The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-31
Alger w ants
to Know
ABOUT THAT BEEF.
Miles : Egan Controversy
Comes to a Head.

Washington, Dec. 3O-As a result OF
the issue between Gen. Miles and Gen
Egan concerning the quality Of the beet
supplied the army, and on the written
request of Gen. Egan, the war depart
ment tonight issued a special order for
the assembling of a board Of officers
in Washington next Tuesday to inquire
into the general subject Of the quality
of the beef supplies and particularly as
TO the responsibility for the loss of 300,
900 pounds of refrigerated beef sent to
Porto Rico when the expedition under
Gen. Miles was there. The special order
is as follows:
BY direction of the secretary OF
war; board of survey is hereby order
ed to convene at the war department
Washington. District of Columbia, at
10 a. m, January 3. 1899 to examine
into and report upon the responsibility
for the loss of about 100000 pounds of
refrigerated beef the property of Swift
& co. of Chicago, to ascertain and re-
port if due and proper effort 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 quality of the refrigerated beef
herein referred to; to ascertain and re-
port if it was good and fit meat for
issue, if it had been subjected TO any
chemical processes whatever and tC
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 it's opinion
Swift & co. should or should not be
reimbursed for the beef. Detail of the
board: Col Charles H. Alden, Assist
ant Surgeon General Col James M
Moore, Assistant Quartermaster Gener-
al Col. Francis l.. Guenther Fourth
United States artillery Capt. L. c.
Sheerer, assistant adjutant general, re-
corder'
The 100000 pounds of beef referred
to was shipped from Newport News
to Porto Rico about the time that word
came from Gen Miles that he had
supplied himself with fresh beef taken
on the island The refrigerated beef
made a 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 consequent lack
of refrigerating material.
Gen. Egan today received from Lit.
Col. Smith, the commissary officer at
Chicago, a report made by Armour &
Co., who furnished the army a large
part of its timed roast beef The re-
port was in response TO specific inter
rogatories from Gen. Egan. Among
other things, the report says. "Our
system of preparing aud putting up our
roast and corned beef IS by the Appert
process, invented in 1909 This process
has been well known to scientific in
quiry since the date of its invention
but it's commercial use by manufac-
turers and dealers in canned meats
may be said to be limited to the past
30 years. Nothing has been discovered
that produces superior results. There
never has been any complaint of de-
terioration of the contents Of cans put
up by this process. The report then
goes to give figures in reference to the
companys business and the amount of
beef sold to foreign nations in past
years. In conclusion the report says:
In reply to your question as to
whether any packer who is furnish
ing refrigerated beef to the subsistence
department has over or anywhere or
any kind whatsoever in the treatment
of the refrigerated beef; whether any
chemicals whatsoever touched the meat
itself, we state that we are without
sufficient definite information to an
swer your question respecting the
mode adopted by other packers, but for
ourselves we state that at no time dur
ing the past nor at present do we use
chemicals of any kind whatsoever, and
that therefore the refrigerated meat
furnished your department could not
have been touched by any chemical of
of any description. Neither the meat
furnished by us to your department nor
that supplied by us for consump-
ton in almost every state in the Union,
has never at any time been treated by
us by any chemical process of any kind