The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-01-20
SHOULD FIRE EGAN!
Or, Sem Talks About the Latest
Phase of Beef Controversy
QUARREL HURTS THE ARMY.
t,r;y Logical Result of the CommIssary's
I.,ugu,ge, Says Skaters FIrmer Sur
yeon--The Timed Roast Baef Is Dis
tasteful AMI UnwhOlesoms

New ORLEANS. Jan. l6. - Colonel
Nicholas Sem, the distinguished SUR
:;>on Of Chicago, who was chief con-
:u!ting surge III Of the medical staff OF
General Shafter aad General Miles, in
iNnba and Porto r. GO, arrived in New
tsrleans yesterday on q vacation.
when asked his opinion of the con.
trovtrsy now raging between General
Lilies AMI Commissary General Elgan,
a.. Sern said:
'Suca a thing is to be sincerely re-
r;etted. do not think the commits
ION should have allowed General
Esyan's te stimony to have been pub
ished, and, of course. his dismissal
'.'om the army can be the only logical
,A'.:ome of such staten .nts as he has
l,ade. and il such language.
so far as the canned roast beef in
question is concern ID, l think that it
4,cks in nutriment, is extremely dis
tasteful to the palate and undoubt lily
1Awholesome in its effect upon the
:u.di.rs. could not eat it myself and
know many of the men absolutely
.efuseI to eat it, even when they had
80 other rations; it simply nauseated
;.lem. The old style corn beef was
:>:sted article and has always proved
oacon. 1t was har>l.y tim. to choose
Or an experlm mt wlen a large army
s2as starting on an expe lition into a
::opical country. I do not know by
what process the fresh beef was
:reat d in an atten 1t to preserve it,
;sut thcre are certain things like
,alacy.ic acid, waic.l. when dissolved,
will form an airtigat co sting and keep
animal matter free from taint for
,ome time. But it is purely matter
II ex pertinent as yet.
''Wilat has been done In the past
few months. however, is Of very little
mp ,rtance in view of the necessity
watch is Shown to exist for thorough
sxaminatio l and investigation Of food
supply for our army in the tropics. A
commission of experts sh ,ull be ap-
pointed at once to take the matter in
hand. and in view of our recent ex-
perience in the West Indies and the
Philippines, arrive at the proper ra.
lions to be safely issued to our troops
sent on !oAg voyages and on service in
dangerous climates. AS said before,
the controversy now in progress is to
he extremely regretted. There is nc
question, however, as to tAe uRdesira-
bi.ity of the canned roast beef as an
army ration."
As matter of course all army off,
GERS in New Orle tns are very nue., in.
terested in the new outbreak in the
War department. While unwilling to
be quoted they are emphatic in thei,
statement that the present incident IL
4ustrates, as did tha interview given
,ut by General Miles in Porto sico
the wide breach and utter lack of har
o.onv between the military politicos
in Washin yton and the real army
While the friction between Genera
Miles and Secretary Alger was appar
entity smoothed over, it is not believed
silat this more recent incident, in view
If all that has gone h-tora. can be 81
easily overlooked 4, -. President
The general opinion is .st>.- srmy mat
ters have reached n crisis, that some
hing must happen. and that in tn
egislation proposed this winter step
should be taken to thoroughly reor
xanize ths staff, and devise som
ueans of putting it more in harmon,
with the line.