The times., 1899-03-16
GENERAL WASHINGTON
NEWS AND GOSSIP.

The Miles Court of Enquiry
Friends of the Administration are seriously
alarmed over the latest developments con-
nected with the Miles Court of Enquiry.
Although the Court was unquestionably
organized to disprove the statements of
General Miles and discredit that officer in
the estimation of the public the investiga-
tion has, a matter of fact, vindicated
General Miles almost from the beginning.
and substantiated every material charge
that he made concerning the issuing oil et-
balmed beef to the soldiers in the field ana
other shortcomings of the Algerian man
agement of the War Department. From
present indications. General Miles Will
come out of the investigation with flying
colors. At the same time. the vindication
of General Miles will be very embarrassing
to Mr. Alger andf the immediate members
of his particular; circle. Now that the IN
vestigation has heen started. Mr.. ,Alger ana
his confreres in Che War Department are as
much trial as General Miles. They
realize this fact iat last. which probably
accounts for their, anxiety to down General
Miles and ma ke him scapegoat, If pos
sible. -
1t is now conceded that the final result
of the investigation must be disastrous TO
either Miles or AIger. Up TO date General
Miles is on top; he has proved every point
that he has made. and Alger and his band
of so-called patriots are placed upon the
defensive. 1t will be necessary for them
now to utterly disprove the evidence that
has been submitted sustaining the Miles
allegations or stand convicted of thorough
1ncompetency or something worse. In the
light of the testimony adduced at the en-
| quiry, no sane person who is unbiased can
i find any fault with Miles for the course
that he has pursued The. testimony re-
veals really a much more serious state of
affairs than was -intimated by General
Miles in his reported interviews. A signiti
cant phase of the matter is that many per-
sons OF considerable prominence who have
been hitherto inclined to take sides against
General Miles and defend the Algerian con-
tingent in the War Department are now
beginning TO veer around to the other side.
| Whether this change of front is due to the
| prepOnderance of evidence in Miles favor
or an intimation from the Presidents i'm
mediate circle is not known. and il is of no
| great consequence; but the fact that the
subservient camp followers who always try
| to keep in touch with the weather vane
| at the White House and accept its varia-
| ttons with implicit confidence and becom-
| ing philosophy, are now intimating that
there may have been something wrong
| about that canned beef business" is GER
| tainly deserving OF notice. The natural in
| terence even to an obtuse man is that the
| Administration is getting ready to unload
| Alger and his crew. The time servers and
| sycophants are pretty good barometers.
/ They indicate very accurately which way
| the wind is blowing. and in the present in
| stance it seems to be decidedly against the
! Algerian outfit. It is not believed that Mr..
! Ayers stay in the Cabinet will exceed
! thirty days at the most.
Mr.. AiEer's Successor.-The almost
| absolute certainty that Secretary Alger will
/ get out of the Cabinet within short time
naturally leads up to a discussion OF his
/ probable successor. This is a matter tina
will require the most careful consideration
! If an available man from every point OF
| view was at hand it is believed that Mr.
Mckinley would have found a way TO OBJ
| tain Mr.. Alger's resignation before this
! But the President is embarrassed to a GER
! tain extent by the fact that he is a can
| didate for a second term, and We are al
most on the eve of the assembling OF
| the National Conventions. The dropping OF
Alger has become a political necessity, bul
| the selection of his successor. under the
circumstances. is quite a delicate affair
/ There is feeling among army officers that
| the President would not go very far astray
! if he should promote Assistant Secretary
| George d. Meikeljohn TO the vacancy. Mr.
| Meikeljohn has shown great executive abil-
| ity in handling the details Of his office. and
so far as possible within the sphere of his
! authority he has held in check the bale
| full influence of the Algerian contingent.
Mr.. Meikeljohn Is from Nebraska. and has
been a prominent factor in the politics OF
| that State for a number of years. He is
sturdy Republican. an aggressive parti-
san, but. at the same time. he does not,
it is said, permit his politics to influence
his actions in handling the matters that
come under his immediate supervision.
With Mr.. Meikeljohn, it is claimed. politi-
cal considerations are subordinated to the
interests of the public service.
Army md Navy ippointmcnts.-
Unless a great many usually we'll informed
| people are at fault there is likely to be a
| pretty big scandal in the near future over
some of the recent appointments in the
army and navy. 1t is asserted that rank