Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1899-02-17
.SOMEW CIR CAL,
VAR tp.VEsTlGA1iNG COMMISSION
IS SIS MILDLY FINDS FAuL .s*..,

~ VIZ &oOASSS0e, SaSu1gtOn-trlCS1OnE t5es
S tween Comm.ndins General and HIS
superiors Deplored--The Beef Wax:All
Right Ch.ree. Of General Miles Res
gardinE Chemicals Not stantiated.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13. THE report
submitted to the president last Wednes-
day by the commission appointed by
him to investigate the conduct Of the
? war department in the war with Spain
has been made public. The report IS a
unanimous one, all the members Of the
commission having signed it except
Colonel Sexton, whose death occurred
Feb. 4. The report is a voluminous
document containing about is. 900 words.
An official abstract, prepared by the Sec
rotary Of the commission, was:furnished
to the press for it's convenience.
The commission has listened to all
who had any evidence to give, the re-
port says, and has done everything pos
sible to get at the real facts in the case
In the beginning of the report the state
ment is made that the commission has
discovered no dishonesty whatever.
Before proceeding to a specific de-
scription of the conduct and manage
ment of the war, the report gives COM
ments and suggestions touching certain
matters which came under considera-
ton as logical consequence of the in
quiry pursued by the commission,
One of these recommendations is that
the president should be empowered to
call upon retired army officers for serv-
ice in time of war;. Another criticism
is that there is altogether too much
routine in the war department, the
methods pursued making it almost i'm
possible to transact the vast amount
of business necessary.
Too Much Friction.
Perhaps the most significant utter
ance in the whole document, so far as
concerns the discipline and efficiency of
the army, comes next:
"For many years the divided author
ity and responsibility in the war de-
partment has produced friction for
which, in the interest of the service. a
remedy, if possible, should be applied.
1.-The constitution makes the presi-
dent comm ander-in-chief of the army
and he cannot transfer that authority
to any other person. The president Sc
lects his secretary Of war, who has his
confidence and who is his confidential
adviser. The commanding general is
assigned to duty rs such by the presi-
dent and his duties are defined by the
military laws Of the United States.
THE president must have the same
power Of selection OF his general-in-
chief as he has Of his secretary of war
Without this there can be no guarantee
that he will give, Or that the secretary
Of war will place in the general-in-chief
that confidence which is necessary for
the control Of the army. Neither the
president nor the secretary of war
should have in command Of the army a
person who is not working in harmony
with them"
A1ger Mildly Criticized.
The report now takes up the war de-
partment and its chiefs and subdivi-
sions, beginning with the secretary of
war:
1.-The records of the war which have
been laid before us show that the secre-
tary of war extended to all chiefs Of
bureaus cordial and full support and
promptly responded to every proper de-
mand made upon him by commanding
officers.
mo testimony has been presented
showing intentional neglect of duty nor
any attempt to serve personal interests
The charges made that the secretary Of
war was primarily interested in con-
| tract purchases and other contracts of
the war department., have been thor
oughly examined and found baseless.
"In the Judgment of. the commission
there was lacking in the general admin
istration of the war department during
the continuance of the war with Spain
that complete grasp of the situation.
which was essential to the highest eff
cheney and discipline of the army.
The Commissary Department..
1.-The commission has carefully in.
vestigated the subject Of the condition,
quality and quantity of food supplies to
the army. Almost without excep.
ton it has been shown by the test.
mony taken that wherever the, troops
were ordered, whether to. the various
camps in the United States or: in Porto
Rico, Cuba and Manila, the rations pre-.
scribed5 by law were On the transports
and at the camps with the soldiers
$50 far AZ we have been able to ascer.
tain there was but one occasion, that OF
= day in front of Santiago, when the
troops were seriously short Of rations
these had been supplied but thrown
| aside whom the. men went into action
At times the vegetable ration was not
Of good quality, the potatoes and onions
being sdoiled.
s''This commission was organized the
t4th day Of September last. Upito the
21st day Of December its members had
taken testimony in: II different towns
and cities and nine camps It also had
received many hundred letters, commu
nications and newspaper. clippings from
I persons livingin al parts of the coun
| ny. Examination of numerous officers
and enlisted men had been, made as L
the quality and condition Of the: nea,
/ issued to the troODs, The testimony