The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-30

The Times has published the fact that
before the war with Spain, the War De
partment was fully warned of the dangers
TO the soldiers from the use of preserved
meats. Mr.. W Clarke Marshall is a
prominent citizen of Chicago who was for
merly engaged in the meat packing bust
ness and who invented a process of can
ming beef Deeply concerned for the
health of the people in the Klondike who
depended largely on such beef and for the
soldiers in Alaska, he took the trouble
TO write to the War Department on the
subject Yesterday there was published
in the New York Herald n facsimile of
each endorsement of his letter by the diff
ferent officials. including those of General
Eagan's bureau and the Surgeon Generals
Office. Therefore. there can be no doubt
that although amply warned by man
whose standing gave every warrant for
attention to his communication. there was,
as he says added to the army ration an
article purporting to be healthful food in
which analysis will prove that no health
or strength exists" that after this warn
ing and protest no effort was made to de-
termine the true character of the article.
Mr. Marshall wrote first in the Septem-
Der preceding the war and his letter was
referred by the Commissary General to the
Surgeon General, whose deputy denied all
its statements and returned it. A year
later, when the mortality in the army had
created general alarm. he wrote again,
calling attention to the poisonous posi-
bilities of the meat This letter was put
through the same routine and returned
with the statement that he had added
nothing to his previous communication.
The Alger Relief Commission, which has
since appeared to be so deeply concerned
for the welfare of the meat packers, re-
fused to allow Mr. Marshall to testify. He
appealed to the President, and then re-
ceived a letter from the Commission call
ing for information, but in a way to pre-
vent him from telling all the facts. He
has now appealed 10 the Commission in the
form of an affidavit in which he recites
that our soldiers at Santiago suffered from
the lack of nutriment in the prepared
meat and that the endorsement of the
Surgeon Generals Office on his first let
ter. which was approved by General
Eagan's office. is falsehood; that canned
beef is dangerous 10 health, exactly as
alleged.
It is apparent from the published docu-
ments that the War Department, including
the Commissary General and the Surgeon
General. had full warning from the best
authority that what General Miles has
proved did happen was sure to happen;
that in spite of this bad meat was pur-
chased for the whole army without the
least investigation by chemists or doctors
in the service, and that the same infiu-
ence which was powerful enough to in
duce the War Department to add the ra-
ton was also able to prevent the taking
of Mr.. Marshalls testimony. II cannot
be said that there was ignorance of the
character of the beef which many soldiers
refused to eat. and which score of regi-
mental commanders found to be repulsive
to sight, offensive to smell, and injurious
in its effects on the body. The fact that
the beef was bad has been fully estab
lished, and the force of Mr.. Marshall's
letter is now apparent. Last September
Mr. Marshall wrote directly to Secretary
Alger announcing that he proposed TO
prove that the department had contracted
for the meat without attempting to dis
prove his charges; that the consumption
of millions of pounds of this worse than
worthless stuff was forced on the soldiers,
and that as a natural consequence the
men died literally of starvation or di-
rectly from simple complaints induced by
inanition. He further affirmed that an
analysis of the canned beef by the chem
lists of the Columbian Exposition showed
want Of albuminolds and extractiyes
equal to ninety-eight per cent, leaving
nothing but fat, fibre. and gelatine. This
is an awful arraignment of the War De-
partment and il makes Congressional
investigation imperative and inevitable.
The public had been led to think that the
action of chemicals which made some of
the beef dangerous to health was the only
charge against the packers and the de-
partment. Now it appears that at its
best the beef was a stupendous fraud.