Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-25
CLOSING OF BEEF INQUIRY
Major Lee Sums Up the Testimony in Behalf
of General Miles.
INSISTS THAT THE MEAT WAS DocToRED
Makes No Charge of Fraud or Intcn-
tionnI Neglect of Duty-Recordcr
Davis submits the Case
without Argument.

the allegations made by General Miles in
his testimony before the War Investigation
commission concerning the meat furnished
the army during the late war with Spain,
held its last session today and is now en-
gagged upon the preparation of its report.
The court has been in session almost ten
weeks and in addition to daily hearings
given in this city for several weeks, ses-
sons have been held in Chicago, Omaha
and Kansas City to afford the members Of
the court an opportunity personally to in
spect the canning and refrigerating process
of the packing houses. Several hundred
witnesses have been examined most or
whom have been officers and enlisted men
in the regular or volunteer service, and
over $500 pages of testimony have been
submitted.
This morning the court decided not to
accept the report made by Lieutenant
Colonel Darlington of the inspector gem
erals office. This report had been trans
mitted to General Miles through Inspector
General Breckenridge.
At the afternoon session Major Lee who
has been Major General Miles representative
before the board, summed up for his side.
Recorder Davis read brief extracts from
General Breckinridge's report and also from
two of his subordinates Major Philip Reade
and Lieutenant Colonel Darlington, as to
the result of their individual work Cen
eral Breckenridge condemned the canned
beef, and speaking generally, said that while
the army ration fulfilled all the official re-
quirements as to quantity it's components
should be changed to meet the new con-
dtions of service. AS the rations were
fixed by law, this was a matter for con-
gress to remedy. He also suggested that
Ini i,g I.t I, ,ialr
added. Major Lees report was mainly de-
voted to lack of certain camp equipment
among certain regiments and that of Colo
mel Darlington to the result of his per-
sonal inspection of the various camps Of
the country.
The court then decided that il any of
the depositions for which General Miles has
called should be read prior to the completion
of the report of the board that they should
be admitted as evidence, subject to the
boards limitations.
Major Lee then summed up the case, de-
claring that he was acting as counsel for
Major General Miles in a technical sense
and that he had been there simply to pre-
sent and elicit evidence. He read his argu-
ment from carefully prepared manuscript
and was given careful attention by the
three members Of the court, no one else
being present except the members of the
press. This recital consumed an hour.
Lee Reflects on No One.
Major Lee in summing up the case dis
claimed any intention of rejecting upon
anyone. He had appeared, he said, on Gen.
":al Miles behalf ito present and elicit
evidence Miles allegations, he said, were
nothing more than the complaints of Off
GERS and men in the late war. 1t was, he
said, the generals duty to present the facts
concerning those who had suffered from a
new departure, an untried experiment"
The overwhelming evidence of over 80 per
cent of officers and SO per cent of the men
showed beyond reasonable doubt that the
so-caled canned roast beef was all that
it should not have been.
He neither denied nor alleged that this
unfit ration was furnished by design; only
that someone had blundered and that the
soldier was the sufferer. The subsistence
department, without adequate test, pur-
chased this ration by millions of pounds. It
was rejected by the soldiers and enough
abandoned cans were left by the troops to
erect a monument to the memory of the
packing houses. Not dollar for these dis
carded cans had been returned to the
government.
Concerning the refrigerated beef Major
Lee said that with it was undertaken an
other experiment, new and novel in the
extreme, of attempting to supply 1t to an
army in the field in a campaign. He said
that the seventy-two hour clause in the
contracts was impossible of satisfactory full
fllment, and therefore a preservation pro-
cess seemed a sine qua non
Preventative Clearly shown.
1t was clearly shown. he said that a pre-
servative process was under favorable con-
sideration before the opening of the bids on
June 13, and that 1t could or would be used
seemed to be established beyond question.
Summing up as to chemical anayZation
Major Lee said: Witnesses unimpeached
and unimpeachable, uninfiuenced and disin-
terested, without a motive for stating any
thing but the truth, have come forward and
testified as to facts within their knowledge;
and all the statements of interested parties,
all evidence of those who neither tested nor
investigated cannot avail against those who
gave clear, direct and uncontradicted testi-
mony as to facts
After referring to specific testimony Major
Lee said: "Such testimony as the above be-
ing incontrovertible 1t must be clear that as
secret chemical process was used with
meat at that point (Tampa) similar use
other points or for all shipments where it
might be deemed necessary as a preservative
of the refrigerated beef. 1t Is evil
dent that whatever preservatlve processes
may have been used, as testified to by Mr.
DAILY and others, they failed of effect and
as stated by those witnesses, corroborated
by circumstances, the results of their use
were deleterious upon the health OF the
men,"
At the conclusion of Major Lees state
ment Recorder Davis said: II submit the
case without argument"
He contended that the canned roast beef
had been adopted as a ration without ade-
quate or proper test, the sole test being q
single case sent to Tampa and cooked with
vegetables and condiments, This expert
ment" he said was at the instance of a dis
tinguished officer of the subsistence depart
ment The error WAS an honest one of judg
ment caused, perhaps, in some measure by
the pressure of his duties, but the adoption
of this canned beef as material compo'
nent of the meat ration in place OF fresh
beef was a responsibility belonging to higher
authority"
Major Lee declared that some OF the In
spections were so perfunctory that canned
meats were accepted ION the reputation Of
the packing firms"
"Since when" he asked have gigantic
corporations and trusts become exempt from
that close scrutiny that would be applied tC
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