Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-02-15

/ during the early portion Of the time Tampa
was occupied by troops seems unpara lleled
showing an almost inexcusable lack of ex-
ecutiye ability on the part of those charged
with the loading unloading and handling
! of the trains.
The testimony shows that the first call
upon the quartermaster's department was
| for ships to transport 5000 men to Cuba
and that soon after the call was increased
and demand made for steamers to transport
! % 900. Upon loading these vessels cOncen-
| trated at Port Tampa, it was found that
| their capacity had been largely overrated
! and it was impossible to carry upon them
| without great discomfort and danger more
! than 10000 men, with their equipment ar
| tillery, ammunition, subsistence, medical
| supplies and 2295 animals for a voyage of
| 1000 miles. Even with this reduction the
| vessels appear to have been crowded. The
! quartermaster's department ought to have
| been able more thoroughly to euuiD these
| vessels, and surely it should have been
more certain of their carrying capacity.
Fault in Loading Ships.
Testimony shows that the vessels were
not loaded Systematically. A battery, with
! it's guns and horses, would be placed on
one vessel and it's ammunition on another.
The Second, Seventh and Seventeenth reg
| ular infantry were each divided up, and
! portions III each case sent on three differ
| ent vessels.
The fleet of transports arrived safely at
| DiaQuiri, but the failure to provide full
and sufficient number of lighters for dis
embarkation of troops, supplies and artil-
| lery caused delay, anxiety, annoyance and
danger, and had there been serious storms
or had the landing been opposed by a Wig
liant and well-trained force of the enemy
the result might have been far different.
Contracts covering millions of dollars
were made by the quartermaSter'S depart
ment during the period between April /
and October l. and although indefinite
charges have from time to time been made
of fraud and collision, no evidence has
been produced before the commission to
SubStantlate these charges although the
parties making them have been invited to
appear.
The delay in some instances in securing
medical supplies ut Santiago seems to have
been partially due to careleSsness in load
ing them on the transports. The steamers
Seneca and Concho were used as hospital
ships for the return of sick and wounded
from Santiago in July. Their conditions
for this purpose were very unsuitable. Ow-
ing to the lack of necessary transports the
means of land transportation during the
Santiago campaign was painfully deficient.
AS to "Em banned" Beef.
In regard to the subsistence depart
ment, Brighten. Charles p. Eagan, com
missary- general, L. $. A., in charge, the
report says:
SO far as we have been able to ascertain
there was but one occasion, that of Il day
i'll front Of Santiago, when the troops were
seriously short of rations; these had been
| supplied but thrown aside when the men
went into action.
On the DIST day of December last Mai
Gen. Nelson A. Miles. upon the written re
quest OF the president of this commission,
appeared before it. For the first time in
the history CT this investigation the allega--
ton was made that refrigerated beef issued
to the troops had been chemically treated.
Although DR.. DAILY Swears that he in
formed Gen. Miles about the 1St of August.
1898, that he suspected that the refrig-
Grated beef was chemically treated, il does
not appear that the general informed you
Of the war department that an officer of
his staff had made this discovery, nor does
! it appear that he at the time ordered any
of the officers under his command to probe
to the bottom an allegation which, if true
concerned the health of 275.O00 soldiers of
the United States. 1t appears from the
report of DR.. DAILY. which he handed no
Gen. Miles October 81 last that he then
specifically stated that the refrigerated beef
furnished to the troops was apparently
chemically treated. 1t does not aDDear
that when this charge was made, October
u, it having been already made to him in
August, 1898, that Gen. Miles communi-
Gated to you or the secretary of war or to
the commiss>ary general the belief or sus-
piciOn entertained by him that refrigerated
meat dangerous to health was issued every
day to the troops, in failure to do which
there was Gereliction of duty. 1t is true
that on September 20 he had directed that
an order should be issued asking for re-
ports relative to meats issued, but the or
der specifically mentions canned fresh
roast beef, - and nothing else. and it was
the reports received in answer to this that
were presented in abstract by the general
at the time of his appearance before the
commission and since.
Finds No Chemicals.
in his report DR.. DAILY does nor make tho
all-important statement that he had al
ready chemically analysed any meat. al
though he suggests that such ANALYSIS
should be made. He does state that in the
several inspections made by him at Tampa,
Jacksonville, Chickamauga and Porto Rico
he found the fresh beef to be apparently
preserved with secret chemicals He said
that a. Ponce the beef he examined was
also of the same character, being apparent
ly preserved by injected chemicals
For months as it appears DIR. DAILY con
cealed the commission of crime affecting
men under his charge. whom as an Off
Ger ard a physician he was bound to pro
tcct.
The report then, after quoting from the
regulations of the agricultural depart
ment, prescribing the manner in which
inspections are made (and no packing
house III the country is allowed to do
business without governmental inspec-
tom, after detailing the processes pur
sued by our officials and showing the
practical impOSSibility of putting impure
meat upon the market, goes on to say:
The commission has not confined itself to
merely verbal or written proof. Samples
of the meat issued were obtained from
Cuba, Porto Rico and the various home
camps. Analyses of these showed that in
twenty nine cases neither boris nor salicylic
acid or other deleteriOus chemicals had been
| found.
In view of the facts above set forth the
commission is of the opinion that no re-
| frigerator beef furnished Dy contractors and
| issued to the troops during the war with
| Spain was subjected to or treated with any
| chemicals by the contractors or those i'll
! their employ.
| There has been neither allegation
| proof before that boric or salicylic or any
/ other acid had been used in the canned
| meats furnished to the troops.
| The work Of the signal corps is highly
! commended.
Concerning the work of the pay de-
| partment, Brig Gen. T. H. Stanton in
| charge, the report says so far as can
| be learned all the officers have performed
their duties promptly and efficiently. The
engineer department and corps of engin-
! GERS and the ordnance department are
praised for their efficiency.
Gen. SternberG's Department.
| The medical department, under Brig
| Gen. George NJ. Sternberg, the commits
| sion finds to have been greatly handi-
capped by contracted and contracting
methods of administration, that the in
| spection Of camps and hospitals was not
what it should have been; that the nurs-
ing force during the month of May, June
and July was neither ample nor sufti-