The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-01-29
SUNDAY. JANUARY %, 1909.
GENERAL EGAN's CASE.

The Facan case ana the side lights that
have been thrown on f. have made two
thirrs perfectly clear 90 us. First the
beef sent 10 our armies I'm cUla and
porto Rico was treated with chemicals
20 rre~erve IL In tropical climate and
,acond that tho Commissary-Genera
General Earan. know nothing Of the fact.
Faean's ignorance is perfectly explain
able and IS even natural. Beef treated
with chemicals is ga nowise different 10
the eve from beef not treated Pagan
of course never saw a pound OF the oeei
that was bought. lie was al all times
in his office in Washington. and the actual
r,,rcbaecs were made by his orders. by
sub-agents az the slaughter pens. These
may have been dishonest and in league
with the beef packers. or they may nave
been lust as ignorant of what was being
dime as Eagan was But DE this as 1t
NAV. General Eagsn's, testimony before
the courtmartisl has satisfied our mind
that he had no more intentional conucc-
ton with putting chemically-ucated beef
upon the army than The Times has. and
yye want to add that we read his tesu-
rnony with the profoundest sympathy for
him. We have not the slightest doubt
that he IS Il sensitive. honorable man.
whose reason was temporarily upset by
the thought that he had been "crucned
60 use his own word. before the world,
and that his passion and alteration OF
mind led him into the ludicrous breach
of discipline before The War Investigating
Commission. lie was proved To- have
served honorabiy through the civil war
as a soldier in the field He was appoint
ed in the regular army in 1856. and has
gone mp step by step To- his present high
rank lie was wounded I'm one OF the
Indian campaigns. and received a Orevet
for his honorable conduct in it. \ man
with that record behind him is not 10 be
lightly cast out and forgotten because
IN an excess of passion ana excitement
ne lost his head and violated the rules OF
decorum. And as % his integrity, there
was something truly pathetic in bis state
ment 20 Jhe court-marual that ne had
disbursed nineteen millions Of dollars
since ne had been Commissary-G
and was al THAT moment so poor he had
not the money with which 10 pay the fee
II the lawyer who was defending him.
Clerks in the Office or the Commissary-
General tested that for days after the
statement was published that he had
poisoned the soldiers as an experiment
ne was a deranrod man. and one OF them
testified that on going TO his desk on
matter % once business DE found him
sitting there and mutterins to himself,
y am q murderer and for gain. am
murderer and Tor gain" and the clerk
oould not set his attention. HIS daughter
and her husband testified that they found
him standing entirely lost In the door,
r1utterlns u am crucifed." This IS not the
conduct OF an imposter 1t could not
have been simulated. We have not The
eilghtes, doubt that wherever the re-
sponslbIhty for sending mcdicatcd beef
TO the army may rest. it does not rest
upon General EaEan. and that the Prcsi-
dent will be as generous with him as IL
- possible 10 be. consistently with mill
tary discipline.
Nor ere We disposed 10 let General
Miles OF entirely for the present state of
affairs. II was his duty TO make known
that "embaimcd beef" had been sent 10
our soldiers but in doing IL he should
have been careful that he did not fix re-
sponsioliity for IL upon those who were
not 10 blame. As hls statement was
made. the Commissafy-Genera was held
% as the party responsible while II is
perfectly clear 10 ms now that he was
not responsible. He should have made
some Inquiries into the matter 50 that
the responsibility might be fixed clearly
before he imputed responsibility 10 any
one FOR ourselves we have no sort OF
doubi that the responsibility lies at the
door q Secretary Azer and his political
fsvorites. and General Miles should have
suspected that himself. The War Com
mission had a me opportunity 20 md out
sonething about this when Secretary Al.