The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-11
Still Another Witness Tells of His
Embalmed Beef.
HAD AN ACRID, SOUR SMELL
ADMIRAL WALKER FAVoRS
CANNED BEEF AS A RATION.
Admits That Men Who Ate It Did
Not Like It-Reporter Reid Testi-
fies That He Correctly Quoted Gen
eral Miles When the Latter Made
His Sensational Charges

Washington. April 10.-The army court
of beef inquiry resumed its session at
10 o'clock today, with Admiral John @.
Walker. president of the Nicaragua ca
nal commission. on the stand. He said
that canned roast beef had been used by
the commissions surveying parties on the
isthmus. The men did not like this beef,
preferring bacon and the native beer, put
1t had not been found unwholeSome- In
Quitting a large expedition TO the trop-
les he would include some of the canned
beef as a ration, but not very much:
Dr. Charles II. Castle, an assistant
surgeon of the First Ohio cavalry. toT d
time brigade surgeon, and one of the
men whose name was given by lieutenant
CAMPER as being present at Lakeland,
Fla. when Mr.. MorehouSe, agent Tor Ar
mour & Co., said that their beef had been
chemically treated, said that on two oc-
casions he had found the meat spoiled al
ter it had passed inspection.
On the 10Th OF August he had met the
Armour agent, whose name he did not
know. in the presence OF captain Gar
michael and Lieutenant Camper. at the
commisSiary depot DR.. Castle called the
attention of the agent to some discolor-
atoms of a greeniSh character on the
meat. The agent replied: The dlscolora-
ton is due to some chemical with whlch
the beef was treated upon being put In
the refrigerator
u asked him what the formula was,
continued DR.. Castle, but he replied that
ne did not know
DR.. Castle identified letter he had ad-
| dressed to the chief commissary at Tam
pa on the 2Srd of August last, asking that
he be allowed to purchase beef at Lake
land and not be compelled 10 receive the
! beef shipped in, because of the frequent
| condemnations of the refrigerator beer
| from Tampa. Failing to receive a prompt
| response, he had wired and had received
authority for a time to make the pur-
| chaseS of local butchers.
HAD AN AROMATIC SMELL.
Describing the odor emitted. by the
| meat, DR.. Castle said it was not OF a dis
1 gushing character, but that 1t was an
/ aromatic. acrid, sour smell. He mad
J reached the conclusion since ne nav nay: re-
| turned to his laboratory work IN Clnclh-
/ natl that the beef had been treated eltner
with the gas formaldehyde or the KIN
| bred solution formaline de hau Ihdue
! no report to any superior ofhcer cohcei ~
! ing the, agents statements, because ne
! had supposed that the war department.
/ knew of the process if any was use9.
Sidney Reid, reporiteFt ga III pr elie ave
| the particulars of an interview had with
! General Miles at the Waldort-Astotltt on
the 3lst Of January last. In TINS lhteIN wv.
| General Miles was represented as TENNIS
| of the INQUIRIES he had set afoot concern,
ing the beef supplied TO the army ana
! saving that the canned roast beet was
( nothing more than the refuse OF beel
from which beef extracts had been mace mace
and as stating that he had oNel'WhesthluS
| evidence that the embalmed beef was
treated with chemicals. ~. .
Mr. Reid presented the court WIN
| correct copy of the interview as pre-
pared by him. Referring TO an mterNIeM
| with General Miles, printed IN the New
York Herald. Mr.. Reid SAID II was not d
! correct reproduction of the Miles inter-
view. Il saw portions of my interview
in the Herald he said, "complne9 WITH
| other matter which did not write
In reply to questions from Major Lee;
Mr. Reid said he did not have General
! Miles testimony before the War lnVestl-
eating commission in mind when ne
/ talked with him. or when ne wrote ms
| article His conversation with General
! Miles had occurred in the office of lne
! hotel and the latter had at first declined
| to be interviewed, eXcusinS himself seN-
| eral times. Upon a later attempt on ms
part. General Miles had consented to read
| what purported to be interviews with MN
| in the New York evening papers or Ihat
date and had then expressed himself as
represented in the Associated Press dls-
Mr.. Reid said that General Miles knew
| he reuresented the Associated Press ana
that he was taking notes on me way 10
his office he had compared his memoir
andum with that made by the reporter oil
the New York Times who was present al
the time. and had found they agreed sub
stantially.
Il don't claim that the verbiage is alb
solutelV correct he said. but | do claim
that it is correct in substance and that II
does not Inisrepresent what General Miles
said"
Moreover. he had volunteered to submit
the interview to General Miles when
written out. but the general had saiu
hat he was too busy to give attention 70
| it. or had made some other excuse: CON
secuentlv. the general had not seen the
article after it was prepared. The coutT
then adjourned for the day.
General Shafter was in the cOurl room
for a time during the day. He viii testify
1 tomorrow.