New-York tribune., 1899-03-26
necessary especially for the sick and the halfsck
dwelt more particularly upon the need Of trans
portaton.
PACK TRAIN WAS CONFISCATED.

7 | dNplt
portation
! PACK TRAIN WAS CONFlSCATED.
II organized a pack train of mules and Spanish
cavalry horses We thought would get tood
| then bu, some one came along and coniiscated the
| pack train The lack OF transportation was. !
! think evil than the lack OF food ire
! ouently heard men ask II they could not get oet-
ter food than the canned roast beef. but that was
/ impossible as there were pack trains on the
firing lines There never moro than one DAY :
! food I'm advance A; Siboney there was food. but
al the front there was none. We were threatened
] with a shortage couple Of days before santiago
was taken. but we got fresh food the day after We
! entered the city. With wagon and some Nu"'"
p carts I went into Santiago and purchased Ia'se
! nun,hor Of articles | got six hundred pounds or
rice and from the Red Cross several hundred
/ pounds OF oatmeal and quantity OF milk W hle
in the city found that the ships had come IN WIN
the refrigerated beef. and through the kindness o.
| Colonel Weston / got some OF that FOR my men.
Did you make more than one report? the Gov
ernor was asked.
Yes: on September 10 ! made my formal repor.
, which | read over 70 the officers who were with
me IN Cuba I'm order that they might make sus
gesfiors before sending Il in. In that report S''
/ forth various matters at greater length than !"
my report Of July -. Among the many snort
comings | mentioned was the canned beef 90
not think either OF those reports Is 10 be iouhu
published in the report Of the war Depar''ne"
bu | am informed that their omission was an
oversight. and that they will be pubIShed III inc
mex, report OF the Department
/ when did you first receive the refrigerated
beef
About July -" the Governor said
/ And how frequently" Colonel Davis asked.
/ NEARLY every day We had plenty Of that beer
from that time II usually reached camp ABOUT
/ noon hut sometimes not until the afternoon 7"
the going bad. Sometimes would sehu an III"
/ provised train and get It early
! What was its condition. was Colonel DAVIS :
| next question.
! AS rule the refrigerated beef was good some
times some OF spoiled and the rind or outer Gov
/ ering was sometimes black, but 1t seemed a"iu"S
good to us | cannot give YOU the exact proper
! tions that were thrown away on account OF unfit
/ ness | doubt II there more than one OF TWO
issues where the proportion thrown away was
/ serious Take :. as a whole Il in a salts
/ factory state"
REFRIGERATED BEEF GOOD.
Had you occasion to believe" Colonel Davis in
! Quired. that the refrigerated beet was treated
/ with chemicals"
/ Il never thought about the matter AZ all until !
came home" Governor Roosevelt answered. i
/ considered the refrigerated beef good. We ate u
/ and enjoyed H. but undoubtedly II gave most or
/ the men who II diarrhpa But attributed
that 20 the fact that the meat was fresh ana that
the men had been eating too large quantities OF IT,
/ \
/ there was something the matter with the meat
They attributed the diarrhPa to the fact that the
| meat had been as they expressed IT, physcked. ]
/ though, the beef ate was excellent II gave my
! men darrhoa. hut they were not in good health
! Nv command Ike every other sick-much n
/ sicker than the number OF men on the sick roll
I would show. Taking the reports on the average
vo stood about third the list OF cavalry regl-
ments Taking the five regiments OF cavalry Two
would usually be worse In percentage OF sick ana
/ TWO better than our regiment But the number or
! men on the sick list gave no idea OF the number
| of men who were weakly For instance. when We
shifted camp the march Of say even four miles
would he followed next day by the doubling Of the
! sick list and toward the end OF our stay in Cuba
did no, regard 20 per cent OF my men as being ht
/ for work II had had to undertake heavy
/ march ! would not have regarded a hfth of my
+ mon as able TO go through It. Others might have
gone through It. but they would have done 50
! stragCnng by dropping packs and being sick next
! dav don't think there were more than per cent
! OF the men in as good health when they went
away"
What was the meat component Of the ration
coming back from Cuba" Governor Roosevelt was
| next asked.
! Canned roast beef and it utterly unfit as a
ration Not a fifth Of It consumed. | was
in charge Of the ship and paid good care 10 the
I mems food and water Mine was one OF the very
few transports from which men We're allowed to
" .
not eat the canned meat | purchased for them
from the ships stores -four and potatoes. in fact.
anything that could be bought We also gave the
sick men food from the officers The officers
had bought their food in Cuba
POOR WATER AND LACK OF ICE.
.Our chief dmculty the way home was the
water and lack Of ice The canned roast beef
| could absolutely not be eaten by the ailing and
half-slck There was one case Of what may he
! called embalmed beef that would Ike to mention.
| Before our transport left Tampa couple Of quar-
| ters Of beef which were Informed had been
| chemically treated We're put aboard was told
10 nut II In the shade because II was chemically
treated to last in the tropics 1t lasted one day
and got so offensive that had It thrown over
board Since coming back TO the United States
have been led to understand that # was an ex-
| pertinent"
Replying TO Major Lee. General Miles's represen-
| ,ative Governor Roosevelt said he heard no com
plaints about the canned corned beef He sa.i he
was unable to recall the labels on the cans of the
roast beef. He thought some Of them were
! Armour's and some Swifts s. put he explained that
he had many cans of these firms mat prob
! ably he was mixing them up with the cans he saw
Roosevelt II he could supply the Court with a copy
| of his reports The Governor said that he could
War Department. Major Lee then asked the Court
10 call for these reports from the Department and
! he was promised that this would be done.
In closing the examination Major Lee put this
question to The Governor: After your eXperience nee
| way over 10 cuba during the campaign. and on the
return voyage Will you please give the Court your
onlnion as 10 the fitness unfitness. as TO the
! wholesomcncss or unwholesomencss. OF the canned
| roast beef as a ration2'
Il regarded the canned roast beef as utterly un-
fl Governor Roosevelt replied. speaking slowly
| and deliberately. "as an utterly unfit ration for
/ the troops The canned roast beef we had down
| in Santiago WAS an unfit and an unwholesome
/ ration. l make that statement without resery1-
/ ton and without qualification. ! have heard That
/ the cans up here have been examined and found
vvholcsornp But | would state emphaticaly that
nv experience Of that beef proved TO me beyond
/ p shadow OF question that the canned roast beer
we nd with us was AZ the best unpalatable. and at
| the worst uneatabic and unwholesome. To the
ma ioritv OF men II not only unpalatahle, but
| sufficiently unwholesome TO make many OF them
I sick That was not only my experience but the
/ exnrrence of those with whom was brought into
contact. -, t...,o-
/ This closed Governor Roosevelts examination
| nd ahout minutes Before