The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-01

and of the proportion agreed on between
the bacon and the canned meat in the ra-
ton. 1t was finally decided TO make the
ration half bacon and half canned meat.
because there was more to be had on the
market. Colonel Smith did not go to Cuba
With the Shafter expedition. but he saw a
great deal OF the loading at Tampa. He had
seen two cars of Armour's canned meat re-
jected because of the stencil arising from
the cars. The contractor had asked leave
10 go over the cars and remove the defective
! cans. This was done, so he understood. and
the cars afterward accepted. He opened
some of these cans after they had been ac-
cepted. The contents were softer than that
in the average cans he had seen, but he
should say better than some he had seen in
Porto Rico and in Havana.
When stationed in Porto Rico witness
handled considerable refrigerator beef. The
Manitoba was the first of the meat ships
which he unloaded. The troops seemed 10
be divided in opinion as to the value of the
refrigerator beef. Some regiments took IL
and some refused 1t. Sometimes one bat
talon or a regiment would take il and an
other would not. Part of the meat was left
on shore in the storehouse and spoiled and
part was taken back TO the United States.
Witness inspected the beef only after il
came on shore. Part was moldy and some
was tainted. but the larger part was per-
fectly good.
Colonel Smith gave his Interpretation of
the governments meat contract. especially
the much-discussed "seventy-two-hour
aus II SAT- ludL the contract pro-
vided for having a refrigerator erected on
shore. The meat was to keep there seven
ty-rwo hours and the commissary officer
was not compelled to accept 1t sooner I'M
less he chose. After leaving the shore re-
frigerator the meat was to remain good
twenty-four hours under tarpaulin protec-
ton. If failing during any of this period 1t
went back TO the, contractor to be made
good. Witness had acted on this interpre-
tation Of the contract i'm Porto Rico and was
still so acting at Havana. Witness said as
to the Manitoba that she was sent back TO
the States with sick soldiers before he could
get her cargo of meat used UP. He told in
detail as to the Quitting of the Panama
for her trip home as n hospital ship, saying
that she carried some of the Manitoba's
beef with her on ice.
Colonel Smith also made contracts for ma
tive beef, but there was complaint as TO this
supply, and some of the commands asked for
bacon in place of fresh meat. The bacon
issue was increased from one-third to one
half Of the meat ration in some cases. Wit
ness did not urge the issue of canned beef.
There were complaints about the canned.
beef because of the lack of vegetables to
cook with ii, but there were not enough
vegetables in the country to supply a full
ration of these. and the ration of vegetables
was commuted to allow the men to buy fer
themselves where they could.
CANNED PREPARED BEEF"
Replying to Colonel Davis. witness said
that where the troops under his observation
could get both sorts. the refrigerator beef
tended to displace the native beef. Witness
said ne never heard of the use of chemicals
with the refrigerator beef. He said there
was one comparatively small shipment of
canned prepared meat" 1900 or 5000
pounds, sent from the Dole Packing Com
amy in Kansas City. Witness had eaten
some of this meat at the packing company's
place in Kansas City. He did not know ex-
actly how IL was prepared but he had been
shown some white powder which the COM
pany said ii used TO preserve the meat. 1t
was cut up and packed fresh in cans and
shipped on Ice. Some of this meat had been
issued to the batteries which had refused
the refrigerator beef and they accepted il.
Colonel Smith said he had recommended this
meat as a good thing. but as he recollected
he had been informed by the commissary
general that ii was too expensive to be gen.
orally introduced in the army.
The afternoon session opened with a sur
Prise for the witnesses. On the long table
in the courtroom were eight plates with
Of canned beef fresh from the factory,
some of beef that had gone TO Cuba and
Washington market. but prepared as nearly
as possible in the same way that the canned
beef was packed at the factory. The en-
listed men who testified yesterday were
brought in and asked to pick out if they
could the various sorts of beef from the va
rious plates. Sergeant Alexander was the
first. He looked blankly at the line of
plates. turned the samples over with the
fork and said that there did not any of 1t
look like what we had in Cuba He did
not taste any Of 1t and retired.
Sergeant Casey followed and picked out
the sloppiest looking plate as the cooked
Cuban article and the driest as the Cuban
beef cold. Or. w. G; Borden, of the medical
corps. stood by and kept tally on the plates.
each Of which was numbered. Sergeants
Buckage and Kidd picked the same plate
among the hot dishes; but It'd, differed re as to the the
plate as the others, but insisted that none
of the cold meats looked like anything he
had seen in the Santiago campaign. On
being urged to pick out one of the cold
plates he selected one which he said looked
more like the Cuban article. Sergeant
White picked out the sloppy looking stew
readily enough, but baked at the cold
meat. insisting he had never seen anything
like it in the campaign. Sergeant Metz was
like minded, but said candidly that he was
not an expert of spoiled beef" and conse-
quently I'D not know that his opinion was
of much value.
The enlisted men were then recalled and
Major Lee said that he would tako advan-
tage of the permission accorded him by the
court to question some of the men himself.
He asked each of them if the beef shown
them here was prepared in the same way as
that they had had in Cuba and whether the
plates were a fair sample of what they had
used during the campaign. They unanimous
ly agreed that 1t did not look the same and
did not seem to be a fair sample of the cam
paign beef in any way.
Col. A. T.. Smith, the Havana commissary,
was recalled and told of the condemnation
of canned meat recently reported from Ha-
vana in the press dispatches. He said there
had been two inspections to his knowledge,
one under Colonel Guard. and another under
General Ernst. General Breckenridge had
made an examination with DR.. Read and
destroyed a number of cans. but whether
this was an authorized inspection witness
could not say. Colonel Smith said that a
great deal of the canned meat sent over
from Porto Rico fell under suspicion be-
cause of the swelled and broken cans in the
cases. So far as he knew something over
10, 200 cans had been condemned and de-
SfrOypd There had been considerable COM
plant of the meat that had been sent to
the interior for relief distribution and for
other purposes. Witness thought there was
about 4OO, COO rations of the canned beef still
on hand that had passed inspection.
ICCCC JuMEC uCOUJTTEN