The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-27
That was about all the witness could say
and he was allowed to retire.
Testimony of Colonel Davis.


| and he was allowed to retire.
Testimony of Colonel Davis.
The second witness for the defence was
Col George B. Davis, assistant commits
sary general of subsistence, U. s. A. The
witness had naturally been closely asso-
ciated with the defendant in the Subsist-
ence Bureau. After General Miles had
made his embalmed beef charges General
| Eagan's excitement increased rapidly
! from day to day and found final vent in
: the dictation of his reply and vicious at
! tack upon a superior officer. Colonel Da-
| Wis read the Eagan testimony before it
! was delivered before the Alger Relief
Commission, and strongly urged that it be
modified. The finishing touches to the
| billingsgate for which the accused is now
being court martaled were added about
| 3 O'Clock in the afternoon. Colonel Davis
was unable to persuade General Eagan by
argument to modify his testimony and
| finally decided to defer further attempts to
| convince the accused of his folly until the
| following morning.
The next day General Eagan paced to
and fro in his office, and when ap-
preached by Colonel Davis, before a word
had been said, he declared loudly:
Il will not change anything. l will not
| change anything"
| With this General Eagan hurried before
| the Aiger Relief Commission to fulfill his
resolve to insult his uniform, the army,
and the general commanding the army.
Colonel Davis gave every evidence of
having enlisted his sympathies with the
accused, and when a member Of the court
asked him more explicitly if he had been
permitted to read in advance the insulting
language used by Eagan, he hesitated, d.
rected his eyes at the floor, turned red
and haltingly replied that he had.
In conducting his examinations. Mr..
Worthington, counsel for the defence. laid
great stress upon the impression made
upon the mind of General Eagan by the
embalmed beef controversy, and the press
comment thereon, and Colonel DAVIS was
urgd to define if possible what effect these
things had produced upon the accused
| Colonel Davis said
The impression made upon me and
upon the general by the charges directed
at him was that he was being made out
a practical murderer and a thief for cor
rupt ends
Mr.. Worthington-What was General
Eagans impression as to his immunity in
testifying before the tAlger Relief Com
mission?
Colonel Davis-His impression was that
| he was not amenable to court-mar-
tial The day after he testified General
!
| sonable suggestions. We had no difficulty
in toning down his paper.
I The man who protested to have dared
| consequences in his insult to the general
| commanding the army listened calmly, but
seemed disappointed over something. With
| this the testimony OF Colonel Davis ended.
| General Engnn's StenoErnpher.
The defence then presented Gertrude r.
no cfa tn
eral Eagan dictated his billingsgate. She
stopped on her way to the witness stand to
speak 4 word to the defendant, and then
| sgnified her willingness TO be sworn. She
| looked very embarrassed at first, but spoke
up sharply and told what she knew OF the
embalmed beef controversy, which was
necessarily limited. since it had been con-
| fined to General Eagans view of it as de-
| livered through the agency OF a type
| writer.
| 1t took the witness until 2:30 in
| the morning of the day on which the tes-
timony was submitted to the Alger Relief
| Commission to finish the transcription of
her stenographic notes. She was urged
| to complete it without fail sometime dur
| ing the night. because it was to be made
| use Of the next day. She remembered
| that the general was very much excited
His hands shook until he could hardly
read from papers he held before him.
| While debating he excitedly walked the
| floor, something he had never before done.
Alphonso Rogers. also Of the Commits
! sary Department, clerk, testified even as
| those who had gone before him, affirming
! that General Eagan was unduy excited
| during the preparation OF his attack upon
| General Miles. The accused paced his Of
flee for several days bewailing the at
/ n tn hi
a wholesale murderer and a thief. He
neglected his work, perhaps more than he
| had ever done before. The witness found
| the accused at his desk one day staring
vacantly into space. The witness asked
! for the papers he had come for. The ac-
| cused continued looking into space say
| ing:
I'm murderer, and for gain. I'm a
| murderer, and for gain"
| The witness disturbed what he described
| as a soliloquy General Eagan was having
| with himself and asked in a loud voice for
/ the papers whereupon the accused stopped
| staring into space sufficiently long to dis
/ cover that the desired papers were not in
! his possession.
/ The Accused on the stand
/ Attorney Worthington now announced
| TO the court that General Eagan would take
]
sworn, and seated himself in the witness
chair. He was invited to review briefly
/ his war record, which he did. from his
! appointment up TO the date of his selection
! for the post of Commissary General of
Subsistence, L. S. A.
He passed with few words his first ap-
pearance before the Alger Relief Commits
! sion, and then, under the directing ques-
tions of his counsel, launched at once upon
| the case IN a quiet, cool voice He told
how he had first read the embalmed beef
| testimony of General Miles in the news
papers and speedily addressed n communi-
| cation to the Alger Relief Commission
! asking permission 20 appear again and re-
| flute the charges.
1t was, he said. some considerable time
| before he was accorded the desired permits
! sion. and meanwhile he conferred with the
| Secretary of War. who gave him to under
stand that no military action could be
taken against General Miles.
General Eagan," asked Mr.. Worthing-
ton, what impression was produced on
your mind by the testimony of General
| Miles -
There was silence the kind that bushes
voices and charges an atmosphere with ex-
pcctancy. 1t grew more intense as the
accused twisted his white gloves into a
hard rOll.tlghter and tighter as his passion
mounted and the color in his face deep
ened. Then sitting more erect in his
chair and raising his right arm to pose
for proper appearance, he spoke:
How II Felt.
'The effect upon me. sir was that my
| character had been taken away from me.