The age-herald., 1899-01-18
Wheels of Machinery Already
 Set in MotOn THE CABINET UNANIMOUS McKinIey's Advisers Agree That Action Should be Taken. THE CASE AGAIN THREsHED OVER Details of the Court Left to the Sec
 retary of War.
PAGAN REvIsEs HIS STATEMENT
Eliminates the Offensive Language and Sends the New Statement to the
 Investigation Commission Text of Revised Version.

Washington, January 1.-The president today announced to the cabinet shortly af- ter it assembled for it's regular Tuesday session that he had decided to order court martial to try Commissary General Eagan for the abusive and violent language he had used respecting Major-General Nelson A. Miles while on the witness stand before the war Investigating commission last Tuesday. Ever since the sensational event the pres ident has been carefully deliberating over the matter and has had frequent consulta- tions with army officers and others regard ing the steps that should be taken, for he was convinced from the outset that the question for consideration was what action should be taken and not whether any dis ciplinary measures at all should be had. A determination to take some action was vigorously expressed at the last cabinet meeting,. but the president reserved final decision.
 Conference With Alger
 Today just before the cabinet session he held conference with the secretary of war and Adjutant- General Corbin. It was not long in duration, but the action to fol- low General Eagan's utterances was decid- ed, and when the cabinet met the president announced that he had reached his decision in the natter He said he had determined that there was only one course to adopt and that was to order a court martial to be convened at once to try General Eagan
 The decision, which was reached only this morning, notwithstanding reports that court martial had been decided yester- day, met the unanimous approval of the members of the cabinet. Three of the pres idents official advisers, Secretary Alger, Secretary Wilson and Postmaster General Smith, were absent, but in each instance their views are known to coincide thorough ly with the presidents decision. There was some discussion following the presidents announcement in which the case was threshed over to some extent, though the president himself took little part in this discussion.
 Machinery Put in Motion
 The details of the action were left to the secretary of war, who had withdrawn just prior to the session to return to the war department to put in motion the machinery for the converting of the court
 While it was not definitely stated after the cabinet meeting what specifications Wouiu pt iHdQe dS6lIiSl 0Snefal EaRan, It IS understood that the specific charge on which he will be tried will be conduct un- becoming an officer and gentleman. The personnel of the court was not taken up, that phase of the action being held to be not cabinet matter but one that rested be tween the president and the secretary of war
 General Merritt, former commander-in- in-chief of the Philippines, has been men, toned as likely to preside over the court and cabinet official said today he would not be surprised at General Aferritt's ignation.
 The session of the cabinet occupied about an hour and half. Advices were ceved from Manila that the situation on the Islands is very quiet.
 Returning to Manila
 The dispatch was to the war department and proved the most gratifying of the news from that quarter received since the state Of affairs in the archipelago recently as- stunned a-serious phase. It announced that the people who had moved out of the city of Manila owing to alarming, but unfound- cd reports, were quietly returning to their homes. At Iloilo affairs are progressing satisfactorily and gratifying fact reported In the cablegram was that the officers aboard our ships and the individual insurg- ents were fraternizing freely on shore and that there was no signs of trouble.
 President Mckinley announced during the session that he had finally passed on the personnel of the commission to visit and report on the Philippine islands, as fol- lows: Messrs. Schurman, Dewey. Otis, Danby and Worcester. Their selection al- ready had become known and official an- nouncement shortly will follow. The re- mainder of the cabinet session was taken up with matters of administrative detail.
 The war Investigating commission today decided to make public the amended state ment filed by Commssary-General Eagan yesterday. The commission permitted the representatives of the press to read the statement and it was formally announced to the newspaper men that General Eagan had eliminated all objectionable statements and therefore the document would be ac- cepted by the commission as evidence.
 Eagan's Amended Statement
 General Eagan begins his new statement official Eopy of the statements made to