The age-herald., 1899-04-12
GEN. SKATER
 ON THE STAND He Thought the Refrigerated B6ei Has
 Fine. CANNED BEEF UNPALATABLE Lieutenant s k Says Armour Gave
 E. lort Weight. SAYS g5 MEAT WAS TAINTED Gener ;7after Never Heard of Canned R eoBeef Until the War-He Had No Discretion Re-
 garding Rations.
CANNED BEEF UNPALATABLE
MEAT WAS TAINTED

RdiAAbS Ae1IAOuSs
 Washington, April 11.-Major General Shafter, who conducted the campaign against Santiago, was before the beef in- quiry board today His statement differs little from his testimony before the war Investigating board. He said he ate canned roast beef cold and found 1t not disagree able. The refrigerated beef was as fine as any he had ever eaten. The men who suf- fered for lack of food had only themselves to blame. If there had seen mistakes, congress, which provides the rations and clothing of the soldiers, was responsible. He admitted that he had never heard of canned roat beef before the war While 1t was not very palatable in the tropics, he thought it would be very good in the cold climate. Some of the Pennsylvania volun- teers gave direct testimony as to the tainted character of the refrigerator beef and the canned rost beef. One of them testified that beef aboard the Mississippi had mag gots in it.
 General Shafter said that it was utterly impracticable to take beef on the hoof He regarded it as absurd to consider. Look ing back to the campaign he still considered
 
 active enemy they might have lost beef herd, and in any event it would have been imperatively necessary to take the same amount of salt and cured meat to provide against such a possible contingency. Af- ter the troops were landed he ordered all the troops forward with three days ra- tions. The meat ration was not specified Each commander determined whether it should be bacon or roast beef. He heard no m n lqil llDti Cuba. Naturally in such a climate it was not appetizing. He ate it every day him sell. The troops were furnished full rations of meat, hard bread, coffee and su> gar. There were one or two days when the full ration of coffee and sugar did not reach them, but it was made up the next day.
 The question of supplying the troops was the difficult one; the rest was easy. There were no complaints from Washington. Tho health of the troops was fairly good up to the time of the surrender. The sick report July 16 would show but 1000 men sick but the troops had been weakened and after the surrender went down rapidly. The first case of yellow fever was reported upon the 9th He only recalled one complaint against the refrigerated beef; he thought that came from the Seventh or Ninth in- fantry.
 From your experience do you regard canned roast beef as a suitable meat for ration for such a campaign?" asked Major Lee.
 "I do not know of any substitute" re- piled General Shafter. Canned corn beef is perhaps better Possibly it Is not so good as bacon, but that depends upon the indi- vidual's taste. l, myself, think there might have been less meat and more beans and rice Campaigning in the tropics was new to us and it an experimental food. Certainly we all recognize now that the rations were not well adapted to such a campaign, but 1t was all we had and we did the best we could. Congress provides the army ration."
 General Shafter detailed a conversation with Commissary General Eagan about the canned beef which he (Shafter) at that time believed was genuine roast beef Asked if after all that had occurred he considered canned roast beef worthy of a further trial, General Shafter reiterated his statement that he knew of no substitute His own preference would be for clean ba- con but while -uninviting and not palata- ble he did not consider canned roast beef unfit for food. Any canned meat in such a high temperature that when opened the grease would run off would be far from appetizing. But he would not prefer to condemn 1t. In a cold climate he would regard the canned roast meat as very good indeed To carry fresh beef on the hoor he regarded as absolutely out of the ques- ton. None of the division commanders (Wheeler, Kent or Lawton) had complained or the ration officially.
 If there had been complaints to them," said he, q hardly think they would have reported it. They were sensible men, It was all we had. Nothing could have been done' He mentioned the opinion that the experiment of the refrigerated meat was thrown away.
 At the conclusion of General Shafter's testimony the court took a recess
 A. A. Kirk, of the Philadelphia city troops. testified at the afternoon session that he saw refrigerated beef abroad the Massachusetts that had spoiled In Porto Rico the troops bought its own beef on the hoof. He declared that one-third of the canned beef he saw unfit for use. John w. Springer, of New Cumberland. Pa, who acted as commissary sergeant of the gov- ernor's troop of Pennsylvania, testified that fully half the canned roast beef was unit to eat. The refrigerated beef on the Mis- sissippi spoiled and could not be eaten. The odor was offensive that men slckened. After the return voyage four teen of his troop had typhoid fever
 Arthur w. Feight, of Carlisle, Pa, also of the governors troop, thought one-fourth of the canned beef was spoiled and ono- half fit for use. The refrigerated beof could not be eaten and was thrown over board on the second day Maggots were found fin the beef brought aboard the Mis- sissippi.
 natl. commissary and subsistence officer of the First Ohio, which was at Port Tampa during June and July testified that the canned roast beef made the men sick As commissary officer he had refused con- siderable quantity of the beef furnished by Armour. It was tainted.
 At Jacksonville he said Armour issued short weight beef Over 14,000 pounds of canned beef issued to his regiment at Tampa was condemned.