Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-03-02
TT WAS VERY BAD.
Army Officers Give Their opinion
the canned Roast seef ISSUED 10 '"e
Soldiers.

Washington. FeD. Ill ne -iH'
court of inquiry yesterday made good
start in its work. The court was quar-
| tered in the old meeting room OF the
war investigating commission, win ac.
| commodations for representatives Oh
! the press associations and the local pa
| pers. H..
AS indicated by letter OF the adlu-
| tant general. read by the recorder lot
! the information of the court, the scope
of the inquiry was limited TO the alle-
cations of Gen. Miles before the "af
| commission as to the quality OF the
army beef land the matter purporthS
10 have been furnished to the puplc
| press by the same Official ohly t"o
| interviews were called up by the court
Cen Miles was very SLOW ana care
| full in his replies to the recorder ques'
| tions on this point. lie caneu "''e"'
! ton to the fact that in both instances
he was credited in the interviews Win
refusing to answer certain questions
and insisted that these refuSals shoulu
be oiven due weight in considering the
questions to which he did reply.
Gen. Miles in his testimony said his
use of the phrase ''pretense OF expert
ment' in speaking of army beef was
unfortunate. He disclaimed intending
any Inference of fraud, and SAID he
! should have said the refrigerated beef
issue was ION the theory OF an expert
ment," and "a very costly one"
Washington, Feb. 22.-The session OF
the Miles court of inquiry began yes
terday with Col. Powell, of the Seventh
infantry. His regiment went through
the Santiago campaign and after the
city was captured and the regiment
was quartered in the city he received
requests from his men for money to
buy stuff to eat. lie investigated the
so-called canned roast beef and had
some of it served at his own table. Il
could not eat it. 1t was D stringy, un-
wholesome looking mass, more like wet
sea weed than anything else / can
think of. The men were sick and
could not keep It on their stomachs.'
Lieut.. Col. Niele, of the First cavalry,
another of the regular army officers
who had been through the Shafter
campaign, followed with a long recital
of his experience with canned roast
| beef.
Col. Davis-What did you have as a
meat ration going down on the trans
ports?
Witness-Canned roast beef.
Col Davis-What did you have in
Cuba?
Witness-Canned roast beef, except
for few days before leaving for home,
when we had refrigerated beef.
Col. Dayis-What did you have on the
transports coming home?
Witness-Canned roast beef.
Col. Davis--What complaints were
made to you as to this beef?
Witness-There were no complaints.
There was no chance to get anything
else and the men took it and said
nothing.
Col. Davis-They did use 1T then?
Witness-I didn't say they used it.
1t was issued and they took it. l saw
a great deal of it thrown overheard.
Col. Davis-Have you made any re-
ports on this subject?
Witness-Hes, | made three reports.
Col. Dayis-But why was it you made
no official representation on this sub
iect while you were in the field?
Witness-For one reason, that for a
long time there was not sheet OF pa
per in my command.
"Did YOU eat any of the refrigerated
meat yourself?"
.Once-that was enough for me-
Witness explained that the beef had
a CLOSE, musty smell, as though 1t had
been shut up in close room, and II
turned him against the meat, so he
took bacon in preference. He was in
good health at the time, but many OF
his men were sick. He said the refrig-
Grated beef at Santiago had yellow
appearance on the outside that he had
never noticed upon the refrigerated
beef formerly furnished at Fort Riley
Kan, where he was stationed. When
ne ate it at Santiago he was inclined
TO nausea. Referring to the canned
roast beef he said it seemed to be made
scraps and the men would not cat ii
Capt. Duncan, of the Twenty-frst in.
fantry, said his regiment was at Tam
pa from April % until about June 20
when it sailed for Cuba. Canned roast
beef was issued as travel ration al
Tampa for the ocean trip, and at Sibo
ney as Il component OF the fresh meal
ration. 1t was replaced about July q
bv refrigerated beef, and was issued a:
a travel ration on The home voyage.
1t did not give general satisfaction
the men generally complaining. lie
saw much of it opened and it appeared
coarse, unseasoned, tasted fiat, was il
= long strips and the grease, 'or what
ever it was" was in globules. Appar
} emily it was preserved well. Com
plants brought to him were that thu
t beef was repugnant, unpalatable.
The refrigerated beet suffered bu
little at the hands of yesterdays wit
nesses, it being generally conceded
, that it was good when delivered from
the transports, and when it ESCAPED
, the decomposing effect of the tropica
sun en- route to the several commands
, il was found satisfactory. Genera
commissary methods in Cuba were in
uutred into. Difficulty in preventing
talnC before cooking was experienced
generally. There was little in the evi
dence pointing to any use of chemicals
upon this beef The contention of Gen