The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-01-17

AAh~
papers a mysteriously disappeared
from the files of the war department.
The witness charged Genera Miles
directly with d~isarranging n hamper
ing the administration of the war de-
partment by calling off officers from
duty where their presence was abso-
lutely necessary. General Eagan said
the commanding general went clearly
outside his power in doing this and init
mated that General Miles was moved to
do so by the ignorance and ineH1clency
of his own appointee, Major Black, who
was supposed to be the chief commits
sary officer on General Miles staff.
General Eagan referred to General
Miles testimony that he had telegraph
ed the department from Porto Rico for
complete and proper ratiOnS," and said
that if the commissary generals office
had received any such message, he
should have considered it the request Of
a very ignorant and Uniformed per-
son.
Continuing, General Eagan, referring
to General Miles expressed preference
for native beef, of which he said
there was plenty, asserted there were
no cattle whatever in the neighbour
hood of. Santiago. The native beet,
General Miles referred to, General Ea-
gan characterized as stays, runts, bulls
and overWorked cattle. The use of such
animals the department would never
allow General Eagan, quoting General
Miles allegation that in his judgment
there was some serious defect in the
refrigerator and canned beef, said Gen
eral Miles would not say this was any
thing more han his judgment.
Whoever" said General Eagan,
"calls it embalmed beef is a liar"
lC,f;~~ Tho x1~~~%r ~,xL~o;%foI NJ Ca~
eral Miles in confederation Of his
charges, General Eagan submitted
whether or not his course of securing
these reports would not be construed
as seeking adverse reports. He cited
Generals Merritt and Shafter as ap-
proving the beef. Newspaper state
ments emanating from General Miles
that 100, 900 pounds of the beef We're
condemned at Porto Rico is an abso-
lutte falsehood. Nc such quantity was
condemned there or elsewhere"
The witness said Surgeon Days re-
port that the beef apparently was in
fected with chemicals to aid in preser-
walton, was a "falsehood and he made
it out of the whole CLOTH" He de-
nounced the assertion that chemically
prepared beef had been issued any
where and said he did not believe Sur
geon Daily q nat belief. why" he
asked, did he shirk his duty? Why
not then make chemical analysis and
why keep this information to himself
and then suggest it suddenly to the
commission and the whole country,
and imply hat packing houses have
been cheating the government and viO-
lating their contracts? At no time did
he inform the commissary general or
the secretary of var of these things"
This" continued the witness, sis a
scanda calculated to ruin thousands
of people and discredit and put in in
fanny one of the greatest industries of
the world"
General Miles was asked by your
cOmmitte how timed fresh beef be-
came a part Of the army ration. His
answer is: You had better ask the Sec
rotary of war or the commiSSary gen
eral. / think they can tell you It was
sent to the army a. foo and the pre-
tense is that it vas sent as an expert
ment.' General Miles in saying that
his food was sent to the army as a
%pretense for experiment says that
which implies corruption, which 80 out
of every 100 people will understand 60
mean corruption. This is a serious
charge which should not be made by
any man lightly nor without evidence
to support it. Taking the statement in
the sense that was probably intended
the sense that will be accepted by the
country at large, the sense hat al.
ready the press almost wholly of the
United States has accepted it-indeed
some OF that press because of 1t, called
for my dismissal from the army and my
court-martial,-I answer hat it was
not furnished under the p%retense OF
experiment. nor even as an expert
ment, n when Genera Miles charges
that it was furnished as a 'pretense OF
experiment he lies in his throat, he lies
in his heart, he lies in every hair of his
head and every pore of his body, he
lies wilfully, deliberately, Intentionally
and ma1iciously. If his statement is
true that this was furnished under
'pretense Of an experiment. then
should be drummed out Of the arm,
and incarcerated in a states prison. i
his statement is false, as I assert it t.
be, then he should be drummed out OF
the service and incarcerated in prison
with other libellers. His statement i:
a s~candalous libel, rejecting upon tn
honor OF every officer in the department.
who has contracted for or purchased
this meat, n especially and particu
larly on the commissary general my
self.
I'm denouncing General Miles as Z
liar when he makes this statement
wish to make it as emphatic and a.
coarse as the statement itself. / wiS1
to force the lie back into his throat
covered with the contents of a cam,
latrine. l wish to brand it as a false
hood of whole cloth, without a particl,
of truth to sustain it, and unless h,
can prove his statement he should b.
denounced by every honest man, barred
from the clubs, barred from the societ.
of decent people, and so ostracised tina
the street boot-black would not condo
scend to speak to him, for he has foul
ed his own nest, he has aspersed tn,
honor of a brother officer without
particle of evidence or fact to sustain
in any degree his scandalous, libelous
malicious falsehood, viz: that this bee
or anything whatever was furnished
the army under 'pretense of expert
ment.'"
General Eagan referred to the pub
lished interviews of General Miles an,
the correspondence between them a.
to their authenticity, General Mile.
having made a non-committal reply
The witness then said: