The age-herald., 1901-12-22
ROOSEVELT REPRIMANDS
 GENERAL MILES IN PUBLIC

Washington, December 1.-Cspecial)- President Roosevelt gave General Miles a verbal reprimand at the White House to see the President about certain state ments he had made favorable to Schley he was ushered into the public waiting room and much to Miles surprise the President joined him there and within the ear shot of fifteen or twenty people censured him for the interview. General Miles tried to get the President to lower his voice, but Mir Roosevelt warmed up as the interview proceeded and talked louder and faster than ever.
 4%>~~-~e~-%%<-<-%%< coordinate branch of the government granted him court of inquiry, and as understand it, they unanimously exon erated him from such epithets as coward. poltroon, etc, and their opinions were given to the public for the information of all citizens. When I said that l had no sympathy with those who had en- deavored to destroy the reputation of a high officer. who like all other officers. regards his honor more sacred than life, I had in mind and referred to these as- saults assihst which tlA GdnFal had ap- peaied for protection and Justification. and certainly not to coordinate branch of the governments.
 q request that this note be laid be- fore the President and have no objection to it being made public. Very respectfully.
 NELSON A. MILES,
 "Lieutenant- General"
 The Reprlmand.
 The reprimand is contained in the fol- lowing letter of Secretary Root to Gen eral Miles:
 War Department,
 Washington. Dec. H, 1901.
 "Sir-By direction of the President, l communicate to you his conclusions up- on your course in the interview to which your attention was called by my letter of the 18th inst.
 Your explanation of the public state ment, made by you, Is not satisfactory. You are in error if you suppose that you have the same right as other citizen to express publicly an opinion regarding official questions pending in the course of military discipline. The established inyariable rules of official propriety nec- essary to the effective discipline of the service impose limitations upon the pub lie expressions of military officers, with which your long experience should have made you familiar. Your duty is to ex- press your opinion on official matters when called upon by your official super iors or in the due course of your official reports and recommendations, and not otherwise The first article of the regula- tions governing the army of the United States, provides:
 Deliberations or discussions among military men conveying praise or cen- sure or any mark of appreciation, toward others in the military service. are pro- hibited.'
 This provision has been part of the army regulations for at lest half a century, and the highest obligation to observe it rests upon the officers whose high rank should make them examples to their subordinates. Any other rule of action in the military service would be subversive of discipline. It would not be tolerated in subaltern and 1t will not be tolerated in any officer of what ever rank. The present facts are that for several years there has been an un- fortunate and bitter controversy in the Navy Department-a controversy gener- ally deplored even by the participants, as tending to bring the service into dis esteem at home and abroad and to de- strov those relations of mutual confidence and friendship between naval officers vvh,cb the interests of effective service require.
 ..Ir tbis controversy the army has not heen involved and no bar had been raised to that good feeling and friendly relation between the officers of the navy and all of the officers of the army which is es- sential to the successful and harmonious cooperation of the two services in prepa- ration and in action. A court Of inquiry has been held on the matters in contro- versy and a report had been made in which one member of the court had dis scented in some particulars from the ma jority. and the report was pending before the reviewing authority. At this point you. the lieutenant-general of the army. saw fit to make a public expression of your opinion as between the majority and the minority of the court. accompanied by criticism of the most severe charac- ter, which could not fail to be applied by the generality of readers to the naval officers against whose view your opinion was expressed. It is of no consequence