The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-02-07
CHEMICALS WERE USED
Afidavits From Men Who Witnessed
the Embalming Process.
CANNED BEEF WAS SICkENING
Soldiers Could Not Retain It-Miles
Is Supported by Overwhem-
ing Evidence.

New York, Jan. 31-General Nelson
A. Miles gave out q statement tonight,
after having denied several published in
terviews attributed to him. He prefaced
his state ment by saying.
81 have been most freely quoted with
out authority from me or without any ut
terance n my part. 1t has been source
of great annoyance to me-"
His statement is as follows:
ION September 20 last issued an order
to regimental commanders to report to
me concerning the beef which had been
issued to their men. At the time that !
went before the War Board Investigating
Committee had only received reports
frcm fourteen of the commanders. Now
I have thirty reports. They all tell the
same story.
Truth of His Statements.
"The evidence proves the truth of the
statements have made. In addition to
the reports of the regimental COM
manders have great mass of evidence,
consisting Of communications, affidavits,
ETC., from officers, soldiers and civilians.
Every part of the country has con.
tributed to the mass of correspondence
which have received in reference to
the beef served to our soldiers, and the
evidence is all corroborative of what
1 have said. The great publicity which
the press has given to the matter has
brought all the correspondence of which
speak upon me.
81 have overwhelming evidence that
the embalmed beef was treated with
chemicals in order to preserve it.
have affidavits from men who saw the
beef undergoing the treatment ol
embalming process.
sNow, as to the canned roast beef
that was different from embalmed beef
The canned roast beef was the bee
after the extract had been boiled out o
it. You have seen the advertisements
Beef Extract-One pound contains tn,
substance of from four to five pounds o
of prime beef Well, this is the bee
after the extract has been taken from
it. They put this beef pulp up in can
and label it Canned Roast Beef Th,
soldiers report that the canned beef wa
nauseating. If swallowed, it could no
be kept on the stomach"
InoEed ou IT as a RIufP
1t was pointed out to General Mile
that he had been quoted as having sat
that if the men who supplied the bee
would deposit 81 900 in such q way tina
it could be made to pay the cost of tn
proceedings, he would furnish absolut
proof of of his assertions. He wa
asked what tribunal he had in mind, Q
to whom he would furnish this proc
and, in reply, said:
Il made the statement in response t
the offer of the beef men to pay 500 0C
for evidence of truth of my allegation
against their product. I looked on the
offer as bluff, and took that way of al
swering it have no tribunal in mint
have the greatest abundance of ev
dence to support the charges I mad
and do not think that any part of IL
81 900 need be spent in more investigs
tion."
General Miles has received q telegra
froa Colonel A. A. Pope, of Boston, r
questing Miles to draw on hi
for ST. 900 to prove that chemicals we
used to embalm beef furnished to 60
diers, but his offsr will not be accepts
for the reason already given.