Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-26
Findings Expected to Be Given the
President Friday.
RECORDS OBTAINED
Some of Them to Be Recon-
mended for Court Martial.
GENERAL NILES COURSE

The beef court of inquiry expects TO hand
its findings as to Gen. Miles allegations
| to the President and Secretary of War on
| Friday next. Major Lee counsel for Gen.
| Niles. will postpone his departure to join
| his regiment. the 9th Infantry, at Manila
| until that time.
| The court has received information from
| the judge advocate at Chicago that he has
been unable to secure the depositions from
| Witnesses Maloney and Gottschalk de-
| sired by Majoc Lee. Further effort in
| other direction will be made to secure this
| evidence.
Mr.. Maloney is a former attorney gen.
eral of Illinois, and accompanied his son,
" no a soldier, from Newport News to
Porto Rico the transport Manitoba.
Maj. Lee expected to prove by him that the
| transport was insutficiently loaded with
Supplies; that the meat spoiled and caused
| sickness. and that IN Porto Rico there was
such a shortage and deterioration of sup
Plies that he made up purse Of several
! thousand dollars and advanced it to the
Illinois soldiers for the purchase of the
neCe ssaries of life.
BY Mr. G0ttSchalk, who is a retired chem
| list, it was to be shown, for General Miles,
| that he has manufactured chemical pre-
ServatiVeS for the beef packers, and that
| these have been and are extensively used.
| What the Court Has Done.
| Since closing the open sessions the court
has obtained from the War Department
| the full civil war records of three commits
| sary department officers who have been
named by certain witnesses as having fail
ed to carry out the army regulations while
on duty in the war with Spain.
Gen. Eagan also has appeared before the
court ard been questioned in this connec-
| tiOn.
1t is the expectation of we'll informed
War Department officials that, apart from
action unfayorable to Gen. Miles, the find
ings will recommend the court-mart5aling
of a number of commissaries and quarter
masters. The court is satisfied that the
spelling of much of the canned and refr!g-
Grated beef was due TO the negligent and
improper method of handling the meat.
1t has been discovered that the regulation
requiring that record and report of all
government property destroyed must be
kept and forwarded to the department W. o
almost wholly ignored and disobeyed. Mil
lions of pounds of meat were destroyed
without the authority of board of survey
and without any record or report having
been made.
OF the 80 per cent of meat condemned and
destroyed in this way during the war it
appears that but very small part is COW
cred by the proper action on the part of
commissary officers.
1t is very well known that Maj. Lee hasi-
tated to develop this fact during the in
volition cognizant of the state of affairs
Therefore, severe structures upon the Off
GERS involved are certain.
The Meat Contracts.
Another subject which will be handled
without gloves by the court is that relat-
ing to the meat contracts 1t has been
shown that the contract price of meat
covered the cost of the erection by the con-
tractors of at least three refrigerators on
the transports. These cost about $4,000
each but 1t has been testified that the gov
ernment erected these plants and the meat
contractor received the full contract price
for meat without any deductions 1or the
expense of building the three refrgera-
tors.
Therefore a profit of $4,000 at least went
to the contractor, which the court will hold
should not have been permitted by the |
army officers charged with the care OF such |
matters.
The failure of the officers to report the |
amount of meat destroyed has led also to |
the payment of the contractor In full with |
out deduction, except in the few instances |
of record. 1t is asserted that this undue |
profit amounts to 100000.
What Gen. Miles Friends Claim
Close friends of General Miles assert that |
he will not be satisfied with any finding |
that is less than complete vindication of |
himself They declare that congressional |
inquiry is inevitable, and that before 1t is |
demanded General Miles will protest to the |
President, as the commander of the army
and navy, against the findings. He will |
state, 1t is maintained, that two members
of the court, General Davis and Colonel |
Davis could not in view of their alleged |
well-known and long-eXisting animosity for
him give the facts fair and impartial con-
sideration.
No other course than a protest to the |
President, the inspiring of congressional |
action is open to Gen. Miles by way of ap-
peal from a court of inquiry. Were the |
President TO act favorably upon the pro-
test he would grant a rehearing of the
case. After a conviction by court-martial |
the officer concerned can offer new evil
dence, and the Secretary of War or the |
President can consider it and set aside or
modify the courts findings. But there is
no such appeal from court of inquiry ex-
cept to the President, who may direct a
new inquiry.
Alleged Impropriety by Col. Davis.
Certain War Department officials state |
that Recorder Davis committed an impro-
priety when he withheld the Presidents
complete interrogatories and directions in
the matter until the last hours of the IN
Quiry. These We're in Col. Davis hands IL |
is charged. when the court convened aid |
he falling to make the letter a part of he |
record then, Maj. Lee was always in IL
dark as to what he had to prove, and was
deprived of the opportunity to devel ID full |
evidence upon certain points within the
Presidents contemplation.