Arizona republican., 1899-02-11
DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT
 OF GENERAL MILES

try there should exist a single news paper or a single individual that is not outraged and mortified by the disgrace which Major-General Nelson A. Miles is bringing on the army Of which he is the commanding general. During the whole of American history there has never been an example of unsoldierly
 conduct on the part of an officer ot high military rank so disgraceful as that exhibited by him in melting news paper assaults on the army and fur nishing them with documentary am intuition for the purpose which mili- tary usage and requirement, which even decency, not to say patriotism, should have kept for proper military investigation. He is defiling an office made illustrious by the greatest Ameri- can soldiers.
 General Miles began this exhibition of his unfitness for his rank and his place, of his unSoldierly spirit, so long ago as when he was in command at Porto Rico. He made the display sim ply because the great victories of the war had been won without his assist ance, and, being a man of inordinate vanity, because he had failed to attract the popular applause which he desires most greedily. Even at that time, while hostilities were actually in prog cess, he used a western newspaper cor respondent to publish the grievances of his sore spirit in violation of all mili- tary propriety. 1t was a supremely outrageous offence against military discipline in time of war in the pres ence of the enemy, and 1t rendered him liable to cashiering. It was conduct utterly unbecoming q soldier, conduct of which no man of the true soldierly type could have been guilty, unless while under alteration of mind and tho only possible excuse for the con- duce of General Miles then and contin- uously since then is that he is not mentally responsible for his actions.
 Throughout the operations of the war General Miles rendered no assist ance CT counsels as to it's plan and pur- suit which commanded or deserved re- spectful consideration. If his plan of campaign in Cuba had been followed many thousands more lives would have been lost hundreds of millions more money would have been spent, and the war probably would be still continuing Moreover, he neglected to inspect the camps established for the army in this country, did nothing for the protection of the troops, and disdainfully refused to obey orders so to do.
 Since the Santiago campaign he has allowed the deceived or disreputable newspapers he has enlisted in his ser vice to charge that General Shafter re- ceived the command against his advice, though that officer was selected for the purpose with his concurrence, and on the plains had heen one of his most faithful subordinates. The committee engaged in the volun tary investigation of the conduct of the war at the re- quest of the president had pursued their task for months, had taken the testimony of multitude of officers Of both the line and the staff of the army, without bringing out any evidence to suggest a foundation for the charges concerning the meat supply which Gen eral Miles finally threw out in testi- mOny remarkable for the tone of pique and malice which perYaded it. Since that hearing, moreover, he has been outraging military discipline by using industricusly every means of publish ing his accusations through neWspa- pers, and furnishing them with ma terial with which to cast reproach on the country, for obviously it could not have been obtained by them except through his direct or indirect agency
 Now, if there was or is any serious defect in the meat supplies furnished to the troops, and to the sailors also, it ought by all means, to be discovered and exposed, and all the more because these supplies were obtained from the very sources which are supplying large part of the fresh meat and the principal part of the canned or timed meat consumed regularly by the people of this country and sent abroad in vast quantities for foreign peoples. It is a question of great gravity, of far-reach- ing consequences, and it should be ap- preached and investigated calmly, without prejudice and in a strictly sci entific spirit. General Miles and his cOadjutoTs of the newspapers are seek ing to make it a means of inf1aming the public mind before any such investiga- ton has taken place. Instead of re- serving reports respecting the matter solicited by him and sent to him off, cIally by army officers, and sending them through the proper military channels, he has had them published in newspapers for the malicious purpose of arousing ignorant popular denuncia- tion of army methods and practices. If he had been one of the vile breed which invented and now infests the disreput- able journalism of this day, he could not have pursued a more indecent course. No other officer in the army greatly to the credit of our military service, has descended to a proceeding so low and so disgraceful to the United States uniform. General Miles stands alone in that degradation.
 And why? If his accusations had any foundation justifying them he could have proved them in a distinctly military investigation, and thus rem dered service to his country by bring ing about the remedy of the evils. He was the guardian of the honor of the army, of the honor of his country, and if he had cared for either he would have confined himself to such an ex- hibition of any facts he might have