The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-31
Army hoard of Survey Instructed to
Report on Loss of 100000 Pounds
of Refrigerated Meat.
LETTER FROM ARMOUR & CO.
NOTHING WRONG WITH THE PRO-
CESS OF CANNING BEEF, THEY SAY.
Millions of Pounds Sold at Home and
Abroad and No Complaints Heard
Major Days Statement.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3O.-AS result or
the issue between General Miles and Gen.
Eagan concerning the quality of the beef
supplied the army, and on the written re-
quest of General Eagan, the War Depart
ment tonight issued a special order for the
assembling of board of officers in Wash
ington on next Tuesday at 10 a. M, to in
quire into the general subject of the quality
of the beef supplies and particularly as to
the responsibility for the loss of 100000
pounds of refrigerator beef sent to Porto
Rico when the expedition under General
Miles was there. The special order follows:
by direction of the secretary of war a
board of survey is hereby ordered to con-
Vene at the War Department, Washington,
at 10 a. m. Jan. 3, 1899, to examine into and
report upon the responsibility for the loss
of about 100000 pounds of refrigerator beef
the property of Swift & Coz, of Chicago, to
ascertain and report if due and proper eff
fort was made to feed this beef to the troops
in Porto Rico and to fix the responsibility
If due and proper effort was not made; to
ascertain and report the character and quail
ity of the refrigerated beef herein referred
10; to ascertain and report if it was gooc
and fit meat for issue, and If 1t had been
subjected to any chemical processes what
ever, and to report whether or not the
United States is responsible for the loss of
the beef or who, if any one. is responsible
for its loss and whether in its opinion Swift
Il Co. should or should not be reimbursed
for the beef
Following is the detail for the board: Col
Charles H. Allen, assistant surgeon general
Col. James NJ. Moore, assistant quarter
master general; Colonel Francis L. Guen-
ther Fourth United States Artillery Capt
l.. c. Scherer assistant adjutant general
recorder The 100000 pounds of beef referred
to was shipped from Newport News to
Porto Rico about the time that word came
from General Miles that he had supplied
himself with fresh beat. taken on the island
The refrigerated beef made the trip to
Porto Rico and back, but by the time it
reached Montauk Point it is understood to
have spoiled owing to the delay and conse-
quent lack of refrigerating material.
General Eagan to-day received from Lieut.
Colonel Smith, the commissary officer at
Chicago, a report made by Armour & Co..
who furnished the army large part of its
timed roast beef. The report was in re-
Spouse to specific interrogatories from Gen.
Eagan
ARMOUR & CO.'S REPORT
The report, which is dated Dec q, and adj
dressed to Colonel Smith, follows:
Dear Strive are in receipt of your favor
and are very glad to answer the inquiries
made by you with reference to canned and
refrigerated meats. Before answering your
specific inquiries, We beg to inform you that
our system of preparing and putting up our
roast ard corned beef is by the Appert pro-
cess, Which was invented in 1909. This is a
process that has been well known to scien-
titic inquiry for the entire period since the
date of its invention, but its commercial
use may be said to be limited to the past
thirty years by all manufacturers and deal
ers in canned meats. Nothing has been dis
covered that produces superior results. and
it would be difficult for any invention to SUI
perSede that of Appert inasmuch as there
never has been any complaint of deteriora
ton of the contents of cans put up by this
process. We beg TO reply to your speclhc
inquiries, as follows:
''First-As to the extent of the timed
roast beef business, we beg to state that we
have no statistics with reference to the en-
tire output of timed roast beef, nor have
we any respecting the timed roast beef in
dustry as whole. We, ourselves, have
been putting up and selling timed roast and
corned beef for the past twenty-five years,
and have been supplying consumers of food
products for this entire period All grocers
and meat markets have these goods, ana
have had them on sale during this entire
length of time and no objection has been
raised to their use by consumers, nor has
there been any detrimental results following
their consumption. On the contrary, the
use of this description of goods is annually
increasing. 1t may be said that they are
used by all classes of people, and are con-
sidered strictly staple article of food and
handled as such by the trade. We our
selves have put up during the past twenty
or twenty-five years in the neighbOrhood OF
200, 600, 900 pounds, or say an average of about
100000 pounds per annum.
"Second-Replying to your question as to
How long this article has been in use,
where used and by whom and whether 1t Is
largely used in this country and II so by
whom sold and the class of people who
generally purchase it? we beg to reply that
this is, we think, sufficiently answered in
the foregoing reply to your first question
"Third-Replying to your question II II
how much and who uses it in foreign coun-
tries?' we beg to state that during the past
five years we have sold to the British gov
India and Egypt nearly 25000,O00 pounds,
and to the French government within the
past six or seven years about an equal guam
tity. To the Republic of Brazil and to South
Africa we are now annually shipping thou
sands Of tons of these goods in the manner
alluded to, namely. in tins
'Fourth-Replying to your inquiry as to
Whether all the packers make soup from
the water after cooking the timed roast
beef, or not? we will say that we are not
sufficiently familiar with the manufacture
of this article by other packers to state
definitely respecting the manner in which
1t is manufactured by them, but for our
selves, will answer that we have not at any
time since we commenced the putting up of
timed roast beef used the water to manu-
facture soup of any kind
Notwithstanding to your question as to
Whether or not timed roast beef is cooked
as much as timed corned beef? we would
state that the roast beef does not under
go the same amount of cooking as corned
beef-the length of time required for the
latter, owing to its being previously picked
being much greater than that required by
the former.
"Sixth-Replying to your question as to
Whether any chemicals are used I'm the
processing of the timed roast beef or any
foreign ingredient Of any kind whatsoever
enters into the composition of the timed
roast beef?' we would say that no chem
icals of any description are used in the
manufacture of either of the articles men
toned.
''Seventh-Replying to your question,
Whether or not any of the packers ever
have used scraps in putting up this meat
and, if so, why and where did they get the
scraps, and why are there scraps, If scraps
are used?' we beg to state that no scraps
goods mentioned. Our timed roast and
corned beef are manufactured from what
are called 'chucks' and plates, being por-
tions of the animal that are regarded as
first-class in every particular, and no scraps
of any description are prepared or used in
the manufacture of these foods. If any
small pieces of meat are found in can
they are incident to the cutting of the orig
inal pieces from which its contents are
taken, and occasionally are necessarily used
to give the proper weight.
Eighth-Replying to your inquiry as to
Whether, in the course OF processing or
packing this timed roast beef. tallow is
afterwards poured in or whether IL is fat
we beg to state that no tallow is poured
into the cans by us In the preparation OF
cur timed roast beef: the only addition to
the natural condition of the beef is a small
portion OF beef jelly prepared especially for
this use to bind together the contents Of the
can.
.The above answers all your questions
with reference to timed roast or corned
beef We beg to state in reply to your
question No. 9, 90 Whether any packer
subsistence department has ever or any
where or to any extent used any chemicals