The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-14
CHEMICALS ARE
NOT EMPLOYED
So Declare Meat Men
of Chicago.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

CHICAGO, March 13.-Rapid progress
was made to-day by the Government
Court of Inquiry investigating the beef
controversy. Nearly a dozen witnesses
were examined, three of them being in
spectors of the Government Bureau OF
Animal Industry, and the rest of them
employees in various capacities at sew
eral Chicago packing houses. Colonel
Davis, recorder of the court, stated to-
night that he was unable to approx
mate the length of time it would take
to exhaust the list of Chicago wit
nesses, but it seems likely that two or
three days will be required before the
members of the court can leave for
Kansas City.
DR.. O. E. Dyson, who has been an in
spector at the stockyards since 1898, testi-
fed that his duties were to look after the
other inspectors and to see that they do
their duty. He had twenty-five or thirty
men to look after and had reported only
two in a year for negligence: One came
late and the other was Intoxicated. IAN
interval" he said Knight elapSe between
the going off and the coming on of an in
spector, but we are supposed to be very
strict In regard to that.
DR.. Dyson said that cattle condemned
at the aHte-mortem examination in the
yards for various causes, II they passed
the post-mortem inspection, might be
brought into the packing-house and used.
| He had never seen chemicals of any kind
used except boraX and things of that
sort around the hog houses He said that
a case of lumpy jaw does not necessarily
condemn the meat unless the disease is
generaiized.
DR.. Charles e. Mcneil, bureau inspector
at the beef and sheep house of Nelson
Morris & Co., was the next witness. He
was not aware of any chemicals having
been used in that establishment and had
no reason to believe or suspect that they
Charles H. Emery, superintendent of the
Libby, Mcneil & Libby packing house,
testified, Our business is principally
Strengthening directly, but animals are
killed for us by Swift & Co. No chemicals
are used or relied upon by US to preserve
salt is used. In a two-pound can we use
one-half ounce of salt in solution
James S. Morrow assistant superin-
tendent at Libby, Mcneil & Libby, cor
witness as to the process of canning
roast beef. He said there was scarcely
beef, and that the distinction was made
mostly, he supposed, to compete with 9TH
ers in the business There was very lit
tie difference as. to quality. He did not
know whether there was any difference
in the price to the Government. He said
that about 90 per cent of cows were used
Arthur Meeker, manager of Armour &
Co.'S packing house, said the accumula-
ton of canned goods were held in Chi
cago, but the firm had also large stock
in Europe; They had on hand at the out
break of the Spanish war 800, 900 pounds of
canned roast beef in Chicago and 14O, 900
pounds in New York. They sold two mill
ion pounds to the Government and also
100000 pounds of corned beef. The wit
ness stated that no chemicals were used
to preserve the beef either while in
transit or in storage in an agency. The
witness stated that two ounces of jelly
was put into tWo-pound can of roast
beef, but no salt. The jelly gave an at
tractive appearance to the meat and add
ed to the nouriShment. About 115 per
cent of the nourishment came out in the
first frs 6qilimg proGess per &c cent OF solu
made out of it. No date was put on the
label on the roast beef cans, the con-
tents being good. Meat thus preserved
six, eight and nine years was just as
good as If put up last summer. The
French Government required date on
the can. The same kind of meat was
used in the cans furnished the United
States Government.
Other men connected with Armour's
also testified that chemicals were never
| used.