Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-25
THE BEEF INQUIRY
Col. Garlington's Report Given Out
for Publication.
SUBJECTS INVESTIGATED BY him
No Doubt. That Preservative Pro-
cesses Were Used.
o P n 10 Ms GRO U P ID
O. N IONS GROUP ED

report by Lieutenant Colonel E. A. CARING
ton, inspector general of his investigation
or canned fresh beef and refrigerated beef
supplied the army during the war with
Spain. This report was rejected as evil
dence by the beef court Of inquiry yester-
day because 1t was alleged to contain facts
already found by or accessible to the court.
More than usual interest attaches to it,
therefore, because everybody desires to
learn its contents and draw individual con-
clusions as to the weight Of the evidence
therein.
Endorsements on the back of the doeu-
ment show that it was made April 20 and
submitted by Inspector General Breckin-
ridge to Gen. Miles the same day On the
DIST Gen. Miles forwarded it to the Secre-
tary of War with his comment as follows:
The papers upon which this investiga-
ton was ordered were submitted to the
Secretary of War, in accordance with the
directions contained in his letter of Febru-
airy 9, 1889, A. 6. O., and We're sent to the
court of inquiry appointed under special
orders No. 2, War Department, February
.. 1899. AS this report and accompanying
papers pertain to the papers already sub
mitted, l respectfully recommend that they
be transmitted TO the court of inquiry for
their full consideration"
Adjt Gen. Corbin in transmitting it to
made only the necessary statement.
Subjects Treated in the Report.
The report has been admirably prepared;
is eighty-four typewriter pages in length.
It's table of contents shows the following
captions:
The ration: canned roast beef; war pur-
chases: method OF purchase; price Of cam
ned roast beef; age of canned roast beef:
uses and shipments OF canned roast beef;
complaint against canned roast beef; COM
plants against specific brands; the first
complaint; canned roast beef condemned or
destroyed: what is canned roast
beef refrigerated beef; contracts;
amount of beef shipped; prepara-
ton Of refrigerated beef; complaints; beef
to Rico; "Missssippi;' Port Victor"
"Michgan;'' Massachusetts" "Manitoba;"
Chester" beef condemned or lost: expert
mental beef; use Of preservatives or chem
icals. -.
Under the chapter title "Refrigerated
Beef and subsequent subdivisions it is
stated that the beef issued to the armies
invading Cuba and Porto Rico was fur
nished under contract with Swift & Com
pany of Chicago. 1t is stated that none of
the contracts under which refrigerated
| beef was furnished to the troops within
the borders of the. United States have been
| seen; but from reports received it appears
that Armour & Company and Nelson Nor
RS q Company were large contractors
1t is shown that i $500 pounds of beef
went on the TRANSPORTS TO the West Indies
OF this, l15O.UD pounds went to Cuba in
six different shipments. 800, 900 pounds to
Porto Rico il two, shipments. and 100000
pounds, the last shipment of the lot to both
Cuba and Porto Rico.
In All stnges of Putrefaction.
The opinions OF officers and enlisted
men" says the report Concerning refrig-
Grated beef differ, but the complaints made
against this article of food indicate not so
much an inferiorfty in the inherent quality
of the beef as a defective method of supply
or lack of judgment on issue. The beef on
leaving the refrgerators or on exposure
to sun and air would quickly deter
iorate and frequently become badly
tainted or entirely unfit for consumption
before reaching camp, and what arrived
in fair condition had to be cooked at once
to keep it from spelling. The faint usually
began on the outside and thence extended
inwardly. This had to be trimmed off, caus-
ing a loss of aout 33 per cent, which Sener-
ally fell on the consumer and caused d per
ceptibe shortage in the beef ration. The
beef was uninviting in appearance, had a
bad color. and frequently s1nelled strong
or had a peculiar, offensive odor. In short,
it arrived at the camp in all stages of putre
faction and was even maggotty; but where
it was promptly received and used and had
a minimum of exposure to the tropical sun
the sound parts were generally pronounced
sweet and wholesome
Complaints have also been made by doc
tors and others that it gave the men
stomach troubles and caused cramps, diar
rhoea and dySentery, condition which
usually decreased perceptibly or subsidized
upon disseminating this part of the diet.
Grouping of Opinions.
The opinions of officers and enlisted men
| may be grouped as follows
Good or excellent, 76 officers; men;
total, 81. Fair good, if trimmed. 133 Off
GERS, 80 men; total, les. Mostly bad, 40 Off
GERS, 20 men; total, &c. Bad or unfit, .
officers, IA men; total, %. Total: 2JS Off
GERS; So men; grand total, 341.
From this statement it appears that
about 10 per cent of the opinions are favor
able and p per cent unfavorable 1t is also
seen that the per cent of officers who con-
slider this beef bad or mostly bad is much
smaller than that of the enlisted men"
Concerning beef in the United States the
report says:
1T has not been possible to produce full
or even approximately precise information
in regard to beef spoiled or rejected or con-
demned, and the total loss sustained can
only be conjectured. AS a rule at camps
in the United States rejected beef was
generally replaced by the contractor and
the spelling of beef there was of much
less consequence than on Cuban or Porto
Rican soil, where it caused privation and
suffering
Preservation of Meat
Upon the interesting subject of "preserva-
ton of meat the report states:
THAT preservatives or chemicals are
used in food for the purpose of arresting
or delaying decay, there is. no doubt
Among thosa! mentioned used are borax,
boracic acid,,, saliSyic acid houoride of
ammonium. the bisniphides, formaldehyde,
freeze-em preventative, saccharine and
others.
IS. T. Thaher manager of the Pacific
Borax Company, at Chicago, acknowledged
that his company sells borax and boracic
acid to all packers bin large quantities. and
that these articles have been recognized in
the packngs tradea for fifteen or twenty
years and ara particularly used on export
hog products4j
''F. ]. Walk local manager for Pfizer &
Co, chemists. Chicago, admitted that the
firm had sold borax and boracic acid 10
packers. but had soad no salicylIc acid
THE PreservatiIra Company Of Chicago
also acknowledged to have sold their
preparation to packers, but do not know
for what purpose it was used. Do not
think 1t wasi used for fresh beef Mr.. M
Calm, secret airy of the Preservatine Manu-
featuring Company at New York. stated
that 90 per cent of their output is used
instead of saltpeter, for curing ham bacon