The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-01-13

he can prove his statement he should be denounced by every honest man. barred from the clubs, barred from the society of decent people, and so ostra- czed that the street bootblack would not condescend to speak to him, for he has fouled his own nest. He has aspersed the honor of brother officer without a particle of evidence or fact to sustain in any degree his scandalous libellous, malicious falsehood, viz, that this beef or anything whatever was fur nished the army under 'pretense of ex- pertinent. "
 General Eagan cited Generals Mer- ritt and Shafter as approving the beef Newspaper statements, emanatlng from General Miles, that 100000 pounds of the beef were condemned at Porto Rico, are an absolute falsehood. No such quantity was condemned there or elsewhere"
 The senior major general Of the army and the inspector general of the army, he said, did not seem to be content that with perfect propriety and within the law, and as contemplated by regu- lations, samples of everything furnished the army, now in existence, can be ob- tained, examined, analysed, and every statement for or against the food fur nished verified. I have not felt at liber- ty to object to this method of procedure for fear that my objection, however well founded, would be given to the world as an evidence that l and my de- partment feared an inspection and this, too, when and while I and the whole department courted it. But we did not court exparte reports made at the insti- gation of people well known to be hos tile parties, whose actions already and whose statements here before your com mittee show but too plainly what anil mus is behind it all.''
 Referring to Inspector General Breck- inridges investigation, General Eagan pointed out various reports of officers that havo been published and quoted a telegram he received on January i from Lieutenant Colonel A. L. Smith, depot qual termaster al Havana, as fol- lows:
 Guild, inspector Seventh corps, or dered by Breckinrdge to inspect and re- port on all meat and request samples. I will without further instructions de- cline to recognize Breckinridges author 1 ity but will personally show all stores desired unofficialy. (SigneO
 l Smith"
 Colonel Smith is an honest officer | and not knowing that there was any thing like game in progress he re- fused this improper course unless he had 1 evidence that it was authorized, as it should have been, by the secretary of war. But believing that it was a trap to produce just such a refusal as Col onel Smith made, I replied to Colonel Smith saying: You will not stand on regulations, but you will allow meats and every article of subsistence stores to be inspected by Guild and if neces- sary to be inspected twenty times a day. Furnish copy of this dispatch to every commissary in Cuba for their guidance in similar cases
 T had no right" General Eagan ex- ] pIained, ito send that dispatch, but took it upon myself to send out this author | ity, fearing refusal would be inter- | preted by the world as showing that the department was afraid of any n- yestigation. When I informed the sec- retary of war and he realized that the inspector general, doubtless at the in stigation of the senior major general of the army, was inaugurating a system of inspection not authorized by proper authority, he informed me he would rot have approved my course, although he thought perhaps I was right.
 Inspector General Breckinrdge has recently addressed letters direct to ofli- cers of my department calling for re- ports to him about the various articles of food furnished during the past year to the army. He does this without the authority of the secretary of war. In effect we have in these two officers of the army-General Miles and General Breckinridge-who take upon them- selves to investigate matters pertaining solely and exclusively to the secretary of war; to call for exparte reports and to do this directly and without the knowledge of the secretary of war or the adjutant general of tho army.
 General Breckinridge has also ad- dressed, I am credibly informed, a sim liar letter direct to the surgeon general l and my department are being tried, not with sworn evidence, nor with op- portunity to confront the witnesses still less the opportunity to refute any statements made because they refer to things consumed, things not in exist ence. Every one is given free license to comment as he pleases because the evi- dence in the case is out of existence.
 General Eagan said it appeared from the seeking of these reports that the subordinates were inspecting their su- perior. He referred to the reports from officers submitted by General Miles as irresponsible statements and said:
 "One of these officers goes outside to tell you about competition for con- tracts and what was used in canning, both things without his possible knowl- edge. If General Miles had informed himself about the army ration as he pretends to have informed himself about refrigerated beef, which he false ly calls embalmed beef then he should have been enabled to inform you that this very canned beef we are speaking about has been a part of the army ra- tion since February 8, 1888. Whether General Miles is ignorant of this, I do not pretend to say. but he takes it up- on himself, when asked who fixed it as a part of the army ration, to say You will have to ask some one here in | Washington this implication shows how reliable his statements are"
 General Eagan stated General Miles ] chief commissary, selected by him over exnarienCe1 officers had public SllbSist-