Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-08-28
New York World

For what reason was Gen. Miles re-
tirement from the command of the
army, to which he rendered such long
and distinguished services, been sur
rounded with every discourtesy that it
was in the. power of President Roose.
welt to offer?
There have been, it is generally un-
derstood, three matters on which Gen.
Miles differed, first with President Nc
Kinley and later with President Roose-
velt. The Generals utterances on
these subjects, taken together, consti.
tute "the head and front Of his offend
ing"
l. The embalmed-be beef" charges in
the Spanish sn-American war.
2. His expression of opinion on the
Schley Sampson controversy.
3. His remarks on the cruelties COM
mitted by certain of our officers and men
in the Philippines.
1t 10 timely to refer to the records
and see exactly what Gen. Miles al
legged offense was touching each of
these three matters.
First, as to the embalmed-beef
charges. In December, 1898, Gen.
Miles charged, in substance, that half
. million pounds of beef came in one
ship to Porto Rico alone which was
unfit for food, and which made the
soldiers OF his army sick when they
ate it. He ordered an inquiry into
the matter and reported az follows:
have no interests to serve but those
of the army and the country. The
reports show that the beef had been en-
balmed and was otherwise unfit for men
or dogs. Nothing alive could
eat it. There was q pretense
that it was sent as an experiment, &C.,
&c.
1t will be recalled that on the state.
ment in the last sentence above quot.
ed Gen. Egan, the Commissary Gen.
eral OF the Army, under whose admin
istration this embalmed beef was sent
out 10 the army in Cuba as we'll as in
Porto Rico. in his testimony before
the War Investigating Commission,
publicly declared Gen. Miles to be q
liar" For that disgraceful act Gen.
Egan was court-martialled, found
guilty of conduct unworthy an off,
cer." and suspended for six years by
order of President Mckinley. More
over, though the commission white.
washed Egan, as it WAS organized to
do, yet the sworn testimony of scores
of officers in the field fully confirmed
every word of Gen. Miles accusation.
Is it then for uttering his protest,
grounded on indisputable facts, against
the sacrifice of the health and the
lives Of American soldiers in the field ,
by the supply of food that was polluted
and poisonous, that President Roose.
welt has deemed it proper to insult
Gen. Miles on his retirement?
Second, as to Gen. Miles utterances
on the Schley-Sampson controversy,
what are the facts?
On Dec. Is, 1901, Admiral Dewey
having just expressed the opinion that
Schley, having been on the spot at
Santiago while Sampson was not, was
probably correct in his version of what
took place 10 that naval battle, Gen.
Miles in an interview at Cincinnati
said:
am willing to take the judgment of
Admiral Dewey in the matter. He has
been a commander of feet, and as
such has known the anxieties and re-
sponsibilities which rest on man under
these circumstances. He was instru-
mental in the destruction OF one Spanish
fleet and knows and realizes the feelings
that encompass an officer under such
conditions.
thing Dewey has summed up the
matter in q clear and concise manner,
and believe his conclusions will be en-
dorsed by the patriotic people of the
United States. l have no sympathy
with the efforts which have been made
to destroy the honor of an officer under
such circumstances.
| For this modest and moderate ex.