The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-02-09
The Former for His Indecision
and the Latter for His
Utterances.
Main Trouble Alleged to Be
Due to Lack Of Proper
Organization.

New YORK, Feb. "a dispatch to
The Herald from Washington says:
President Mckinley will receive, prob
ably before nsght, the war investigation
commissions report on the conduct of
the war.
The commission directly criticizes the
secretary Of war for lack of firmness i'll
his administration Of the war depart
ment. No specific illustration of the
secretary's weakness is given by the
commission, but through its reports the
evidence of this fault Of the secretary
will be found, particularly i'll the mat
ter of his relations with Major General
Miles. The commission has determined
not to dwell upon matters Of strategy
and for this reason has left out all ref
erence to the action Of General Miles in
going to Santiago, of the secretarys per-
mission for him to do so, of his dispatch
to General Shafter that he was not tC
be supplanted in his command by the
major general commanding.
General Miles is severely criticized
and the president will find ample mate
rial, from the standpoint of the com.
mission, to take action against the
major general commanding.
Miles Severely Criticized.
The commission devotes all important
chapter ceaits, report to General Miles,
charges concerning the beef and meats
generally, furnished to the army, and
finds that they are practically without
foundation. It reports that the beet
was not chemically prepared, that it
was of good quality and that the charges
of the use of chemicals in the beef prob
ably grew out of the fact that four
quarters of experimental beef were
placed on hoard transport at Tampa
by Mr.. Powell, inventor of preserving
process which he desired to test.
This meat was thrown overheard by
direction of General Wood. No chemi-
Gals, according to the commission, were
employed in the preparation OF the
canned meat, but it is found that that
meat was unfit for use in the tropics,
because of the climatic conditions,
which made it unappetizing in appear
ance, though it was perfectly good ex-
cept in those instances where the cans
had been accidentally punctured or inn
perfectly soldered, thus allowing the
air to enter.
Attention is called to the fact that OF
the ID officers whose reports General
Miles submitted for the purpose of
showing that the beef supplied to the
Porto Rican army was bad, not one
Served Oh that island. 1t is also shown
that General Miles was responsible for
the selection of number of camps at
Chickamauga and Miami, and that this
latter recommendation was made not
withstanding the protest OF the secre-
tary Of war.
Defective Organization.
According to the commission, the
primary trouble lies in the defective
army organization. A recommendation
is made that the inspector generals de.
partment be radically reorganized and
the report sharply criticizes General
Breckenridge for abdicating his Office of
inspector general to accept commits
sion as major general of volunteers.
The secretary of war is cleared of re.
sopnsibility for the transport horrors,
but Colonel G. F. Humphreys, now on
General Brooke's staff, who had charge
of the fitting out of the transports and
officers of the quartermaster's depart.
ment in charge of them, is held to be
responsible. The conditions which ex-
listed at Camp Thomas prior to its re.
moval are censured and attention Is
called to the fact that Major General