The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-01-21
MAJOR v. H, DAILY
ATE
EMBALMED BEEF
Subsequently Had Trouble
With His Stomach
OALYS STRONG REPORT
PROOF BY ANALYSIS OF PRES
ENCE OF CHEMICALS.
B0RaX AND sALICY.Ic ACID USED
A Test Now to be Made by Government Chem
lists. Or. Daily Says no Beard" can
Appear Upon Meat Free from
Futres Cent Germs,

Putres Cent Germs,
Washington, ID. c., Jan. 20.-Major
w II. DAILY, chief surgeon with General
Miles, and whose field service stretches
from Tampa to Porto Rico and whose
report condemning the beef furnished
the expeditionary forces created a SEN
sation some weeks ago, made his long
awaited appearance as a witness before
the war investigating commission to-
day. Surgeon Daly's report was the
strongest in language of those submitted
by General Miles in substantiation of
his attack on the beef supplies
DIR. DAILY has been too i'll to appear
heretofore. He was accompanied by
General Miles own stenographer, despite
the presence Of the commissions official
stenographer. On being sworn, the wit
ness identified the report submitted as
his own, changing its date, however from
September 31st to October 31st. He was
willing. he said, to stand by his report
1t was wholly voluntary and was not
called ont by any request or i'm obedience
TO any circular or letter. so far as he
an official circular calling for reports.
At Ponce, however, some time between
August 1st and 18th, he believed, he
communicated to General Miles some -ob-
servations made at Tampa. He had
noticed a quarter of beef hanging free in
the sun on shipboard, and he became in
terested in the experiment of having
fresh slaughtered beef placed under such
conditions to see how long it could stand
it.
Il observed" he said ''that the flies
especially the bull flies, did not affect it,
did not alight ON it, or if they did they
got away from it very quickly
He cut off a piece of that beef at
Tampa and cooked it bur IL neither
smelled nor tasted natural. Later he
helped the men corral some horses, and
| subsequently had trouble with his stom.
ach which he first attributed to the ac-
tiyity Of cOrralling. Then he noticed in
dications of the presence of chemicals
that brought back recollect1ons of chemi-
| cal stuff he had used to preserve elk i'll
hunting expeditions in the Rocky Noun
tains some years before. All that day at
Tampa and the next he had an unpleas-
| ant taste. In that previous hunting ex-
perience he had analyzed the chemical
preservative and found it to contain
borax and salicylic acid. These were to
be used externally on the elk hunt, but he
had rubbed it in the raw flesh and also
injected it,
Questioned as to these ingredients. he
said boraX was not safe TO be used
| in connection with food nor for ordinary
medical purposes, while the salicylic acid
was most nauseous. loathsome and dis
gusting, almost destructive to digestion
DR.. DAILY said he should say
the attempt to preserve the beef
| by chemicals was not sue
cess. That had been his expe-
rience on the transport Panama In the
beef carried by that ship he was pretty
sure chemicals were involved That
beef, he said, was very foul. He thought
| the Government beef requirements Of
the contractors were very unreasonable
Everybody knows, he said, that beef eX-
posed to moisture and warmth for a
hours, will be very much tried
Recurring to the transport Panama he
said most of the beef it carried was re-
frigerated. They had secured ton of
beef and for this they at first had one
and one-half tons of ice, later it was in
| creased to eleven and one half tons OF
| ice. The beef, however, had decidedly
peculiar odor. "A Ponce" he went on
| TO say, II observed the refrigerate ted beef
| taken from the transports. 1t had n
peculiar odor. | observed the examina-
| ton of spoiled beef on one transport. 1t
was done by butcher down in the hold.
| He thrust his arm in every direction into
| the putrid meat trying TO find solid
piece. This meat had the same peculiar
odor. he added that the Panama's beef
| warranted his report and that its odor
was like that of Il dead human injected
with preservatives. He also depicted the
strong odOrs aboard the transport Ches-
ter.
General Beaver asked if the witness
| did not think his examination purely su-
perhcial and without any substantial
| knowledge.
| mo, ! would not like 10 say that"
| he replied. On the Panama, coming over
| from Ponce, he had made some tea, or
| soup, from the refrigerated beef, the
same that had been condemned, had
| filtered it and sealed it hermetically in
q can and when he reached his home ne
| Pittsburg had analyzed it. From this he
| got lightish brown residuum. This, he
said. disclosed the characteristics of
borax and salicyclic acid
CONTINUED on 9th page.