The record-union., 1899-03-05
Sessions Of the Board Investigating
the Beef Scandal
About Concluded, So Far as tho Taking Of
Testimony at Washington.
On Tuesday OF Wednesday the
Court VIII Start FOR Chicago to
Hear Testimony From the Packs
ing House Side of the Contro.
versy.

WASHINGTON, March 4--The War
| Department Court of Inquiry wound up
Its weeks work with a half days ses-
! sion to-day, having exhausted it's list
| OF witnesses now on hand. There may
be some witnesses at the Monday ses-
sion, but the court will start for Chi-
cago early next week, probably ON
Tuesday or Wednesday.
| Just before the close of the session to-
day volunteer witness presented him.
! self, but was not accepted He, wore
an army uniform, and said his name
was Frank Rundas, late of the Third
Nebraska Colonel w. ]. Bryan's) Regi-
ment and that he has recently BEEN
honorably discharged from the services
and was on his way home. His story
| was in brief that he had served in the
company kitchen with his command att
Jacksonville, and that during a long
| period when the men were living ON
refrigerator beef there was so much
internal trouble among the men that the
issue of this was stopped At another
| time he got hold of some refrigerator
meat in the kitchen that was OF such
peculiar color that the attention OF
the company officers was called to it.
The surgeon in charge examined it, so
! Rundas says, and remarked that the
meat was .all right. but had been pre-
pared to send to Porto Rico, and since
! it had been issued the men may as well
use it, The meat was cooked, but all
the men who ate it We're made sick
The inference was drawn that this
was some of the same portion of re-
frigerator beef that DR.. Daily had an
alyzed and alleged to be chemically
treated. Rundas said he was on his
way home, but had stopped off in
Washington to offer this information to
the Court of Inquiry, if it thought it
worth hearing. He presented himself
to Colonel Davis, the Recorder of the
court, but was told that he would not
be wanted as a witness.
Major George Ruthers, of the Conn
missary Department, who had supplied
the Seventh Army Corps with refriger-
ator beef while at Jacksonville, said he
had neved received a complaint The
meat had been rigidly inspected, and
showed no evidence of cuts or pune
lures, or anything else that might give
rise to the suspicion that it had BEEN
chemically treated.
Major Lee took up the cross-examin-
alton, and developed the fact that there
had at times been complaints as to the
beef, and that in one case 800 pounds
of beef had been condemned. Wit
ness said he had three official COM
plants of the beef at Jacksonville.
Lieutenant-C Colonel Curtis Guild of
Boston, who was attached to General
Fitzhugh Lees staff as an Inspectors
General of the Seventh Army Corps.
said his experience at Jacksonville had
been very satisfactory. He had per-
sonally inspected many cars, finding
very few sides of beef to the whole of
which any exception could be taken.
Of the canned roast beef he had I'm
officially condemned $4,000 pounds
which had been transhipped from New
Orleans before it was delivered to the
army in Jacksonville. He explained
that large shipment of canned rDast
beef had arrived at Jacksonville in
very offensive condition. He had picked
out offensive smelling cases amount
ing to $4,000 pounds, and called in the
Jacksonville Health Officer who con-
delnned it as a public nuisance, thus
giving him the right to destroy it at
once in the public crematory. Armours
agent, who was on the ground, asked
leave to telegraph his home office, and
quickly received word from his firm
that it would be very glad to- take back
the whole shipment and furnish good
beef in its place This was done.
Quartermaster Sergeant Sullivan OF
the Ninth Massachusetts had been
through the Santiago campaign, and
came to the stand full Of the memories
of canned and refrigerated beef The
former, he said, the men barely tasted
The latter he started in to describe as
a strange and gruesome article unlli2s
ANYTHING, he had ever SEEN
Here he collided with the Recorder,
who insisted on having a strict deiinl-
ton of a "deathly smell" Witness got
as far as saying that "deathly smelf
was different from the smell of de-
composing body, but here the Recorder
demanded a statement of the mecha-
nisms of decomposition and a, list of the
gases which would be evolved The
witness thereupon went to pieces, and
reduced the whole statement to saying
that the beef was very bad, and on this
he refused to be shaken
The list of witnesses having been eX-
hausted. the Court adjourned until IL
O'Clock Monday.
n.,.:e+ AUauf Gook Dead.