The silver blade. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1895-1903, 1899-01-14
SAYS GENERAL MILES LIED
GEN. EGAN's TERRIBLE WRATH.
The Testimony Of the Commissary Cen
eral Before the Investigating Commits
sion IL SensatiOnal--FOod Furnishe ed
to the Army-Miles Scored.

10 Vuo ATny-uAlleb ScOfeus
Washington, Jan. l3--The most vigor.
GUS and sensational testimony was given
before the war investigating commission
yesterday by Commissary General Egan,
who, appearing unexpectedly to meet the
allegation against the beef issued in the
war, vigorously arraigned Major General
Miles, commanding the army. He read
his testimony from written statement.
lie denied the numerous statements OF
Miles, charged that the latter's testimony
constituted severe reflections on the com.
manding generals of expeditions, and re.
ferred to him as "this same commanding
general, Nelson A. Miles"
After the testimony of Armour & Co.'s
agent, General Egan was recalled to tes-
t1y regarding the charges OF General
Miles that "embalmed' beef was furnished
the troops in the field.
Egan, among other things, scored Miles
for appointing John d. Black, civilian,
as chief of staff, stating that Black was
incompetent. The witness charged Miles
directly with disarranging and hamper
ing the administration of the war depart
ment by calling officers from their duty
where their presence was absolutely neces-
sary.
Egan cited Merritt and Shafter as ap-
proving the beef furnished, and remarked:
The newspaper statements emanating
from Miles that 10000 pounds of beef
were condemned at Puerto Rico are abso-
lutely false. No such quantity was con-
demned there or elsewhere"
The witness said Surgeon Daly's report
that the beef apparently was injected with
chemicals to aid in its preservation was
''falsehood." He denounced the assertion
that chemically prepared beef had been
issued anywhere, and said he did not be-
lieve DAILY had that belief, "then, since or
now" "This," continued Egan. is a scan
dal calculated to ruin thousands of peo-
pie and discredit one of the greatest in
dustries of the world"
General Egan, in the course of his testi-
mony, called Major General Miles, CON-
manding the army, "a liar, who lied in
his throat, lied in his heart, lied in every
part OF his body" who had perpetrated
gross scandal, and who should be drummed
out of the service and imprisoned, and
should be avoided by every honest man
and barred from every club. He charac-
terized his interview as "filth."
General Egan's testimony on this point
was: "Miles was asked by your commits
sion how timed beef became part Of the
army rations. His answer was: You had
better ask the secretary of war or the
commissary general. l think they can
tell you. ! know it was sent to the army
as food and the pretense made that it was
sent as an experiment.
miles, in saying this food was sent to
the army as pretense for experiment,
says that which implies corruption, which
80 out of every 100 people will understand
to mean corruption, because it was a pre-
tense of experiment. He says it, not even
giving credit to me for furnishing it as an
experiment but that l furnished it under
pretense OF an experiment.
This serious charge should not be
made by any man lightly, not without
evidence to support it. Taking the state
ment in the sense it was probably intend
ed, the sense that will be accepted by the
country at large, the sense that already
the press, almost wholly, of the United
States has accepted it-indeed, some of the
press, because of it, called for my dis
missal from the army and my court mar
tall answer it was not furnished under
the pretense of experiment, nor even as an
experiment; and when Miles charges it
was furnished as a pretense of an expert
ment, he lies in his throat, he lies in his
heart, lies in every hair of his head and
every part OF his body. He lies willfully,
deliberately, Intentionally and malicious
ly
'.If his statement is true that this was
furnished under the 'pretense of expert
ment,' then l should be drummed out Of
the army and incarcerated in prison with
other criminals. His statement is scan
dalous libel, rejecting upon the honor OF
every officer in the department who has
contmcted for or purchased this meat, and
especially and particularly on the COM
missary general-myself.
"In denouncing Miles as a liar, when
he makes this statement, l wish to make
it as emphatic and as coarse as the state
ment itself. l wish to force the lie back
into his throat covered with the contents
OF camp latrine. l wish to brand it as
falsehood of whole cloth, without par
ticle OF truth to sustain it, and unless he
can prove his statement he should be
driven out of the clubs, barred from the
society of decent people, and so ostracised
that a street bootblack would not conde-
scend to speak to him; for he has fouled
his own nest, he has aspersed the honor
Of brother officer without particle Of
evidence or fact to sustain in any degree
the sandalous, libelous, malicious false
hood, viz, that this beef or anything
whatever was furnished the army under
'pretense of experiment
The population of the Soudan Is mum.