The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-01-06
Another COmmissary Officer De-
tends His Own Department.
MEAT LOOKED REPULSIVE
BUT TASTED MUCH BETTER
THAN 1T LOOKED.
Colonel osgood of the Commissary
Assists In the Work of Discrediting
General Miles Testimony-"Em-
balmed" Beef Was Private Ex-
pertinent.

Washington, Jan. 5.-Colonel Henry
B. Osgood, conmissary of subsistence.
who served at Tampa and at Camp
Thomas and Santiago, was before the
war investigation commission today.
General Beaver asked many questions
as to the quality of the ratiOns issued
during the recent war. In brief, Colo
mel Osgood said the ratiOns throughout
the war were as good, if not better.
than those usually issued TO the regu-
lar army.
The beef, he said. was particularly
good, and better than any he had ever
eaten at any army post. 1t was the
first time, he explained, that he had
ever seen the refrigerated beef issued
in the army, and it was far better than
the contract beef he had generally seen
at various posts. He said he had had
under him a butcher of twenty-five
years experience, who cut and issued
the beef, and this man was under
strict orders not to issue a pound OF
bad beef. The government, he said,
had a very good contract with Swift &
Co., whereby they kept a supply OF
beef on hand in refrigerator cars and
ships. Each day witness called for
what meat he wanted, and the con-
tractor put it out on the block. They
were responsible for it till the meat got
20 Ehe troops and if meat was bad
when delivered it went back on the
contractor The contractor made good
whatever meat was rejected.
Colonel Osgood explained that there
were many complaints as to the ap-
pearance of the meat. 1t had the green
mould or beard" on the surface, as
had been explained by other witnesses.
This was repulsive looking, the witness
said. but the meat underneath was
perfect much better, in fact, than any
beef killed on the spot. OsgOOd cited
one instance where a board of survey
of the Second United. States volunteers
had condemned a lot of beef and re-
ported il rotten. The contractor pro-
tested to Colonel Osgood that the re-
frigerator beef was good, and brought
a steak out from one of the condemned
quarters. The steak was kept twenty
four hours longer off the ice and then
served to the members of the board
that had condemned it. They did not
know the antecedeslts Of the meat, ana
pronounced it fine.
good. it has been alleged before this
commission, not in sworn testimony.
and not in a way, perhaps, to demand
any great attention, but still 1t has
been Stated that beef sent to Santiago
was prepared in some way with chem>S
icalS to preserve IT. can you tel US
ANYTHING on that head. or why anyone
should use chemicals on meat when it
was apparently so easy to preserve 1t
in refrigeratOrs?"
Yes. L can tell you great deal
about that. The meat treated in that
way was not the property of the gov
eminent or any of our contractors. I
was aboard the Comal one day, and
Colonel Weston, chief eommissary'
showed me four quarters of beef hang
ing in the sun which he said was pro-
cess beef 1t was prepared at the re-
quest of an inventor named POWELL
who claimed that he had discovered a
chemical preparation that would keep
meat in a hot climate without ice. It
was purely a private experiment, and
was not issued to the troops. looked
ar If and it seemed to be perfectly
good. There was no mould on it. as
on the refrigerator beef, and it had no
some of it. So far as 1 know he was
fine only officer who tested it."