The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1899-01-18
A ROUGH REPLY.
Gen, Eagan Calls Gen. Miles .
~ Liar. &
Intensely Sensational Testimony 4
Given TO the War InyestigatOHsk M
the COmmissary General OF d le retI
Army Regarding the 'sEml hav
balmed Beef'' Dispute.

Washington, Jan. 1S.-CommjaI assa
General Eagan yesterday reap ;nod
before the war investigating II ln0u
sion to answer the charges OF Gen.
Miles concerning the commissary sup
plies furnished the army during the
war. His statement furnished the
sensation of the war commissions his
tory and was regarded by old army
officers as one of the most remarkable
attacks ever ma de in the history of
| the service.
Eagan's statement to the commits
zion was bitter personal attack up
on Gen. Miles so entirely unqualified
both as to scope and language that
the war commission on hearing it's
conclusion ordered a brief executive
session, after which the doors were
reopened, the witness was recalled
and business resumed in the usual
way. The subject in controversy was
Gen. Miles already famous "embalm-
ed beef" testimony and the letters and
documents supporting it. Gen. Miles
had charged that the canned and re-
frigerated meat sent to the army in
Cuba and Porto Rico was unfit for
use, that it was preserved by the use
of chemicals, and that it had "been
bought and sent to the army under
pretense of an experiment"
This reflection upon both the ability
and honesty of the commissary de-
partment angered Eagan and caused
him to request to be recalled to reply
to Gen. Miles charges. That his state
ments concerning the commanding
general were not the result of sud-
den outburst of passion was shown by
the fact that he read his remarks from
a carefully prepared typewritten
copy.
Gen. Eagan's testimony on this point
follows: Sen. Miles was asked by
your committee how timed fresh beef
became part of the army ration. His
answer is: You had better ask the
secretary of war or the commissary
general. think they can tell. I
know it was sent ITO the army as food
and the pretense is that it was sent
as an experiment. Gen. Miles in say
ing that this food was sent to the
army as "a pretense for experiment.
says that which implies corruption.
81 answer that it was not furnished
under the pretense of experiment, nor
even as an experiment, and when Gen.
Miles charges that it was furnished
a sa 'pretense of experiment he lies
in his throat, he lies in his heart, he
lies in every hair of his head and ev-
cry pore of his body; he lies wilfully,
deliberately, Intentionally and mali
ciously.
''If his statement is true that this
was furnished under 'pretense of an
experiment then l should bA
1rummed out of the army and incaiN
cerated in prison. If his statement is
false, as | assert it to be, then he
should be drummed out of the service
and incarcerated in prison with other
lbellers. His statement is a scanda-
lous libel, rejecting upon the honesty
Of every officer in the department. who
has contracted for or purchased this
meat, and especially and particularly
on myself. In denouncing Gen. Miles
as liar when he makes this state
ment, wish to make it as emphatic
and as coarse as the statement itself.
I wish to force the lie back into his
throat.
81 wish to brand it as a falsehood
of whole cloth without a particle of
truth to sustain it, and unless he can
prove his statement he should be de-
nounced by every honest man, barred
the clubs, barred from the society of
decent people, and so ostracized that
the street bootblack would not conde-
scend to speak to him, for he has
fouled his own nest, he has aspersed
the honor of a brother officer without
a particle of evidence or fact to sus-
tain in any degree his scandalous, IL
belous, malicious falsehood, viz: that
this beef or anything whatever was
furnished the army under 'pretense of
experiment t,f aNM
Witness charged Gen. Miles with
hampering the administration of the
war department by calling off officers
from duty where their presence was
absolutely necessary. This was the
ease in taking Col. John Weston away
from Cuba TO serve with the Porto
Rican expedition and in putting Maj.
A. L. Smith, a very efficient officer as
signed as depot commissary in Porto
Rico, ito work ON A"some transport
duty" when his services were demand
ed on shore. Gen. Eagan said the com
manding general went clearly outside
his power in doing this and intimated
that Gen. Miles was moved to do so
by the ignorance and ihefficiency of
his own appointee, Maj. Black, who
was supposed to be the chief commits
sary officer on Gen.. Miles staff.
Gen. Eagan made a vigorous attack
on the inspector generals department
in connection with this investigation.
He asked why were not these inspec-
tions made while, the armies were in
the fields, and said the principal Off
GERS of this department took other
positions and let the inspections of
the army, which were never needed SO
much as during the war, go, so far as
they were concerned, for personal ag-
grandizement, as we know they tool
volunteer rank with increased pay
A Notable FinaneIal Statement.
Washington, Jan. 13.--Charles G.
Dawes, comptroller of the currency
in commenting upon the abstract o.
reports of national banks under the
call of December 1, 1898, said yester
day that it was the most notable state
/ XtI 81 ~ fl I