The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-15
THE REPORT is CONDEMNED.
(BY q. A. EDWARDS

The recent decision Of the beef court OF
inquiry is still the topic OF conversation
here. The details Of the report had been
discounted for some time. There can be
no doubt that the beef court obeyed rs
instructions almost literally. but there
lie an impression existing in military and
political circles that 1t overplayed its hand.
that 1t was entirely too faithful In carry
Ing out its orders at least II has laid
itself open to the charge of bungling stu
pidlty. which is sometimes worse than
| a crime. 1t would require finished artist5
to exculpate the beef contractors and con-
| denim Miles and other high officials OF the
regular army without leaving many bare
spots exposed to the public There isn't
man on earth who can read the report
of General Wade and his associates and
say truthfully that they can lay claim
to being whitewashers in an artistic sense.
~
No one was expecting fair and ina
partial report from this beef court under
the circumstances, and II was dlscredted
from the very beginning. They did not
expect 1t to investigate the army scandals
were pinning their faith to McKnley's
honesty and were fondly hugging tho de-
fusion to their bosoms that he would re-
fuse to approve a withdrawing report
1t is undoubtedly true that when this
report was placed in the hands OF the
president that he experienced a spasm
OF righteous indignation. or at least had
some sort OF a mt and loudly announced
that all the harsh criticism of General
Miles must be cut out of the report. The
faithful official chroniclers and tale bear
ers OF the White House do not state
how long this At lasted. but we all know
that he was talked out of it and allowed
the "cusslng OUT that General Miles re-
ceived to stand.
am firmly convinced that Mckinley
Will figure in history as webbing states
man. and Tom Reeds definition of a
statesman will apply to him with peculiar
appropriateness, viz: "A successful poll
tician--who is dead" Mckinley means
to do right, at least his friends say he
does, and that his intentions are always
OF the best, but he is apparently not pos
sessed of sufficient sand" has not suf
ficieut force of character to carry them
out He is not strong enought to cope
/ with Hanna
r Some OF these days your Uncle Tom
Plat is going to be known as a prophet.
A few weeks before MIR. Mckinley was
[ nominated for president by the republican
National convention, which met at ST.
M - nj
n of New York. now a senator of the United
. States, put in concrete form his estimate
q of one William Mckinley in series of
t personally dictated and corrected iptar.
Q views.
In these Interviews" which It was I'M
derstood at the TINA Er. Plat dictated
to his stenographsr In the privacy of his
$ own office. one of the chief points made
u against the ohio statesman was that he
was weak man; was absolutely devoid Of
s anything resembling 4 backbone, that Il
a he we're nominated and elected president
+ lie would be president in name only; he
: would be merely a passive instrument,
: n tool in the hands OF Mark Hanna and
: the members of the combination that
Il nominated him.
Mr. Platt has since been allowed to
, Join the Hanna firm and he has. in a
. measure been silenoed or "pacIaed."
q But those who are in a position to know
cay that the NsF York senator has never
been permitted by Mr.. Hanna to get into
the sacred precincts OF the inner circle
= that controls the president. For this rea-
8 son it is said that Mr.. Plat would be
b willing to Join In any movement looking
c TO the retirement OF Mr.. Mckinley to
private life, provided It gave some promise
of success,
But whatever happens Mr. Platt's FIRST
Q estimate of Mr.. Mckinley is likely to
become historical. It certainly seems to
have been very accurate.
~
The report that Germany had decided
10 pass law prohibiting the importa-
tion of American meat products into that
country has created good deal of COM
ment in political and other circles here,
This contemplated action IS believed to
be the direct result OF the beef iavesti-
4 cation IN this country.
/. 1t is frequently necessary to go some
: distance from home to catch the real
drift of public sentiment on any given
subject. The beef court, after mauy weeks
OF investigation. has found that in its
Il opinion the American firms which supplied
i the army with canned and refrigerated
: beef were above suspicion. According to
the evidence the beef court asserts that
the meat packers only supplied the reGu-
lar article of commerce. In another pa.a-
graph the report hammers the immortal
d ichor out OF former Commissary General
Pagan for ordering canned beef for the
soldiers, on that ground that 1t was an
untrled ration IN the nature Of an OK
pertinent, the very language that General
q Miles used in his report 10 the president.
n The beef court, while condemning the
general character of the canned rcast bee;
furnished TO the army during the recent
y war; endeayors to protect the American
q meat trust. The officials OF the German
government are apparently more discrimi-
q mating. They threaten to exclude Amer.