The evening times., 1899-04-13
THE BEEF enquiry
DRAWING TO 4 CLOSE
Embalmer Spicer's Evidence
Against Army Neat.
Sickened by Eating the Refriger-
ated Brand.
The Canned Variety Refused by the
Men-ProfessOr BiEelOw's
Chemical Report.

| eral Miles charges as to the beef fur
nished to the army is rapidly drawing to a
close. There are only few more wit
nesses to be examined, and If they report
promptly the proceedings may be closed
by the end of the week.
Colonel Davis, the Recorder OF the Court,
says that only a few days will be con-
sumed in making the report. The Court
will not go over the mass Of testimony. but,
having heard it all. will make its findings
from memory, just as jury does in an
ordinary case.
The first witness before the Beef Court
of Enquiry today was Rudolph Spicer. an
undertaken. of Harrisburg, Pa. He served
during the late war in Company l, Fourth
Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was in the
Southern camps and went to Porto Rico on
the transport City Of Washington, sailing
from Newport News to Arroyo.
Canned corned and canned roast beef
were issued to his command. No bacon
was issued to his company by the Com
mssary Department, this part OF the meat
ration being bought by the men. He re-
called two issues OF refrigerated beef and
Two issues of native beef during his service
of four weeks in Porto Rico.
Three or four inches of putrid flesh had
TO be cut away from the refrigerated beer
He noticed also that this meat was cover
ed with crystalline scales.
This he thought. was due to the use OF
boric acid. a chemical which he had used
for many years in embalming bodies.
He ate the meat once and was made SICK
by it, 1t had a peculiar taste and one
meal of il was enough for him.
A great deal of the canned roast bee,
! was thrown away. He saw no solid beef
| in the cans. The tins were hiled with
slimy substance On one occasion the
cook prepared soup from the canned roast
beef. but it was thrown away, as the men
refused to eat il. The siX-pound cans con-
tained much better beef than the two-
pound cans.
.he report of Chemist II. d. Bigelow to
Chief Chemist Wiley of the Department
of Agriculture was read By the Judge Ad-
vocate.
This report reviewed the chemists in
vestigation of the methods employed IN
packing and canning meats in the estab-
lishments at Chicago. Kansas City, and
Omaha. II gave the constituents OF meat
before and after canning. The canned
meat examined showed the proper amount
CT nutriment He thought that the
p,oper amount of proteid matter lost by
boiling before canning was SO slight that
il could not be calculated. He examined
the meats put up by Armour & Co. Lib
hey. McNeil & Lbbey, the Hammond
Company, the Caduhay Company, the Ar
mour Packing Company, of Kansas City;
Nielsen. Norris & Co.. and the Wilson
Packing Company. He had also examined
specimens furnished him by the Court of
Enquiry and had found the beef sound and
nutritious.
The report set forth that thirty ounces
of canned roast beef was equivalent to
forty-eight ounces of prime fresh beef.
The only appreciable loss in nutriment was
in the extraction of fat. Prof. Bigelow
gave il as his opinion that no scraps were
used in canning meat. He thought the
beef best adapted for canning was used by
the packers.
Prof. Bigelow was called to the stand
and testified that he had been connected
with the Department of Agriculture for
seventeen years. He had made series Of
examinations of beef at the instance of the
Alger Relief Commission. He had rem
dered report on these examinations.
This report was produced in evidence and
was read by the Judge Advocate. Ii was
maintained in this document that canned
roast beef was especially suited 10 use OF
soldiers campaigning in the tropics. as II
contained a higher percentage of proteids
to fat than fresh meat. Analyses of sam
large number of camps showed that no
chemical or other matter foreign to the
beef WAS present.