Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1898-12-31
GENERAL MILES AN
INTERESTING WITNESS
Secretary of War, Commissary
General and Other Officials
Criticised.
TALKS FREELY TO WAR BOARD
Ayers "Embalmed Beef" Sarcas
ticaIIy Commented On--Confu-
sion at Tampa--Gcn-Mer-
ritt's Testimony.

Washington, Dec. 23.-General Mel
son A. Miles, commanding the United
States army, and General Wesley Mer-
rift, commander of the American
forces at The capture Of Manila, were
the principal figures before the war
Investigation commission yesterday AZ
~ternoon. General Miles responded TO
the summons Of the commission only
after several days consideration. His
examination was comparatively brief.
He spoke with some bitterness as to
The "embalmed beef" and the canned
roast beef furnished the army in the
field. This he characterized MS an ex-
pertinent for which someone in Wash
ington" was responsible.
General Merritt told the commission
that he regarded the Philippine expo
dition as a decided success, and would
conduct il on the same lines il he had
il to do over.
General Miles went into details re-
garding both the Santiago and Puerto
Rico expeditions. lie opened by de-
scribing the railroad confusion in get
ting the war munitions TO Tampa,
pointed to the lack of government
storehousc facilities there, and said
the ears at one time were held back as
far as Columbus, S. C.. He said when
the transports were loaded il was
found impossible to put more than d.
900 men aboard. They were equipped
as well as possible under the circum-
stances.
1T was most fortunate" he said,
that the transports had good wealth
err. II they had encountered severe
storms the loss Of life, or the suffering
at least, must have been fearful. AS IT
was, with fair weather, the men below
crowded i'm with the mules and sup
plies could get on deck, which would
have been impossible otherwise
The commissary stores taken, he
said. were sufficient, but the medical
supplies were inadequate. He had lett
the loading, except for general dlrcc-
tions, TO the corps commander, Cen
eral Shaftcr. He found just before
sailing that there were a number or
pontoons being taken which would be
utterly useless for the purpose, and he
himself had secured two barges o
the owners there and took other steps,
but the supply OF such boats taken was
very inadequate.
At Santiago the supply OF tentaSe
and food was very limited.
Were the medical supplies at that
time suficientfor the needs of the
commando" was asked.
In reply he read n dispatch from
General Shaftcr dated August j, which
to - chronic scarcity Of med
.iciues," and saving that four men had
~ r...-. l,al~ 81 .,a1iainnQ Thprn |
at no time, said General Miles,
sufficient medicine for the troops.
General Beaver: From what you
learned and observed while there, do
you think there was at any time u
sufficient supply Of medical men ana
matcrial?"
General Miles: mo SIR"
The witness stated that the hospital
accommodations were ouly Of a tempo
rary character. lie said that the shell
was bad. The shelter tents did not
Questioned rs to- the character
of the facilities for transporting the
wounded, he said that they were taken
in wagons. -.
General Beaver: "Do you know If
of the wounded were lying eX-
posed to the weather.
General Miles: "Some were exposed
i'm being sent down to the hospital.
saw one train of wounded men driving
i'm the drcnching rain with moth
ing to shelter them"
Criticiscs AIgCr.
His army in Puerto Rico, he said, had
been supplied in a way with quarter
and comMissary stores, but
- ~ ~ IDtIntin IlRn |
he had asked that fixed rations be sent,
but instead they were sent down III
bulk, without invoices or bills OF lad
ing, and in many cases stores were
in the hold and thrown away.
lie asserted that the scarcity Of food
caused the distress Of the
troopS. lie had advised against the
shipping of beef to Puerto Rico, both
because there was abundance OF 1T on
he island as well as because of his be-
lief that the shipped beef was defec-
i've. He characterized the refrigcr-
,tor beef, of which there was 327 tons
;ent. MS "embalmed beef" and said the
canned roast beef, of which 10000
had been shipped there, was
by officers whose com
used IL.
"Wlio fixed that beef as an army ra-
was asked.
you'll have to ask someone here in
Washington. You had better ask the
of war or the commissary
general. 1t was sent rs food. If the
soldiers had not taken that they would
nave had to go hungry. If they had
sent paymasters down there, as |
,sked, we could have bought food, but
hey did not do that"
General Miles suggested that this
.ood was sent 10 his large army under
,~retense of an experiment.
General Miles called attention to the
'act that good fresh beef could be
i'm Puerto Rico for 6 cents a
pound American money, and he sug-
it might be interesting TO COM
lare the cost of the refrigerated beef,
.ogether with the expense of transport
with that price. lie said he
lid not know but what the chemicals
ised in treating the beef were respon-
,ible for the great sickness In the
american army. Reports which he
lad received concerning it were 10
he effect that this beef had an odor
Ike an embalmed dead body.
Captain Howell: Were these re-
,orts ever brought to the attention of
he commissary general?'
General Miles: Reports were fire.