Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-04-05
DR.. DAILY ON TIE STAND.
Repeats his Declarations Concerning
Refrigerated Beet.

Repeats his Declarations Concerning
Refrigerated Beef.
| DECLARES POSITIVELY THAT 1T
CONTAINED ACIDS AND THAT
THEY WE'RE INJURIOUS TO
HEALTH-PAID HIS RESPECTS
TO THE WAR INVESTIGATORS.
Washington, April 4.-Dr. VIM. H.
Daily, was the first witness before the
Beef Inquiry Court to-day. He was
medical member of Gen. Miles staff in
Porto Rico, and had previously testified
before the Court and was recalled to
complete his testimony then begun.
After relating the extent OF MS service
with Gen. Miles, DR.. Daily stated in re-
Spouse TO questions from Major Lee
that he has been made president OF
various national medical societies OF
the United States and a member OF for
! Investigations by himself and without
any asking on his part. DR.. Daily S
testimony dealt on this occasion, as on
his first appearance, especially with the
beef supplied to the army. He had, he
said, made sufficient observations to
warrant him in submitting an official
report, and after that time he had made
an analysis which had confirmed his
suspicious as to the meat. His first OBJ
servations had been made on a Trans
port at Tampa before the sailing Of the
expedition to Santiago, when Col. Wes-
ton invited his attention to quarter
of beef hanging on the deck. Col. Wes-
tons only remark was Here's quar-
ter of beef which has been hanging
here for 60 hours in the sun; we are
going to see what it will do No ref
erence was made to preservatives. Ills
tDr. Daly's) attention had Immediately
been aroused 81 was rather pleased,
he said. Il felt that if the beef could
be preserved so long it was a good
thing"
He then cut off piece of the beef and
cooked and ate it next day. After that
he became sick at the stomach, but he
had not felt convinced that the meat
had caused his sickness. After some
references to his stay in Porto Rico,
DR.. Daily detailed the particulars of the
trip north on the transport Panama
last September, which was in his
on sailing out with the best obtainable
refrigerator beef but the vessel had not
gone far before it became evident that
it was not good. He did all that he
could to quiet the complaints, but they
increased, and the stencil soon grew so
strong that it pervaded the whole ship.
last suggested a board of survey, aBd
on being ordered, it had condemned the
meat left, about 1900 pounds, and he
had it thrown overheard.
Here DR.. Daily took occasion to pay
his respects to the war commission be-
fore which he appeared and said the
commission now had given out the i'm
preston that the deterioration of the
beef on the Panama was due to want
of ice. This was contrary to his testi-
mony and the truth could be easily
have been ascertained. AS matter OF
fact the Panama had an excellent re-
frigerator and it carried ten tons of
ice to one of beef. He also referred to
the criticism in the war commission OF
his use of the expression in his report
that the smell about the beef was like
the odor of boracic acid. 1T is" he
said, "as difficult to say what smell
is like as it is for an artist to paint
dying groan. If the phrase was often
sive," he added, 81 might have adopted
the language of the soldiers, some OF
whom said it smelt like the devil, while
Others compared it to a bouquet of cess
pools"
DR.. Daily said he had since made eX-
periments upon beef subjected to treat
ment by boracic acid and had found it
to give forth about as foul smell as
could be well imagined.
Major Lee then read various reports
made by Dr. Daily concerning official
inspections OF the beef at the camps
at Jacksonville, Lexington, Chicka-
manga. All these stated that the meat
used generally looked well, but that
there was a universal complaint Of its
smelling badly. He had found the
fresh beef to be apparently preserved
by the injection OF some chemical
which destroyed its natural favor and
which must of necessity have been in
furious to the health of those eating it.
1t was to his mind impossible to pre-
serve the meat without the use of acids
and apparently the meat had been pre-
served by the injection of chemicals
to aid the work of defective cold stor-
age"
In one case he had found the odOr
similar to that of dead human body,
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