The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-29
Ex-sECRETARY OF WAR RUSSELL
A. ALGER BREAKS INTO
81 PRINT
DIGS UP THAT "ENBlLMED BEEF
DISCUSSES THE RANKING OFFI1
GERS COURSE IN NO SPIRIT
OF FRIENDSHIP
WHY SHOULD GEN. MILES WAIT
Until the War Is over to Learn what
Kind of Rations Were
Issued to the
Troops.

NEW YORK, Dec. 2S.-Tbe North
American Review, in it's next issue. will
contain an article on "The Food or the
Army During the Spanish War; by
former Secretary of War Russell A..
Alger The article says in part:
Inc commission appointed by the pres
1ueI5t 5 a. my request. to investigate the
Cohduct OF the war department in tae war
with Spain, commonly known as the war
IlNtstlgatlon, or the Dodge commission,
met on the 24th day of September, 1898
On tbe list day 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 fur
n1shed to the army during the war Gen.
Miles refus ed to be sworn or affirmed
as every other of the 495 witnesses had
peen, declaring in substance that he
would make his statements without be-
he said.
Although the commission had been sit
ung Tor nearly three months, the charges
with respect to canned and refrigerated
peel We're now made for the first time,
more unsolderly still, during ali those
months, with this pretended knowledge
of facts which, if they existed. should
nave been made known to the secretary
q war, for the protection Of the army,
SIen. Miles never mentioned the subject
Nor did L ever hear rumor Of chemical
ly treated beef being purchased for the
army unul the generals testimony was
given before the commission. In answer
to inquiries as to how canned beef be-
came part of the army ration, Gen. Miles
said:
MILES CHARGES.
You had better ask the Secretary OF
war or. the commissary general; / think
they can tell you L know it was sent to
the army as food, and the pretense Is
that 1t was sent as an expe! inlent.
There was sent to Porto Rico S5l tons of
What IS known as, or~called, refrigerated
peer, which you might call embalmed
beef. Now, If you want to ascertain the
cost TO the government of this so-calIed
refrigerated beef-embalmed osef-take
the original cost l do not know what
may nave been injected into it. The u1l-
delStanding is that this is secret process.
OF preserving beef. It may be that thew
are still sending the stuff down there. I
don't know: If 1 was furnished for any
expedition IN this country, or any othsr
with such stuff, l would prohibit the men
from taking it. l do not think that beef
Such as was sent to Cuba and Porto
RICO would be good in any country in
the Ston ach Of any man. They could
get some bacon, but that is not cojisid-
ered suitable food fer tine tropics. You
was one of the serious causes Of SO
much sickness and distress on the part
of cur troops
Upon Cemmissary General Cha.les p.
ness and sharpness of a bow from an
assassin S knife out of the dark Gen
1agan mad been an officer of the regular
army Tor thlrty-slX years. He had r.san
from a second Eeutenancy to the highest
rank in the commisSa ary department.
10 which his ambition could aspire Cal
lant and fearless on the batt1efelds of
tne C4Vit war and the hostile Indian
plains of the West, he had a reco3d
1or soldlerly Qualities of which any Of
iicer might we'll be proud With ene-sy.
hn ha adT 1ief>D,
his department during the war with
Spain, a fitting climax to a long. and
honorable career in the service of h.s
No other supply bureau of the army
mad eXcelled the comm1ssary department.
N promptness, efficiency and successful
administration during the war.
EAGAN'S REPLY.
,nI5eGt Sen: Eagan read his reply to the war
IHVestGatlon comni ssion from a careful
~ prepared typewritten manuscript
Lashed to the. quick by the allegations
contained in Gen. Miles testimony and
IN his subsequent interview which ap-
peared on Dee. % in New YORK news
paper, his indignation exceeded The linn
lis of his sef-contIol and in his ef-
fortS to deny the charges made, his Ian
guage. became Vituperauive, extravagans
and highly improper. 1 believe that had
zen. Eagan's health not been Sc lou sly
impaired by overwork and anxiety, the
two Objectionable paragraphs-of 3O0
words cut of an aggregate of 1905 WORDS
contained in his reply-would never have
been written or uttered Even vet d
vested of its offensive adjectlves I'm tce
two paragraphs referred to- his reply to
Gen. Miles remains unanswerable in its
logic and 1ncontrovertible in its facts
Gen. Miles seemed to be pleased with
the nCtoriety with which his startling
statements before the commission ana IN
his subsequent newspaper interviews gave
him, for again on the 31st day of March.
1899, in New York city, he published adj
ditionai charges.
ALGER'S REPLY TO MILES.
1t is proposed to treat Gen. Miles, al
legations specifically and in dctail His
charges with respect to canned roast
army ration and (by inference) had been
issued to the army by the secretary of
war and the cenmissary general without
authority of law and that it was the
meat residue-a beef pulp which was left
after the extract had been taken from it.
With respect to refrigerated beef he al
legged that it was ''ernbalmed beer" which
had been artificially preserved by inject
ed chemicals into IT.
Gen. Miles should have known that
neither the secretary of war or comrnls-
sary general could alter or add to the
ration of the army. The ration is fixed
by law and its components can be chang
States. If Gen. Miles did not know that
canned fresh beef was a part of the army
ration; then he, displayed Ignorance in. an 7
important matter of his profession that
is, to say the least, most remarkable; If
he did know that canned fresh beef was
a recognized part of the ration, then his
allegation to the contrary is so much
more reprehensible. On the 1st day of
August, 1873, canned fresh beef first be-
came a part of the travel ration Of the
United States army, then under the COM
mand of Gen. Sherman. and while Hon.
George w. McCrary was secretary of
war. Canned fresh beef was again spe-
cffcaly referred to in general orders
under dates of Nov, 1879, of Sept. 49, 1851,
Jan. 10, 1888 and Feb. s, 1888, The last
named order changed the army rcgula-
tons and included in those regulations
a reference to canned fresh beef.
PLAIN LANGUAGE.
The allegation Of Gen. Miles that can
ned fresh beef was not part of the army
ration and that it was issued as the
"pretense of an experiment" were not
only contrary to fact but were made alb
solutely without a particle of evidence
of excuse. If Gen. Miles really believ-
ed his serious charges, his conduct is all
the more blameworthy, in that he appar-
emily made no effort to assure himself
of their truthfulness, nor to report them
to the secretary of war before publicly
If we are to believe written evidence
to the contrary, 1t does not appear that
Continued ON Third Page.