The times., 1899-03-28
THE BEEF ENQUIRY.
Representatives of the swift Pack
ing House Before the Board.


ing House Before the Board.
The Beef Court of Enquiry convened at
the Lemon Building yesterday afternoon.
1t was the first session of this Court since
It's return from a tour of the beef packing
cities Two witnesses were examined. and
these were beef men. They were Eastern
representatives of Swift G Co.
In first man TO be called to the stand was
E. c. Swift, Of Lowell. Mass. First Vice
President of the Swift Packing and Slaugh-
tering Company of Chicago He testified
that he represented the interests of his
company in New England. On June %
1898, while at his home, he received a dis
patch from Chicago stating that Charles
p. Eagan, Commissary General. desired to
confer with some officers of the firm of
Swift & Co The witness testified that he
came to Washington and called at the Of
flee of the Commissary General on June
"a He said that Eagan desired to consult
on matters connected with the beef con-
tract and the Quitting of ships for the
transportation of army meat 1t was then
known that Swift & Co. had furnished the
lowest bid, though no award of the con-
tract had been made. AT the close of the
conference Eagan announced that he had
awarded the contract for supplying the
meat to the troops in Cuba to Swift & Co.
The witness testified that when he left
the Office of the Commissary General that
officer admonished him to hold himself in
readiness to come to Washington for con-
ference on very brief notice. He had never
read the Governments beef proposals. The
subject of installing refrigerating plants on
shipboard and erecting refrigerators OF,
shore was discussed. Eagan wanted enough
ships fitted with refrigerator plants to fur
nish a three days service between the
United States and Cuban ports. On June
2S, the witness said, he received another
telegram from the Commissary General
asking him to come to Washington. He
arrived in this city on June 90. The draft
of the Santiago beef contract was given
him. He was handed a copy of this con-
tract by the Recorder of the Court and
identified it. He said that he and the Com
missary General discussed the matter OF
the length of time which the beef would
keep under favorable conditions after its
removal from the refrigerators. The wit
ness said his understanding was that the
military posts away from the seacoast were
to be supplied by beef slaughtered on the
island. His Interpretation of the contract
was that the shore refrigerators were to
have a capacity of seventy-two hours sup
ply of beef. and that this beef was to en-
dure with careful handling, twenty-four
hours after its removal from cold storage.
The beef company expressly declined. he
said, to undertake to enter into a contract
to make deliveries of meat away from the
seacoast. as the company knew nothing of
the climatic and other conditions prevailing
in Cuba except in very general way.
Under cross examination by Major Lee,
counsel for General Miles, the witness said
that there were present at the conferences
between himself and the Commissary Cen
eral II. C. Gardiner, superintendent of con-
structiOn for Swift & Co. and Mr.. Barry,
salesman for the same company. The Ge-
tails of the contract were not discussed
at the first conference. on June "a. There
was some very slight reference on the
part OF the Commissary General to some
process for preserving beef other than the
cold storage plan. The witness said that
the Commissary General did not give the
name of the process and it was not dis
cussed. He insisted that the Commissary
General made just some slight reference
to preserving process.
Mr. Swift declared that he had no corre-
spondence with anyone within the last five
years with regard to processing" beef.
Prior to the period indicated he may have
received a letter from come one with a
plan for preserving beef, but he had never
answered a letter of this character. He
had never had anything to do with an
embalming process. He said that the Com
missary General promised that all possible
care should be taken OF the beef after its
removal from the refrigerators. Ii was not
to be left uncovered and il was not to be
exposed TO the sun. He said it was ut
terly impracticable TO keep beef in a con-
dition fit for use as human food II exposed
to the sun or heat for twenty-four hours.
He insisted that the twenty-four- hour
clause in the beef contract was not cler-
ical error. The time clause in the original
draft of the contract was vague and seemed
to make the contractor responsible for beef
seyenty-two hours after its removal from
cold storage. He explained 10 the Com
missary General the impossibility OF this,
and the twenty -four-hour clause was in
serted
His company, he said, had had no pre-
vious experience in the delivery of refrig
Grated beef to an army in the tropics. He
would not admit though that the delivery
of beef at Santiago was an experiment.
It was feasible to control the tempe-a-
ture in n refrigerator ship and it made no
difference whether that snip was at the
north pole or the equator. Refrigerated
beef if exposed to tropic heat would. he
said soon deterorate in appearance. Ii
would look bad long before it sustained an }
Internal injury. Refrigerated meat, if kept
in cold storage. would not detsr.orate un-
der several months. Its quality would i'm
prove for a long time. He said that the
best English trade preferred American re-
frigerated beef TO fresh slaughtered Catt e.
The export trade in dressed beef was driy-
ing the live cattle export trade to the wall.
The next witness was Charles E. Barry,
travelling salesman for Swift & Co. He re-
cited the conferences which he had with
the Commssary General. He idsn flied
copies of the beef proposals and contracts.
on cross-examination the witness said
he had never discussed with the ComniS-
sary General the proposition of preserving
beef by any other process than cold stor-
age.
On one occasion when he visited the Of
fee of the Commissary General. that officer
said petulantly. I am bothered TO death
with people who have plans for embaimins
beef. A woman came TO see me today with
m idea which she wanted the Government
to buy. | got rid of her as cOurteOusly as
/ could Read this. The witness said
that Eagan then handed him letter signed
by man named Powell, offering to the
Government a process for preserving beef.
The writer of the letter said that he had
successfully treated beef for several of the
large hotels in Florida. The witness said
1t was his opinion that the Commissary
General was disgusted with the PROPOSE
ton.
At O'Clock the court went into execu-
tive session, after which il adjourned.