Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-05-11
BELIEVES IN MILES.
President Thinks His Motives
Were Honest.
RELATIVE OF SHERMAN TALKS.
brobasco Was Miles CouDsel-Said the
Beef Boards Decisions Amounted AL
most to >tultiiication-Troops Now Sup
piled According to Miles Ideas.

( CINCINNATI. May ll.-H. II. Probasco.
ax-United States district attorney here,
/ relative of ex-senator Sherman and
recently counsel for General Miles. but
who did not appear as such before the
board Of inquiry. III an interview on
the beef report, said i'll part:
Il have not read the report, but have
seen the SYNOPSIS OF it, | WAS amused
that three intelligent army officers, sit
tiug as Il court for weeks. and eXamin-
ing several hundred witnesses, should
have rendered such an illogical and un-
certain decision. The decision amounts
to the court finding that the beef pack
er> We're saints. sent 10 our soldiers with
mamma from heaven, and that General
Miles WAS careless because he did not
report the first vague rumor which
came To his ears that this food was bad. ;"
He said the court apparently was well
satisfied as TO the truth OF the charges
against canned roast beef. because they
refused to call certain witnesses claim
ing their evidence would be cumulative
against only canned beef.
What about the embalmed beef -
Before bids were received by the
commissary general he was advised by
expert cattle and beef men that fresh
beef would not hold up n hours after
delivered from the refrigerator III the
climate that prevailed i'll Florida and
the West indies, and thar the best
coarse to parSue would be the purchase
Of beef on the block or beef on the hoof
He told these gentlemen that the parties
who desired to furnish the fresh beef
had Il process which they said would Ell
able them 70 deliver meat which would
keep sound and fresh for - hours after
delivery from the refrigerator The day
after the bids were opened attorneys i'll
Washington addressed Il communication
10 the secretary of war, making the an
gument thai notwithstanding their eli
ents bid somewhat higher than the 9th
ers they ought to he awarded the con-
tract because of their ability to perform
their contract by means of the Powell
process for the preservation OF meat,
which they controlled and which had
been satisfactorily tested under the au-
spices of the government. This letter
was referred by the secretary OF war 10
the conImissary general for his consid-
eration, who returned it to the secretary
ltil illo III WHICH, ilt >tiiti
These tests are not the only tests
which have been made, leaving the
plain inference that the other bidders
also had processes for the preservation
Of meat, which had been tested.
This letter was returned by the sec
retary of war. MIR. Daly's testimony,
If meat furnished the soldiers. that it
contradicted. Three witnesses, Ser
geant Mason Lieutenant G;mpher ana
Dr. Castle, testified that the agent
at Lakeland, Fla, had told them that
they had found it impossible to comply
with their contracts to deliver fresh
meat which would remain sound and
sweet for IL hours after delivery from
the refrigerator without the means of Il
chemical process, which process was
secret even to him. If the court
found i'll the face of this testimony that
no meat delivered was chemically
treated, it amounts almost TO stultitfca-
cation
Has there been any change in the
manner OF supplying troops with fresh
meat since this criticism was first
made:
'lnueeu lnere HAS. OdCtle On the
hoof are now being delivered in Cnba,
slaughtered on the island and delivered
to the troops the following day, and no
complaint has been made. Further
more, socalled canned roast beef was
dropped as a meat ration sometime, |
think during last August or September,
all of which shows that General Miles
reference to the methods of supplying
the troops with meat was an expert
ment was correct, and that his opinion
that beef Oh the block or OH the hoof is
the only suitable fresh meat ration for
troops was well founded
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