Arizona republican., 1899-03-29
THE BEEF INQUIRY
If Will no Doubt End in a
 Court Martial.
Testimony Taken SuSfaiDS The Charges of General rliIeS-The Whole system of inc Commits ary Department Defective.

Washington, March 2S.-The mili-
 tary court of inquiry which is just finishing it's investigation of the 'em-
 balmed" beef scandal, will be followed by a court martial.
 This will undoubtedly be recom- mended by the court of inquiry, and it's business will be to locate the personal responsibility for the conditions brought to light by the inquiry court, and to determine a suitable punishment. That this will be the next step, mem Der of the cabinet says there can be no doubt.
 He says the President, and, he be- lieves, the country at large, are satis- fled that the charges made and reiter- ated by General Miles are substan- tially true; that the soldiers in the field and on the march were poisoned by unfit rations; that the beef, if not embalmed, was, in some instances, at least, subjected to chemical treatment; that the refrigerated beef was rotten; that the purchase of supplies was need lessly delayed by the commissionary department; that purchases did not be- gin until after the navy had been sup plied that when they did begin or dinary precautions were neglected; that inspection was waived and great quantities of beef were purchased on orders direct from Washington; that Quartermaters' arrangements for transporting the supplies were utterly inadequate, and, in short, that the en- tire machinery for buying, inspecting, and delivering the army rations col lapsed.
 In addition, inquiry has demonstrat- ed that there is in the commissary de- pertinent either the grossest incom- potency or something worse. At the judge advocate generals office it is stated that the fact that General Eagan is now under sentence of a court mar tial does not exempt him from re-trial on other charges. But it is not likely that a court martial, if appointed, will confine itself to the case of any one man.
 In locating the responsibility for the shortcomings of the commissary de- partment, every man in the depart ment can be Drought up and made to answer for the miscarriage of his par bility can be finally run down and the question determined whether the fail ure was the result of criminality, in competence, or a defect of system. And right here it should be stated that there is not the remotest possibil- ity of the responsibility being officially traced to Secretary Alger.
 And it might be added further that there are good reasons for believing that the whole responsibility will be finally unloaded upon "the defective system" In defense of Alger it will be maintained that when he came into office he found the commissary staff an expense and established by law. officered by men who had secured their positions purely by length of service, and whom he could not remove eX- cept by court martial. In addition he found it dislocated by promotions and details for field service and manned by men who were ignorant of the duties of the office.
 In the urgent demands of active war, he must accept the department as it was and make the best of it. This is the argument for the exoneration of the secretary of war. To condemn the defective system and to recommend that the next congress pass legislation putting the department heads under the authority of the secretary of war, as they are in the navy, and as Senator Proctor urged on the late congress, would afford an outlet from the pres ent predicament.
 But whether this will be done or the commissary department will be condemned, remains for the next court to demonstrate. Meantime, all talk of disciplining General Miles. 1 or relieving him from his position as the head of the army, has ceased.