Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-21
THE BEEF THAT
WAS SERVED
Colonel Powell SuStainS Miles
Charges.
HE TASTED THE STUFF
And Said It Was Unpalatable and Con-
tanned no NOuriShment--
The Court of Inquiry

Washington Feb. 21.-The session of
the Miles court of inquiry began today
with Col. w. H. Powell of the 7th infan-
try on the stand. His regiment went
through the Santiago campaign and after
the city was captured he received re-
quests from his men for money to buy
stuff to eat. He investigated the social
ed canned roast beef and had some of it
served at his own table.
Gould not eat it, he continued. 1T
was stringy, unwholesome looking
mass, more like wet seaweed than any
thing else / can think of. The men were
sick and debilitated and could not keep it
on their stomachs. We had at that time
1872 sick. Soon after that fresh beef began
to arrive and the men ate readily and be-
gan to pick up in health
Il would like to emphasize, said Col.
! Powell, that the enlisted men of the
army are not in the habit of complaining.
They seem to feel in a ampaign that the
officers are doing all that can be done for
them, and l can't say that l received any
thing that could be termed complaints.
The officers discussed the matter freely
and the quality of the canned beef was a
matter of common talk
| Regarding the refrigerated beef Col
| Powell said there was little to be said
against it, except that some of it spoiled
/ before it was received. There were no
i facilities for cooking while in the city eX-
/ cept fire in the gutter and all food had
| to be boiled.
| You made no official report at the
same time" said Col. Davis, NOR any ef-
| fort to ameliorate the condition of the
men as to their meat ration"
mo. sir FL made no official report un-
ltil after returning to the states when
was ordered by the war department tc
report on the canned roast beef
! Col. Davis then produced a report
from witness made from Governors Is
land Sept. goth, in which he condemned
| the canned roast beef, saying it produced
| disorders of the stomach Col. Powell
said he had made that report on an order
from the adjutant generals office ant
that was based ON personal knowledge
and reports from his company command
erS.
Colonel Powell concluded by reviewing
the decrease in sickness after the issue
of fresh beef and the removal of the
camp to the hills. Explaining his ex.
preston, want Of nutritive value he
said the beef gave no pleasure in eating
/ nor source of strength to the body. Re-
nj iying to another question, he said he haG
declared to fellow officers, either at San
tiago or at Montauk, that the Refrigerator
beef tasted as though it had come in con-
tact with chloroform or kerosene. This
was not true when broiled.
In reply to a direct question of COlone
! Davis. the witness said he had never en-
tertained an idea at Santiago or at Mon
tauk that the beef had been treated
chemically to preserve it.
/ Colonel Albert Smith of the Fifteenth
! infantry, who was "a Santiago during
part of the campai ign, testified. He said
"The beef was good, except one day
when it was spoiled. l understand tha
the beef had been lying in the sun on TIL,
dock"
Colonel Smith said the investigation o
canned beef made in September showed
it had given practically no satisfac
ti0n.