The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-18
ARMY BEEF COURT
At KANSAS CITY
INSPECTION of .ArmOur'S
Plant.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

KANSAS CITY, March 1.-THE army
beef court of inquiry arrived here from
Omaha at o'clock this morning and
was quartered in the Midland Hotel.
During the morning an hour and a nan
was spent in inspecting the Armour PACK
ing plant, from which more than 1,OO0WU
pounds of canned roast beef was SoIu TO
the Government during the recent war.
In the afternoon two hours and hal1
were spent in examining witnesses.
Soon after the courts arrival here this
morning a brief session was held. 1t was
decided that as the Armour Company was
the only local firm that had supplied meat
to the army. its plant alone should be
visited. The party was driven to the
plant In carriages at 10 o'clock Wllllam
NJ Miles, general manager, and Superin-
tendent Tourtellot piloted the party
through the different parts, each of
which, with the exception of the killing
room, which was not visited, was inspect
ed critically. They watched the process
of canning, sterilizing and roasting me
foreman declared no personalities, had
ever been used in canning the roast beef.
The court returned to the hotel at noon
and began taking testimony at 2:lS. Sew
eral witnesses were examined. To-mor--
row further evidence will be taken, ana
later, probably tomorrow afternoon, the
court will go to Fort LeaVenWorth, Kan,
and take testimony of some of the regu-
lars recently returned from Cuba.
William NJ. Miles, general manager OF
the Armour plant, was the first witness
called. He said his company had supplied
to the Government 100000 pounds or
canned roast beef during the war. 1t was
sold to Commissary General Eagan at
Washington and Commissary Woodruff at
New York The meat was inspected at
Mobile and other points of delivery In the
South. Two carloads were returned from
Mobile and three carloads from Jackson
vile. On its return to Kansas CITY the
company inspected the meat and found
that less than one-half of one per cent
was bad. That from Mobile, the witness
said, had never been inspected there: Inc
possibly some of it resold TO the govern
ment" One portion of it was resold to a
foreign Government and accepted
Ex-Congressman Mason S. Peter, who
was formerly in the livestock commission
business in Kansas City, and Lionel A.
Lennin, a commission man; defined can
ners" as quoted in the daily market re-
ports. II. l.. Antoine, foreman at Ar
mour's canning department, told OF his
department working night and day during
ment's orders. Because of the big demand
for Gamers 1t was necessary to kill
fresh cattle of a higher grade than usu-
allv used Notwithstanding the rush.
proper precaution in packing was taken
and all cans We're inspected four times
amounted to one-half of one per cent ,ooo
L. T. Rambo swore that in June 1893,
he was in the employ of the Armour COM
pany and helped in the canning depart
ment. He frequently nailed up cases
Cans would often swell up and burst. In
reply to a question, witness declared
that some days as much as thlrd 20, OF
the cans prepared were rejected for this
and other reasons.
Mr. Antoine was recalled and denied
that Rambo had worked in the canning
department at the time stated or that the
number of cans rejected reached the
amount alleged by Rambo. Antoine said
that a record was kept of all cans re-
iected and the court instructed him to
bring this record before it tomorrow.
s. B. Morse who has charge of the
killing at Armour's, said that all cattle
passing through his hands bore tags
showing governmental inspection He
had no knowledge of chemicals being
used in preserving meats, ana sald II
could not have been so used without MS
knowledge.
DR.. S. e Bennett of the Bureau of An,
imal Industry in Kansas City, and
Thomas w. Carmichael, Government
meat inspector said the proportion OIL cat at
other reasons was from one 10 nine
day-rarely as high as eight.
John Spence. foreman of the cutting de- de-
partment testified as to the GOOD qua1ty
of cattle used for canning.
DR.. Ernest w. Slusher, hospital stew
ard of the Third Missouri Volunteers,
Pa, he was one morning called to attend
fifty members of the regiment who were
vomiting. 1t was his opinion, they had
been made sick by/eating spoiled canned
tigated. The cans. he thought, bore the
label of Libby, Mcneil q Libby.
Carl Holtzschue. member OF Troop A,
First United States Volunteer Cavalry
said there was no complaint of the canned
roast beef served on the voyage from
Tampa to Cuba. In Cuba up to June %,
each soldier received can OF roast beef
and one pound of bacon, with potatoes
and bread, as three days rations, and
there was no complaint. Later, at Camp
Hamilton, some of the refrigerated beef