Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-05

answer to a question from Major Lee as
to whether he had issued canned beef to the
Cuban refugees because our soldiers would
not eat it, replied:
1--WE issued the canned beef to the Cubans
because they preferred to eat it, and the
bacon to our men because they preferred
that. We were trying our best to give
everyone what they most preferred"
"umph!" commented Major Lee.
sickness Due to Fruit.
Louis d. Hunter of the Sixth Massachu-
sets and regimental commissary while in
Porto Rico, said the men ate a large amount
of native fruit and bananas-raw or cooked
witch became almost a staple article of
food. Probably 2 per cent of the sickness
was due to fruit. Cross examined, witness
said the men did not use over 8 per cent
of the canned beef after reaching Porto
Rico. They traded the rest to the native
storekeepers. On the march he had seen
many men throw away the beef after making
one meal out of the can.
Major George w. Ruthers OF the COM
missary department, who had supplied the
Seventh army corps with refrigerator beef
while at jacksonville, said he had never re-
ceived a complaint. The meat had been
rigidly inspected and showed no evidence
of cuts or punCtures or anything else that
might give rise to the suspicion that it had
been chemically treated. At jacksonville he
had issued a general circular to the Seventh
army corps calling attention to the fact that
beef or vegetables furnished and not COM
ing up to specifications were to be returned
to the commissary officers issuing them,
even If the defect were not discovered until
the food reached the company camp.
Lee Cross-Examined.
Major Lee took up the cross-examination
and developed the fact that there had at
times been complaints as to the beef, and
that in one case 800 pounds of beef had
been condemned. Witness said he had three
official complaints of the beef at Jackson
Vile.
81 understood you to say" said Major
Lee, that you had never had a single COM
plant as to the refrigerator beef. If l am
wrong l would like to be corrected"
"You are, sir" replied the witness.
'What l said was that I had handled
II, O2O, 600 pounds of refrigerated beef at
Savannah without any complaint; the COM
plants were made at Jacksonville"
Lieutenant Colonel Curtis Guild of Bos-
ton, who was attached to General Fitzhugh
Lees staff as inspector general of the Sew
enth Army corps, said in opening that he
had already been before the War Investi-
eating commission and lad made two very
careful reports on the subject, one by order
of Inspector General Breckenridge, both of
which are on file in the War department.
He submitted to the court that these reports
being accurately compiled from official data
would be better evidence than he could give
off hand.
1--WE will, of course, call for your official
report to the War department" said Colonel
Davis, but" he added very positively,
your testimony before the war commits
sion will not be available for u.s."
Condemned $4,000 Pounds.
Witness said that of the canned roast beef
he had unofiicially condemned AZ. 600 pounds,
which had been transshipped from New
Orleans before it was delivered to the army
in Jacksonville. He explained that a large
shipment of canned roast beef had arrived
at Jacksonville in very offensive condition.
He had picked out offensive smelling cases
amounting to $4,000 pounds and called in
the Jacksonville health officer, who con-
demned it as a public nuisance, thus giving
him the right to destroy it at once, in the
public crematory.
Armour's agent, who was on the ground,
asked leave to telegraph his home office and
quickly received word from his firm that
it would be very glad to take back the whole
shipment and furnish good beef in its place.
This was done. The beef had been sent to
New Orleans by Major West, the commits
sary oticer there, but there was no stamp
or other means on the packages to tell by
what army officer the beef had been in
spected and accepted. 1t was stamped by the
Bureau of Animal Industry, Witness had
subsequently made inspections of Texas beef
killed in Cuba in the last few months.
He had made chemical analyses and bac-
THEOLOGICAL examinations of the canned roast
beef made in Cuba, and he had made per-
sonal comparisons between refrigerator beef,
native Cuban cattle and Texas beef killed
in Cuba, which had and which had not
been in cold storage. His experiments had
been made as fairly as possible with refer
ence to practical conditions. His opinion
was that the best beef we could get in Cuba
was American cattle and refrigerated as
near the spot it was to be used as possible.
"DeathIy smell"
Quartermaster Sergeant Sullivan of the
Ninth Massachusetts, Tad been through the
Santiago campaign and came to the stand
ffull of the memories OF canned and refrig-
Grated beef. The former, he said the men
barely tasted. The latter he started in to
describe as a strange and gruesome article,
unlike anything he had ever seen. He said
it had a '~deathly smell"
Here he collided with the recorder who
insisted on having a strict definition Of a
"deathly SMELL"
Witness got as far as saying that the
"~deathly smell was different from the smell
Of a decomposing body, but here the recorder
demanded a statement of the mechanism OF
decomposition and a list Of the gases which
would be evolved.
The witness thereupon went to pieces ANA
reduced his whole statement TO saying, the
beef was very bad" and on this refused
to be shaken.
The list of witness having been exhausted
the court adjourned to 10 o'clock Monday.