and safe, but never, he
said, with view to prejudlcing any
one against anyperson or department.
FINALLY General Miles said he did not
think the Journal interview repre-
scented correctly what he said, be.
cause its contents should be taken in
connection with all that was said, his
silence upon some points and speech
upon others.
Then being asked about an inter
view from the New York Herald OF
February /, he said: 81 have letter
from the gentleman, who ] under.
stand wrote this, in which he says
he is willing to swear that ! declined
10 be interviewed and that thinking
something had been given out, he had
proceeded to write what he knew were
the facts"
tHe then pointed out that the inter-
view was erroneous in that where 1t
represented him to have said that he
had Overwhelming evidence that the
refrigerated beef was treated with
chemicals, the fact was that his only
evidence was what was contained in
the reports Of officers and statements
Of men who claimed that the beef had
+ til lodor Of an embalmed body, that
they had seen fluid injected into beef
and other indications of chemical
treatment. He declared the interview
an erroneous presentation of what he
could possibly have said.
Colonel Davis, recurring to the
statement of General Aliles before the
war commission, asked him what his
idea as to the beef supply for the
aruny was when war broke out. Re-
plying, General Miles said while his
attention was occupied with welghtier
matters of mobilization and equip
ment OF troops, he felt confident that
the usage of a hundred years would
be followed and cattle herds would be
shipped to the army in the tropics and
killed there, just as they were during
the civil war in the south, in Arizona.
Texas and i'm Mexico, where 1T was so
hot that soldier could not sit upon
the rocks He understood Cuba and
Porto Rico were excellent grass c0un-
tries; cattle could be shipped and
kept in prime condition. He reviewed
his action ia cabling the department.
to send no more refrigerated beef to
Porto Rico, while he was there, find-
ing it possible to use beef on the hoof.
General Miles said that he under
stood that our troops in Porto Rico
were still being supplied with form
OF refrigerator beef, although the
country Is as good q grass country
ne any 10 the world, and the cattle
there were plenty. and the Spanish
tr0ops drew all their meat supply
from this source.
Colonel Davis aslSed If General Miles
lcnew whether Porto Rico exporteda
hty cattle. Witness said II did, to the
Stunsber OF several Thousand. and that
ehoy were Ane cattle. Still he under.i
lltpOd. .tlsgs .ppE tgoons we're not. only