The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-01
WITNESSES SAMPLE BEEF
Various Kinds of Meat Served
by the Court.
RESULT NOT MADE PUBLIC
Lieutenant Ramsey Says Beef Was IAN
Unpalatable and Uninviting Grade
OF Inferior Meat" Unfit for
Sick or Well Men.


the court of inquiry into General Miles
beef charges to-day was an object les
son in canned meats prepared by the
court and served to the non-commis-
stoned men who testified at yesterdays
hearing. The court had prepared eight
plates of beef, fresh beef canned beef
that had been to Cuba and back. and
canned beef fresh from the factory.
Four plates We're prepared hot in stew
and four cold as they came from the
can, the fresh beef being boiled to make
| it resemble the others. The enlisted
| men were ordered to sample each and
say which was the sort they had had
| in Cuba. 1t was a trying ordeal for the
men, most of them declaring that none
of the plates looked anything like that
they had eaten in Cuba. But upon re-
peated assurances that there was CAM
paign beef in two of the plates and af-
| ter being urged that they should at
| least choose to the best of their belief.
the court succeeded in getting an ex-
preston of opinion from each of the
men. An army surgeon. DR.. Bowden,
| kept tally on the guesses of the men
and changed the positions of the plates
after each witness had left the ROOM
| The result of this record was not made
| public, however. and will be reserved
until DR.. Bowden testifies, probably
| some time this week THE most inter-
| esting witness of the day was Lieuten-
| ant Ramsey, 9th infantry. who had
served as commissary officer at Bal
! qurl and Santiago and who character
| lied the canned roast beef as IAN un-
palatable and uninvitng grade of in
| ferlor meat. which he would not will
| ling feed to any man. sick or Well
The first witness before the court of
| inquiry to-day was Lieutenant Ramsey,
9TH infantry. who acted as comrnissary
| at Tampa and depot commissary at va
! rious times. He was also one of Colonel
| Weston's assistants after the capture of
Santiago. He told in some detail of
| the unloading of ship supplies at Bal
quiri and siboney and their Transports
tion to the front. So far as me knew,
| no complaints came from the front as
| to the sort of rations that were sent
| out. After minute inquiries from the
recorder INTENDED to develop whether
any protests We're made from the front
against the canned beef. the witness
| said that he received requests for as
| much bacon as he could stand"
| Colonel Davis then had a can of beef
| opened and asked the witness to in
| spect it, saying that it had come back
from Cuba. Lieutenant Ramsey smell
| ed it. tasted it and pulled some of it
| apart, saying that it was decidedly bet
ter beef than any he had seen in Cuba
| 1t was more like that he had handled
at his barracks but he still did not feel
| like recommending 1t as a good thing to
| feed soldiers. Witness said he had seen
great many cans of beef rejected
among a five car lot at Tampa. The
cans had burst and the stencil in the
cars was terrific. The contractors re-
placed the spoiled cans in this instance.
! but there was the same stencil from
| more defective cans when the cargoes
| were broken out in Cuba.
| Asked by General Davis as to his
| personal experience with canned roast
beef witness said he had used it only
once at Baiquiri. He considered it 'tan
unpalatable and inferior quality of
badly boiled beef. General Davis pur-
sued this line of questioning. Witness
| said he had seen canned roast beef fire.
| quently in his own post canteen and in
the consolidated mess of which he had
| been in charge.
/ WAS it the same canteen that you
had in Cuba?' asked General Davis.
THE outside of the package was the
same, but not the inside. The beef we
| had at the canteen at Madison barracks
was quite popular for picnics and the
| like. 1t was beef that could be sliced
down. 1t was good and pala table That
| ! saw in Cuba was evidently from the
| plates. chucks and necks. l don't think
in the cans l saw there was a single
piece that would weiph an ounce"
Colonel Gillespie questioned the wit
ness with some asperity when he ven
! tured the opinion that the meat was
| tp hIlt ho uyif
ness replied firmly that he considered
| it unfit to feed to men either sick or
we'll He considered it responsible in
| considerable part for the sickness and
| stomach troubles among the men. He
| had ii frequently on his table. but never
tasted it but once. Neither did his SER
| geant eat it more than few times
| Lieut.. Col A. l.. Smith. chief commits
| sary at Havana, testified in some detail
| as to the purchasing of the commissary
department when the war broke out.
| Smith did not go to Cuba with the
| Shafter expedition. but he saw "A great
| deal of the loading at Tampa, He had
| seen two cars Of Armour's canned meat
| rejected because Of the stencil arising
| from the cars. The contractor had ask
| ed leave to go over the cars and re-
| move the defective cans. This was
! done, 50 he understood, and the cars
/ afterward accepted, He opened some
| of these cans after they had been ac-
| cepted. The contents were softer than
| that in the average cans he had seen
| but he should say better than some he
| had seen in Porto Rico and in Havana
! When stationed in Porto Rico witness
| handled considerable refrigerator beef
| The troops seemed to be divided in
| opinion as to the value of the refriger-
| at0r meat Some regiments took it and
| some refused it. Sometimes one battaf-
ion of a regiment would take it and an
other would not.
Witness inspected the beef only after
| 1t came on shore. Part was mouidyS
and some was tainted. but the larger
part was good. Colonel Smith made
contracts for native beef at Porto Rico,
hut there was complaint as to this sup
ply and some of the commands asked
for bacon in place of fresh meat The
bacon issue was increased from one
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