The San Francisco call., 1901-12-22
GENERAL NELSON MILES SEVERE RRMAND BY SECRETARY OF WAR HU ROOT
called by my letter of the 10th.

called by my letter of the 18th.
Your explanation of the public state
ment made by you is not satisfactory.
You are in error If you say that you have
the same right as any other citizen to ex-
press publicly an opinion regarding the
questions pending in the course of mill
tary discipline. The established invariable
rules of official propriety necessary to the
effective discipline of the service impose
limitations upon the public, expression of
military officers, with which your long ex-
perience should have made you familiar.
Your duty is to express your opinion on
oh1C1aI matters when called upon by your
Official superiors or in the due course of
your official reports and recommended
tiOns, and not otherwise
THE first article of the regulations gov
erning the army of the United States pro-
vides:
Deliberations or discussions among
military men conveying praise or censure
or any mark of appreciation toward 9th
ers in the military service are prohib-
ited.'
This provision has been a part of the
army regulations for at least a half-cen-
tury, and the highest obligation to OBJ
serve 1t rests upon the officers whose high
rank should make them examples to their
suoord1nates Any other rule of action in
the military service would be subversive
OF discipline. 1t would not be tolerated in
a subaltern, and it will not be tolerated
IN any officer of whatever rank.
Justly Liable to Censure.
The present facts are that for several
years there has been unfortunate and Bit
ter controversy in the Navy Department
a controversy generally depIored. even bv
the participants, as tending to bring the
service into disesteem at home and
abroad and to destroy those relations Of
mutual confidence and friendship between
naval officers which the interests of eff
fect1Ve service require. In this contro-
versy the army has not been involved,
ard no lar has been raised to that good
feeling and friendly relation between all
the officers of the navy and all the Off
GERS of the army which is essential to the
successful and harmonious cooperate
of the two services II preparation for and
in action. court of inquiry has been
held on the matters in controversy and a
report lad been made in which one mem
ber of the court had dissented in some
particulars from the majority and the
report was pending before the reviewing
authority. At this point the lieutenant
general of the army saw fit to make a.
public expression of his opinion as be-
tween the majority and the minority Of
the court. accompanied by a criticism Of
most severe character, which could not
fail to be applied by the generality Of
whose view your opinion was expressed
1t is of no consequence on whose side
your opinion was, what 1t was You
had no business in the controversy and
no right, holding the Office which you did.
10 express any opinion. Your conduct
was in violation of the regulation above
cited and the rules Of official proprietv
and you are justly liable to censure
which l now express. Very respectfully,
"ELIHU ROOT,
Secretary of War
Lieutenant General Nelson A Miles
Headquarters of the Army
DOES Not Change Case.
"P. S.-Your second letter of explana-
ton. dated to-day and received since the
above was written, does not change the
case. The necessity for repeated expIa-
nations but illustrates the Importance of
the rule which you have violated.
"ELIHU ROOT,
Secretary of War"
The fact that simultaneously with the
publication of the Miles correspondence