The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-04
ACTION AGAINST GEN. MILES
WILL PROBABLY DEPEND UPON
RESULT OF INQUIRY.
Try to Place Responsibility for Army
scanda1-Miles VIII Have to Prove His
EmbaImed Beef Statements - Failin &
In This He May be eCourt-Mart tailed.

| Washington, Feb. 3-The purpose OF
the president to terminate the unsatis-
factory state of affairs that has existed
for some time as the result of the num-
erous charges and counter charges and
interviews respecting the character of
the army beef by instituting a formal
inquiry into these matters and endeav-
oring to place the responsibility where
1t belongs, was made known to-day.
This inquiry will not be taken before
the commission to investigate the con-
duct of the war has made it's report to
the president. The scope Of this new
inquiry has not been defined but it cer-
tainly will embrace the allegations
made by General Miles as to the char
acter of the army supplies and will in
volve that officer to the extent that he
must make the charges good and to that
degree will be on trial here in a pre-
llminary manner Should the charges
be found well established, a heavy re-
sponsibility would be placed upon the
packers and persons concerned in the
meat inspection and perhaps others;
should they fall unsupported, General
Miles may be obliged to answer to a
court martial for rejecting upon the
character of other officers.
There are two methods by which such
an investigation may be conducted, ae-
cording to established military usage.
The first is by the appointment of
court of inquiry and the second by the
appointment of what Is known as an
officers inspection board. In the former
case it would be necessary to name
some officer who Is to be the subject of
the investigation. In the latter case
the board is charged simply to inquire
into a state of facts or alleged facts
without reference to any particular per-
son and to place the responsibility, If
possible, on the person Of whom COM
plant is made.
Where a court of inquiry Is ordered,
it is said there is conveyed distinct
upon the officer named Be-
cause of this when the navy depart
ment requested the war department to
order a court of inquiry to investigate
the circumstances attending the kill
ing of a number of Spanish prisoners
on board the Harvard, the latter de-
partment instead ordered an inspection
board, considering that the ordering Of
the court of inquiry might be looked
upon as a pre-decision against our
troops Such officers boards are fire.
uuently ordered to fix responsibility for
the loss or damage of stores and several
Of them have been appointed during
the war to look into the loss of meats
notably in the case of that shipped to
Porto Rico and returned to Montauk
Point. Like a court of inquiry these
boards return statements of facts de-
veloped by them upon which the super
or authorities can act.
1t is impossible to learn in what di-
,ection the president leans. but he has
,een in conference with the secretary
If war and the attorney general and the
natter has been discussed In the Sabl-
,et to some extent. UP to the close of
he day General Miles POSITIVELY de-
,lined to discuss in any manner the
vents of the day so far as they re-
ated to himself or to discuss any state
nents contained in any of the inter-
yiews attributed to him. 1t may be |
aid of these interviews that, while 1T is
they might figure, they
would not do so of necessity, for the
first to be looked into are those |
,ertaining to the character of the army |
,eef.