Evening star., 1899-03-14
GEN. WHEELER'SCASE
Efforts to Prevent His Retention in
Service.
CHARGES INDIGNANTLY DENIED
His Attitude Regarding Retreat
on July 2.
GEN. CORBIN'S FEELIN G

The reported cabal Of army officers
against Gen. Joseph Wheeler mentioned in
The Star yesterday, is the first intimation
of what may become a warm piece of his
tory, unless there Is a cessation of the
talking which is going on and of the alleged
efforts to prevent the retention of Gen.
Wheeler in the army.
Cen Wheeler's friends are becoming asi-
tated, it is said, over the stories which are
being told about him, and which are de-
clared to have been started by officials in
the War Department. The friends of the
little general, however, declare that they
have no uneaSneSs to his future, as the
President will take care Of him, having
several times expressed the desire to see
Gen. Wheeler an officer Of the regular
army. 1t is believed that at the first op-
portunity President Mckinley will appoint
Gen. Wheeler a brigadier general in the
regular army and allow him to retire after
the fighting has ceased. 1t is known that
Gen Wheeler would accept such a position.
and desires this above everything else. If
appointed to the regular army and allowed
to retire he would sever his connection with
politics.
The President, it is said. may find it i'm
possible to make Gen. Wheeler & major
general. Had the Hull bill passed it is pos
itively known that Gen. Wheeler would
have been among the major generals ap-
pointed The others who would have been
honored in addition to the regular army
men, would have been Gems. Lee, Wood
and Wilson: The opportunity of making
these appointments having disappeared
when the Hull bill was defeated the next
best thing with the President will be the
appointment of Gen. Wheeler as a briga-
der general.
The ISLANDERS against Gen. Wheeler are
said to be still in circulation among men
who want to prevent his entrance into the
regular army. Gen. Wheeler is aware of
these stories, and so is the President who
has declared that he will pay no attention
to them.
The Charges Against Wheeler.
The chief charges in circulation are that
Gen. Wheeler fought the battle of La Guas-
imas against positive orders. and that he
wanted to retire from in front of Santiago
on the night of July 2, the second day of
the battle with the Spaniards. Gen.
Wheeler is said to feel keenly these impu-
tations. inasmuch as he knows that they
false.
that Gen. Wheeler received the congratu-
lations of Gen. Shafter, proof that he had
not disobeyed orders. The refutation of
the charge of wanting to retire from be-
fore Santiago is furnished in the following
story of close friend of Gen. Wheeler:
1t Is admitted by the very men who are
opposing General Wheeler that he fought
against retreat on the night of the first
days battle in front of Santiago. Well. Oh
that night, after the killed and wounded
had been removed to the rear, the doing of
which required the services of many men,
there We're only about 5000 Americans on
the ridges in front of the Spaniards Cen
eral Wheeler was surrounded by officers
that night beseeching him to order a re-
treat. 1t is well known that he refused
in the strongest possible language. He
not only did this, but he sent a message
TO General Shafteo saying what efforts
were making to have retreat He asked
General shafter to pay no attention to the
entreaties when they reached him. On the
night of July the American force num-
1ered close to 1o,ooo on the ridges around
santiago, and they We're well protected
by breastworks. General Wheeler had no
thought of retreating then, and did not
once mention the subject. Is it likely that
he would have advocated retreat the sec
ond night, with 1900 men, and opposed
retreat the first, with but 5000 men?"
1t is declared that this stamps the story
as preposterous. To further dispose of the
story. however, General Wheeler is said
to have received letters from Generals
Shafter and Kent and Governor Roosevelt
branding the stories as false. Governor
Roosevelt expresses astonishment that
such story could obtain foothold among
truthful men. He is indignant that the
story should obtain circulation at all,
Gen. Corbin's Attitude,
peculiar feature in connection with the
stories is the allegation of General Whee-
lers friends that General Corbin is un-
friendly to the Alabama fighter 1t is not
charged that General Corbin has instigated
any of the stories in circulation, but it is
alleged that he has never shown the friend
~ feelng for General Wheeler that should
have been prompted 1t is declared that
General Corbin is such a close friend of
General I-awton that he would oppose any
person llkely to be raised in rank above
General Lawton.
Among officials of the War Department
and army it is declared that there is no
special feeling against General Wheeler
and that there is as much friendship for
him as there would be for any volunteer
officer in the army. The whole thing is
said to arise out of the usual feeling among
army oft1cers that an outsider should not
be placed in the army above men who have
been there for years.