The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-05-08

bility of beef sent from the United States
were forwarded to the war department by
any general officer serving in Cuba or
Porto Rico while the field operations were
In progress nor were such reports received
until more than one month after hostilities
ceased. -' - -
That, barring some defects in mtthods
OF inspecting the beef on its delivery to
the subsistence department the deteriora-
ton of the meat in shipment was due to
the fault of no one."
The charge of General Miles as made in
newspaper interviews as we'll as those
made by the war investigating commission
are referred to at length, among them be-
ing the interview with the general sent
out from the New York office of the Asso-
ciated Press on January 81, in which Cen
eral Miles was quoted as saying that he
had Overwhelming evidence that the beef
was treated chemically to preserve 1t, and
that he had affidavits from men who saw
the beef undergoing the embalmjng pro-
cess"
The court notes the denial which General
Miles made on this part of the conversa-
ton, as it was printed in the New York
Herald but prints the charge as a part of
the allegations, saying on this point:
Tho testimony of both Mr.. Reid and
Mr.. Berry, of the New York Times, agree
in the verify of the interview as reported
by the former, and this is found in the
Herald clippings. The court does not.
therefore. ignore this paragraph, but
treats 1t as part of the allegations which
are under Investigation"
Summing up the results of the investiga-
tons of the chemists employed by the
court, the court says:
The Odor Was Sweet
'sfhe contents of all the cans, which con-
sisted of boiled rather than roast beef,
were found to be perfectly sweet, with an
odor of cooked meat. The beef in nearly
all the cans appeared to have been soft
ened by exposure to heat, but apparently
without injurious effect as to its quality.
Apart from this, the contents were found
to be in a good state of preservation in
every case. No trace of preservative acids
were found in any of the cans. There is
no testimony to the effect that any of the
canned fresh meat supplied to the subsist-
ence department since April 25 1898, has
been chemically treated or subjected to the
action OF preservatives of any kind save as
small quantities of common salt have been
added as seasoning to the product of GER
tain packers
Detailing the numerous Investigations
made of the keeping quality of the canned
fresh beef the court concludes that Sin no
case did the number of swelled or tainted
cans discovered greatly exceed in amount
Ol per cent OF the entire nunDer eX-
amned.''
Several pages of the report are devoted
to the allegations made by Miles that re-
frigerated beef was treated with pressrva-
tives, but the statement is made upon the
threshold of this question that but little
testimony was submitted by him in support
of this contention.
Attention is called to the fact that the
testimony bearing upon the chemicalizat ton
of the beef deals with it only at the time
of it's issuance to the troops and an analysis
of this testimony is made with the result
of showing considerable difference of view
as to the substances used and their appli-
cation"
Considerable attention is given to DR..
Days testimony concerning the refrigerat-
ed beef and also his report concerning the
beef supplied to the immunes stationed at
Chickamauga.
A chapter is devoted to the sickness at
Santiago but 1.-The court is impossible to
conclude that either a canned fresh beef
or refrigerated beef appeared to any APP
preciable extent as causes of intestinal dis
ease"
Not Well Adapted
Speaking of the ration as a whole, tho
court says:
"As to the effects of the food supply,
having regard to both sufficiency and