The evening times., 1898-12-23
Reiterates Charges That Meats
We're Unfit for Food.
SOLDIERS WERE POISONED
General of the Army Investigating
the Cause.
His Inquiries Began Several Months
Ago and Are Still in
Progress.

Cincinnati, Dec. 23.-Major Gen. Nelson
A. Miles is investigating the army beef
scandal on his own account. This much
he told the War Investigating Commis-
sion in Washington as a witness We'd
nesday Yesterday, soon after his arri-
val in Cincinnati. he told a reporter a
little more about it.
Gen. Miles attention was directed to
the fact that the newspaper reports Of
his testimony sent out by telegraph WEI e
necessarily meager. He admitted that
great deal of what he said, including
statements by army officers, which he
had presented to the Commission in sup
port of his evidence was not included in
the press report, but he absolutely re-
fused to give the names of these officers
or the nature of their reports, sugg Ssting
that his testimony was now in the hands
OF the Commission.
He also cleared up a misapprehension
as to the circumstances leading to his
appearance before the Commission as q
witness. 1t appears that he refused to
volunteer testimony and took the stand
only after he had received two invita-
tons to appear, the second one being in
message from Gen. Dodge, president of
the Commission
When asked as to the investigation
! into the beef scandal he is now making,
to which he referred in his test mony
Wednesday, Gen. Miles said:
My suspicious were aroused several
months ago and | at once started an in
vestigation into the matter of sending
| meat to the army in the West Indies.
The part in my testimony Of yester-
| day relating to 327 tons of refrigerator
| beef and lsS,000 pounds of canned fresh
| beef which was unfit for food, is only an
| item. This quantity was sent to one
| town in Porto Rico. How much was sent
| l do not know"
| How about the beef supply for the
| army in Cuba %
| 1T was just as bad. The condition there
were no better than they were In Porto
| Rico
| ly to spoil?'
| THAT 1 am unable to say"
| How about rations before the army
| embarked? Was the beef supply no bet
| ter before the transports sailed than aft.
| er the army was established in Cuba 2"
| 1T was the same thing at Tampa and
the same thing at Jacksonville"
| "Nill you give little more light on
| what you meant by this assertion in your
! testimony before the War Commission;
Gen. Miles suggested that the food was
| sent TO his large army under pretense
| of an experiment
| Il think that sentence is sufficiently
| plain. Pretense' is the precise term 10
| be used. 1t is absurd to say that these
enormous quantities of beef were in re-
| ahty sent TO an entire army simply as an
| experiment. To expect that beef can he
| exposed to the tropical sun for sixty
hours without spelling is out of the aues
1 ton
! You think, then, il il was the inten.
| ton to experiment with beef for the ar.
| my IN the tropics il would have been bet.
ter to limit the experiment to a few com.
panies, say, instead of the whole army?'
| Yes, or it might do for one man TO tr,
| 1t on his own stomach. but to feed ar
army. that was more than an experim= mt
When did This beef suppIy ouestior
first come up? Did you protest to the waI
Department against sending dressed bee
to the tropics and receive no attention n
ALP" :"
I am not going to discuss that"
HOW about the chemicals used in pre-
pairing this beef?"
AS L stated in my testimony, / beIiey.
the action of these chemicals was largeI,
responsible for the sickness in the army
L have medical authority for this state
ment, and / believe it to be true"
How far along has your own inyest;pa
ton into this subject progressed?" he wa.
| asked. "'''
/ IT began several months ago. I hav,
| the testimony of large number of officer.
ana men upon this matter, some of which
gave IN my testimony before the Com
| mission yesterday. My inquiry Is stju IL
progress and some of the most importan
information | have received has been ac
| quired in the past few days"
what channel will this inyestipatio,
| take upon its concusiop?"
Il will not discuss that. II is mr., a,,.,
10 investigate any wrong existing in tn,
| army, and that l am now doing in m,
regular military manner The work is no
completed, and until it is will have notb
| ing TO add to the statement | made ba
fore the War Commission yesterday"
Who had the contracts for sunplvin,
| the army with rations?'
| That | will not discuss
| what was the matter with the tents p
There were not enough of them. the,
were not suited to stand the wear ant
1 some of them We're poor
Were they made of inferior materiaI2,
Il have made no such charge"
| "As to the men who were wounded an,
| were seen by you in an open wagon will
| the rain drenching them, can you tell t.
what commands they belonged?''
| They were sick men, not wounded. and
| belonged TO different regiments. This wa.
| in Cuba, after the battle of Santiago
! How many men did you think should
be sent to Camp Thomas?"
about $4,000 or 10000
| How many men were sent?''