The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-01
MILES HAS MUCH EVIDENCE.
ASSERTS THAT HE CAN PROVE THE
BEEF WAS EMBALMED.

Says He Has AfHdavits From Men
Who Saw 1t Undergoing the EN-
baIming PrOcess-NO Need TO Spend
More Money on Investigation.
Canned ROast Beef Was Nauseat-
ing-MOney offered to Prove Chem
fcaIs Were Used.
New York, Jan. 3l-Maj Gen. Nelson
A. Miles gave out a statement tonight,
after having denied several published in
terviews attributed to him. He prefaced
his statement by saying:
Il have been most freely quoted with
out authority from me or without any ut
terance on my part. 1t has been a source
of great annoyance to me-"
His statement Is as follows:
ION the goth of last September I issued
an order to reglmental commanders to re-
port TO me concerning the beef which
had been issued TO their men.
AT the time that went before the war
board investigating commission 1 had only
received reports from fourteen of the COM
manders. Now l have thirty reports.
They all tell the same story. The evidence
proves the truth of the statements which
L made.
Has a Mass of Evidence.
'In addition to the reports of the regi-
mental commanders, l have a great mass
of evidence, consisting of communications,
affidavits, etc, from officers, soldiers and
civilians. Every part of the country has
contributed to the mass of correspondence
which 1 have received in reference to the
beef served to our soldiers. and the evil
dence is all corroborative of what l have
said. The great publicity which the press
has given 10 the matter has brought an
the correspondence of which ] speak upon
Il have overwhelming evidence that the
embalmed beef was treated with chem
icals in order to preserve it. have af1i-
davits from men who saw the beef under
going the treatment or embalming pro-
cess.
Canned Beef Nauseating.
Now, as to the canned roast beef, that
was different from the ernbalmed beef
The canned roast beef was the beef after
the extract had been boiled out of it, You
have seen the advertisements beef ex-
tract; one pound contains the substance of
from four to five pounds of prime beef.
Well this is the beef after the extract had
been taken from it. They put this beef
pulp in cans and labeled 1t canned roast
beef The soldiers report that the canned
beef was nauseating. If swallowed it could
not be Kept on the stomach.
It was pointed out to Gen. Miles that
he had been quoted as having said that if
the men who supplied the beef would de-
post $1,000 in such way that it could be
made to pay the cost of the proceedings,
he would furnish absolute proof of his as
sertion He was asked what tribunal he
had>in mind. or to whom he would furnish
this proof, and in reply said:
Looked on 1t as n Bluff.
81 made that statement in response to
the offer of the beef men to pay 100000
for evidence of the truth of my allega-
tons against their product. 1 looked on
their offer as a bluff and took that way
of answering it. / have no tribunal in
mind. 1 have the greatest abundance of
evidence to support the charges I made
and do not think that any part of the
thousand dollars need be spent in more
investigation"
Gen. Miles has received a telegram from
Col. A. A. Pope of Boston, requesting Gen.
Miles TO draw on him for $1,000 to prove
that chemicals were used to embalm beef
furnished to soldiers, but this offer will
not be accepted for the reasons already
given.