The times., 1900-12-30
The Algerian Revival.

The Algerian Revival.
We are at an utter loss to understand
what excuse Mr. Russell A. Alger can
make TO himself for emerging at this
time from an obscurity which mcst sane
people would probably consider the INST
appropriate and comfortable resort fer
man whose connection with two wars
ought to have wearied him as much as it
has his observing fellow countrymen.
Nevertheless he emerges. and in a book
one chapter of which. probably for adyer
t:sing purposes. ne has confided TO the
January number of the North American
Review" 1t is the particular chsp,er de-
voted to tine rotten beef scandal of the
Spanish war. TO vilifcation of General
Miles. and TO praise of Eagan, in whom
Alger appears to repose implicit conf
dence. and fer whom he expresses un-
bounded admiration.
ostensibly if We may judge from the
North American Review advance
sheets, the object of Ayers book is TO at
tack the general commanding the army,
a gentleman with whom. as well as with
Generals Sheridan and Merritt, the author
had previously been in trouble On ac, cunt
of certain matters relating to the civil
war. Since his later difficulty with Gen.
eral Miles during the war with Spain,
that officers services to his country in
that and other honorable connections, has
been recognized in his advancement tc the
rank of lieutenant general, with the Pres
ident's consent and approval. Alger, on
the other hand, is on record as having
been expelled from the Cabinet by the
same President. We are, therefore, in
clined to consider that Ayers real OBJ
jeet of attack is his old friend and chief.
IN his text, Alger makes such a point
of his gloriication of Eagan that the
necessary inference is he wishes to pass
into history hand in hand with that pc
culiar parsonage. We do not believe that
any true American, or any respecter OF
the decencies of life as they are observed
among civilized beings, would do anything
to thwart that desire On the contrary, we
feel sure that it will be fully gratified.
Perhaps it would be difficult to find two
other male citizens who occupy in public
esteem SO nearly equal a position as
Alger and Eagan.
But it is almost a waste of time and
space to discuss the statements made
by Mr.. Alger. through the medium
of the North American Review"
Neither historical accuracy nor ingenious
dealing with accepted facts can be i'm
putod TO him. For example, he tells us
that the Alger Relief Commission, which
was generously created for the purpose
OF whitewashing him, had sat for nearly
three months before any testimony was
received concerning the rotten beef and
tilned slaughter house tank refuse, which
and that then the subject was intro
duced for the first time by General
Miles in his evidence before the tribunal
1t is unnecessary to remark that such a
departure from the verities is quite suf-
hcient TO discredit the whole Alger story
AS matter of fact. the leading papers
of the country had teemed with decayed
beef stories for weeks before the AIger
Relief Commission was organized II 1t
had suited the purposes OF Dodge, DENLY,
and their coadjutors, there were witnesses
OF whom they had knowledge who would
have sworn that they knew the so-caIled
canned roast beef bought by the Com
missary Department TO be nothing but
the meat pulp from which all but two
per cent of nutriment had been taken in
the process of preparing beef extract.
Some OF these witnesses had been Gov
ernment meat inspectors. while others had
been employed in the service of packing
concerns. AS to the fresh" or embalmed
meat complained OF, the public has since
come to know that ''prcservatine" or some
equivalent fluid for several years has been
injected into quarters OF beef shipped
to the East from Western abattoirs in
summer.
II was the plain effort and object of the
Alger Relief Commission to suppress all
evidence tending to demonstrate the
truth OF the charges concerning bad meat
One member of the commission was openly
the champion of the meat contractors and
spent much time during the existence of
the commission in conference with their
representatives. People known to possess
discriminating information were reported
from various parts of the country as be-
ing under threats of material or personal
injury unless they kept away from Wash
ington. The Investigation. as all men
know, was a contemplate farce.
Alger says that the testimony of Cen
eral Miles fell upon the correct and yir-
tuous Eagan with the suddenness and
sharpness of a blow from en assassin's
knife out of the dark" Yet Eagan knew,
if he read the daily papers. that charges
even graver than those preferred by his
superior officer were in the air and were
liable to assume official form at any mo-
ment 1t was alleged that he had bought
something like a million pounds OF canned
pulp of special red brand without In
spection. and even his own friends, the
Alger Relief Commission. felt compelled
to find that he had made "a colossal er-
ror'' In buying seven million army rations
at one stroke at the beginning of the war
There are matters pertinent to the beef
transactions which Il might be both I'm
necessary and unwise to ventilafe at The
present time. 1t is possible that the con-
tents of Alger's book may be of charac-