The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-31
Another COmmissary Officer De-
scribes Ayers Canned Refuse.
LIKE BATTING M00NsHINE
COULD NOT EAT TT NOR GIVE 1T
AWAY.
Even the Starving Cubans Would Not
Take It-Meat Rejected By the
English Government Sold to Al
ger-Refrigerated Beef Spoiled
Before It Reached Florida.

| Washington, March 30.-The beef in
quiry courts session began at 2 O'Clock
this afternoon with the testimony OF
George A. Camper, clerk living in
Cincinnati, O., who was lieutenant
in the First Ohio cavalry during the
Spanish war, occupying the position OF
regimental commissary while the troops
were cannped at Lakeland, Fla For a
time he occupied the position of brigade
commiSsary. He described the manner
of receiving the fresh beef at the depot
and said it came in an ordinary express
car, wrapped in burlap bagging. Two
or three total assignments of meat were
rejected. He stated that much of the
beef had been sour, acrid and bitter,
and emitted d. disagreea!ble odor when
the burlaps were removed. There were
spots of a light green hue on the beef
when the bags were removed, showing
it to be tainted. Mr.. CAMPER said
that on one occasion, while the agent
for Armour & co. was present, his at
tention was called to the spots, and he
replied that the beef was all right, say
ing: THE spots are due to the chem
icals we put en- the meat to preserve it
and prevent it's spelling within the sixty
hours called for by the contract" -
This agent said that it was impossible
to keep the beef in good condition for
that length of time. He stated, how
ever, that hereafter he would have meat
put up in tin boxes but the mea con-
tinued to come with the spots on it.
MIR. CAMPER then presented mem
orandurn kept by Captain Carmichael,
his predecessor as brigade commissary,
l,
from the 1st to the 18th of August. This
showed that the total consignment was
rejected ON the 5th, 9Th and. 18th of Aug
ust; that 2S2 pounds were refused on
the I'd of the month, and that no en-
tries We're made on two other days. Os
some occasions chunks were cut out of
the meat and condemned. Mr.. CAMPER
thought Mr. Mordhouse was the agent
who had spoken of the use of chemi-
Gals.
CORNED MOONSHINE.
Major C. Webb, who was General
Lawton's inspector general, gave testi-
mony coIycerning the meat issued in the
Santiago campaign, referring especially
to the canned roast beef.
1T was not good" he said. ut was
non-nutritive, stringy, f1brous and had
no taste. 1t looked like the fag ends
of beefsteak. Ut was opening your
mouth and letting the moon shine into
it. 1t was not satisfying, something we
did not want and could not give away,
even to the Cuban troops, who preferred
hard bread
Major Webb said he had tried to eat
the beef occasionally when very hum
cry, but never received any satisfaction
from it, excepting after vegetables were
procured, when it was used as hash to
some advantage. VI
You do not. then, regard it as suit
able ration for the army?" D
L do not" Major Webb replied. 1T
is a weighty thing to carry, and it is a
waste of time to eat it."
Major Webb said he had found the
refrigerator beef generally good, though
some of it became putrid in the hot
climate. He had never heard of en-
balmed beef until he returned north.
REJECTED BEEF USED.
Colonel c. A. Woodruff, purchasing
officer for the commissary department
at New York, was recalled. He said he
had rejected some tenders of canned
roast beef, but he did not remember The
names of the bidders in any such cases
Colonel Woodruff stated that in one
instance canned beef, which had been
shipped to Liverpool, England, was
brought back to this country and sold
for the use Of the army. This purchase
amounted to 350,000 pounds. The beef
as he understood it, had been stored in
Armour's warehouse in Liverpool, and
had been sent abroad with the view
of selling it to the British government.
Colonel Woodruff had letters read from
representatives of various firms engaged
in canning beef, all saying that the
beef sold to the army was Of first-class
quality and of the same quality as the
beef Shipped to foreign countries and
sold to the navy department in large
quantities. The witness said he heard
many complaints concerning this beef
from officers returning from Cuba, but
that one or two of them spoke favor
ably of it. He also said that consider
able quantity of the beef sent to Cuba
had been returned to New York, and
that he had tesreh it and found it to be
in excellent condition and palatable'
food In conclusion, Colonel Woodruff
asked permission to make a remark as,
to the senior officer of the subsistence
u apartment, saying: Whether it sue
ceeCed or not, the subsistence depart-
ment was animated by a desire to do
all it could for the benefit of the line
of the army"
Mr.. Morehouse, Armour's agent al
Tampa, was then recalled. He said
there had been two instances in which
the entire proffer Of meat had been re-
jected at Lakeland, and on three or
four other occasions a portion of the
had been refused. He re-
called visit to Lakeland early in Aug
ust, when one consignment was re-
jected, and to his surprise found the
beef lying on the platform. He had
then had a conversation with Captain
Carmichael, but he did not remember
that there was any other person pres
emit except Lieutenant Dixon. He did
not remember to have then seen or to
have ever met Lieutenant CAMPER. whr
had testified that Mr. Morehouse had
said that the meat had been treated
to chemical process for preservation
No questions had been addressed to him
the chemical preservation of
the meat. He had never used any eX
preston to anyone to indicate that
chemicals had been used
BUT TWO WERE DROWNED.