Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-01-05
THE WAR INQUIRY.
Assistant Secretary Of the Board
Testifies Before the Commission.
BELIEVED The BEEF TO Be GOOD.
A superabundsncs Of Everything at Camp
Wikoff-rhe swift Besf Company, Of
Chicago. Notified That 1t VIII
BE Heard.

Washington, Dec. o9.-William W.
Hill, assistant secretary of the war In.
vestigating committee, and who served
in company l., District Of Columbia
volunteers, as first sergeant and acting
quartermaster sergeant, was the only
witness before the commission yester.
day. Col. DENLY, who presided, ques-
TONED the witness regarding the
mooted question of the canned beef
furnished the volunteers. Mr. Hill
discountenanced the complaints made
by the men. He said they came from
those who would complain against
anything. He said the health of his
company was excellent at Tampa, and
he credited it largely to the free use
Of lemonade The canned beef first
furnished the men, he said, was lean,
dry and hard, lacking nutrition,
though later it was considerably i'm.
proved He believed the canned
beef, which, he explained, was canned
just after being boiled, was perfectly
6t to eat, though once in awhile he
would receive a can that was spoiled
and sme,led badly. He knew n large
lot of spoiled canned beef had been
found at Tampa before his company
sailed for Cuba The men seemed to
like the canned beef, he said but later
became surfeited with it. The refrv-
orator fresh beef, he said, had no evi.
dence Of chemical treatment and had
a natural appearance. The trouble
with the refrigerator beef. he thought,
vas that the men overfed themselves
and ate it half cooked.
At Siboney, Mr.. Hill said, the COM
panv had to abandon more than half
of its provisions. When they reached
the firing line on July 1. there was
only little food left in their haver-
sacks and they were practically with.
out provisions from the morning OF
July II to supper of July IL The de.
ficiency of food supplies, he contended,
was solely due to lack of transporta-
ton from Slboney up the ten miles to
the front.
Questioned as to Camp Wikoff at
Montauk, the witness said he never
had seen such superabundancl Of
everything, even down 10 skull cans,
dressing gowns, pins and needles. To-
bacco was left there, be said. to lie
'strewn all over the ground" and
there was a great waste of stuff
ibid You see enough OF that refrig-
orator beeie' asked DR.. OConnor, ito
have any opinion on the length of
time such beef would keep in Cuba by
simply protecting it with tarpaulin
from the direct rays Of the SUM-"
NO sir" was the reply. u could not
tell you. We had no way of protecting
it in such manner. All we had to do
was % get it into the pots as soon as
possible to keep it from spelling be-
fore it got hot
as it your opinion" witness was
asked, that beef so protected would
keep ~ hours?" "In its raw stateP"
''Yes, mean just as it comes from the
ship" mo, sir" was the reply. ~
don't believe it possible"
This referred to a portion of Gen.
Miles testimony denouncing the beef.
Summing up, witness said he had no
complaints Of any sort to make and
the worst feature of the food was the /
moistness of the crackers. i
The war commission has notified the
Swift Beef company, of Chicago, which
had large contracts for furnishing beef
to the army during the war, that it
will be glad to give hearing to any
representative the company may send,
on January next. This grows out of
the testimony of Gen. Miles regarding
the refrigerated and canned beef fur.
nished his expeditions and the tele-
graphic protest his statements called
out from the company. The commits.
sion regards the hearing to be given
the concern as important in view OF
the issue that has been raised by Gen.
Miles testimony, and one special point
of inquiry will be regarding com.
plant made OF chemical treatment
Of the product 1t is very probable
that the commission will recall both
Commissary General Eagan and Gen.
Shafter and possibly Gen. Miles,