The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1899-03-03
BE + INVESTIGATION
WitnC sseS Contradict Each
Other While on the Stand.

Washington, Mar. 2-There were sew
eral interesting developments in the beef |
court inquiry today. 1t was "a field day |
FOR the volunteer arm Of the service. the
waiting room ching hlled all day with
members of the various volunteer reg- |
ments which had served In Cuba and In |
Porto Rico .he first OF these. Clarence
Walters. of the first volunteer engineers |
told sensational story of the hardships |
and inhumanlty suffered during his SER
vice describing the canned roast beef in
harsher tones than have ever before been
applied
Later i'm the day Lieut. sewali. H. s
a. who was major of the volunteer bat
TALON in which Walters served. contra
dicted his story completely saying there
was no canned beef aboard the transport
which took the command to cuba Fur
ther than that he said that Walters had
come to him after the landing and askeu
to bee discharged, so as to accept posi-
tion as newspaper correspondent. and on
being questioned said that he had been
well treated while in the service and had
no complaint to make
An important development was the de-
nial OF the story by one James Farm and
also attributed TO Dr. Maxwell Christine
that they had seen beef injected with
chemicals In Omaha.
The question OF counsel for General
! Miles before the court is stll in abey-
ance. some correspondence having passed
between the general and the court but
both sides decline 20 give out the letters
Captain Herbert O. Hicks. OF company
NJ second Massachusetts described the
meat but did not make It out quite so
repulsive as that served TO Walters In
Porto Rico but he said II was n "slmy.
stringy mass, nauseatlng TO the taste.
without nutrtment and without form oy
which it could ne recognized as meat cx-
cept for the melted fat with which II
was soaked
Witness was shown several cans on
hand with the commission but said they
were not the same he had seen in ser
vice, He described the cans in Cuba as
round dark brown cans without paper
wrapping.
Lieut.. George Taylor. late Of the Gth
Mass who said he was groceryman
before entering the service said his regi-
ment served 10 Porto Rico. They had very
little that they could eat on their trip
down They sometimes had bacon but no
chance TO cook il and had 10 throw IL ov-
| erboard. They had canned roast beef
which they could not eat and had FREE
quenuy only canned tomatoes. hard tack
and coffee.
Asked II he thought any sickness IN his
command was caused by the food the
men had 20 eat ne replied;
81 think It was more due 10 what We
did not have 10 eat When we got 10 Por'
10 Rico there was thirty Of our men sick
Was this state Of underfeedng gen
eral on board Of the transport" asked Col
Davis
yes. sir
Col. Davls-General Miles was on board
. WY did you not report 10 him"
"I did not think we had any right TO q
over the head OF our colonel. We repore,
10 him. I heard him speak TO the com
missary captain and the captain answer
ed That the men were eating all the
, would eat and would probably eat les
a when they got on shore. Ihat was an
ever heard Of the report"
His Colonel was Chas +. woodward.
Witness said there was "a good deal o
sickness IN his command on shore eu
he attributed 90 az the time 20 the eli
mate rather than 20 the food. on shor
the ration was usually short how muc
could not say He had been groce
s ten years and handled canned roast be,
but it was "a better article than that b
d had sen tn the army.
it NJ o. Dwyer Of the gth Mass. volui
N teers said on the rip TO Cuba they ha
AL been served fairly good brand OF cam,
he roast beef much the same as ne had see
/, at home. After landing az siboney. III
.r meat was spoiled when opened ana
,- was absolutely uneatable.