The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-21
-EMBALMED BEEF CH4RGES.
Testimony of Gen. Mfles-A Mysterious
Stranger Accompanies Him.

1
| Washington, Feb. 20.-The Miles
court of inquiry to-day made good
start in it's work. General Miles ap-
peared as the first witness. He and
| three other officers were examined be-
| fore the court closed it's session. Cen
eral Miles testimony, of course, was
the feature of the days proceedings
Colonel Frank Michler, his chief Of
| staff, and a man in citizens clothes who
took a seat by the fireplace and gravely
watched the course of proceedings, re-
firing with the general as silently as he
had come, accompanied the general to
the court room. General Miles appear
ed in fatigue uniform, rather striking
in its contrast with the display of
| scarfs, bullion and buttons on the full
| dress uniforms of the court. He sub
mitted to the questioning of Colonel
Davis, recorder of the court, with equa-
| nimity except for flash of mingled in
dignation and irony when he Informed
the recorder that he was not compelled
to report" to the commissary-ge general
of the army. This was in reply to
question as to whether or not he had
reported to the commissary department
the fact that complaints had been made
to him as to the quality of meat being
issued to the troops. An instant later
General Miles resumed his cool and
carefully considered replies to the in
quiries Of the court.
AS indicated by letter of the adju-
tant general, read by the recorder for
the information of the court, the scope
Of the inquiry was limited to the alle-
cations of General Miles before the war
commission as to the quality of the
army beef and the matter purporting
to have been furnished to the public
press by the same official. Only two
interviews were called up by the court.
General Miles was very slow and care
full in his replies to the recorders ques-
tions on this point He called attention
to the fact that in both instances he
was credited in the interviews with re-
fusing to answer certain questions and
lISlSlSu llldl llltSS ISlueeiiS SllOUlti NJ
given due weight in considering ques-
tions to which he did reply. He said in
the case of an interview of February
/ that he had a letter from the man
who wrote the story offering to swear
that General Miles had refused to be
interviewed and that the whole story
was made up in the office from the writ
er's general knowledge ofthe facts. Not
withstanding this, when his final answer
was asked as to the authenticity of the
interview, General Miles did not spe-
cifically deny it, but merely said that it
did not quite represent his own opinion
in the case. The same qualified denial
as to an interview of December % was
made, leaving the witness on record as
not assuming any responsibility for the
newpaper's statements, but tacitly ad-
hitting that there was good deal in
them with which he agreed.
The trend of questions put to the other
witnesses of the day indicated that, so
long as they agreed with General Miles
as to the quality of the meat furnished
the troops in the field, the only criti-
csm of their position the court had to
make was to ask why they had not
taken some official steps to have the
matter remedied at the time. In every
instance the reply was that the circum-
stances in which the army was placed
in a sickly foreign country with a large
amount of fighting and a great scarcity
of transportati ton, precluded the posi-
bility of any such action. In each case,
the question was pushed no further on
this line. 1t was said after the court
adjourned that DR.. DAILY, whose original
"embalmed beef" report was the Gene
sis of the meat controversy probably
would appear at to-morrow's session.