The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-12-29
ALGER ATTACKS GEN. MILES
ARMY FOOD SCANDAL OF SPANISH
 VAR REVITED.
Former Secretary of War Declares Miles Was Dishonest in Making His Charges -Commissary General Eagan's Com duct Defended-Argument to Show General Miles Was Grossly Negligent and Culpab1e.
and Culpable.

Washington. Dec. 2S-Former Secre- tary of War Russell A. Alger of Michi- gan to-day made public statement re- garding the army food scandal growing out of the Spanish war. He strongly defends Commissary General Eagan and bitterly denounces Lieutenant Gen eral Miles and goes so far as to accuse the latter of dishonest charges. The statement follows:
 ''The commission appointed by the president at my request to investigate the conduct of the war department in the war with Spain, met on the 24th day of September, 1898.
 "On the 21st of December the major general commanding the army of the United States appeared before the com- mission then sitting in Washington and made his statements with respect to the canned, fresh and refrigerated beef furnished to the army during the war. General Miles refused to be sworn or affirmed as any of the other 495 wit nesses had been, declaring in substance that he would make his statements without being sworn and was respon- l sible for what he said
 Although the commission had been sitting nearly three months the charges with respect to canned and refrigerated beef were now made for the first time, and stranger and more inexcusabe and more unsoldierly still, during all these months, with this pretended knowledge of facts which, if they existed, should have been made known to the secretary of war for the protection of the army General Miles never mentioned the sub ject. Nor did I ever hear a rumor of chemically treated beef being purchased for the army until the generals testi- mony was given before the commis- sion.
 Mot content with these grave and scandalous charges, the stories made public for the first time before the war investigation commission General Miles permitted himself to be interviewed at Cincinnati, O., when he made similar charges.
 "Upon Commissary General Charles P. Eagan the charges fell with the sud- denness and sharpness of a blow from an assassin's knife out of the dark. General Eagan had been officer of the regular army for thirty-six years. Gal lant and fearless he had a record for soldierly qualities of which any officer might well be proud
 'No other supply bureau of the army had excellent the commissary depart ment in promptness, efficiency and suc- cessful administration during the war. Indeed, his zeal and anxiety for the sol diers in camp and on the field were so great that his efforts in their behalf during the long and weary days and nights of the hot summer, nearly result { ed in his prostration from overwork. The charges of General Miles seemed to | General Eagan in his nervous condition the more magnified and more horrible. | Upon hearing them he ptifully exclairl- 1 ed:
 General Miles has crucified me un- on a cross of falsehood and misrepre- sentation.
 General Eagan read his reply to the war investigation commission from a carefully prepared typewritten manu-
 SContinued on Third Page) <