New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-04
COUNSEL FOR GEN. MILES.
STATUS OF MAJOR LEE BEFORE ''iD
BEEF COURT SETTLED.
Nm cposs.UxAMrNEs WITNESSES IN BE-
HALF OF THE COMMANDING GENERAL

before tho Court Of Inquiry into General ME-
beef charge was the appearance to-day oil MnJ''
Jesse Leo as counsel for the general conI""n"."o
,bo Army Major Lee was introduced TO 'lo
court nv the Recorder. Colonel Davis at the DC
ginning OF the afternoon session. lie oet"n ~
cross-examinc witnesses at once and win inc ",''
ono antagonzed the Court to the extent u W
handing the admission OF certain letters as eVi-
donce but this was refused. The proceedings "e'e
not marked however by any evidence or unpieas-
nm, friction between the Court and the new coun-
sci ,,. ,ro-
Can,ain Groom. OF the Philadelphia CITY Troop,
was the first witness. About two weeks OUT u
four while in Porto Rico his command HVed o"
canned roast beef. He never heard any complaints
of fl from his men 1T was our food ana We a'e
IT," he said. That's all there was TO II. We HoN'
ate II cold but had 1t made into stews VIII" SUI"
vegetables could get" . .
or the refrigerator beef Captain Groom sa'u II
was occasionally tainted on the edges, and had 10
he trimmed otherwise 1t was excellent meat
Aboard the transport the witness had charge Oh
feeding the men. and saw TO 1t that the '"e"' ""o
drawn at night and cooked as soon as inc h"".y
were unoccupied. thereafter being served !" '"'
men IN satisfactory condition. Inc witness -
yalded home four Of his commann. anu
brought back ninety-three IN aS soo" O
when they sailed.
Colonel J. A. Case. Of the 4th pennsylvania VIZ
served with General Brooke In the Porto i''co IN
naign said he had about six days experience VIZ"
oil CT heOf
the meat after the cans opened but II spo"eu
betveen meals He ordered the company COOKS 10
make stews Of a whole can at a Time ana II prove"
| satisfactory There was some complaint over the
lean tough beef furnished from the native ca'''e
more In fact than from any other one CAUSE
On THE TRANSPORT WITH GENERAL MILES
Con,oin 4 NJ Gray, Of the 9Th Massachusetts,
which went to Porto Rico on the Yale "neh she
carried General Miles said the principal cause OF
complaint among his men was not as 10 the qua"tS
Of the rations but because they were snort !"
quantity He said the transport went hrsl 10 Cuo'
and the troops were aboard longer than l"u oe."
ornccted go he understood tho men were put on
49,, ra,,6rs FOR foar there would not be enough
TO last. -, .o
Ibid not the Yale carry provisions in her cargo
aside from the mems travel raton?' asked Colohei
Davis.
81 understood that she did"
Did you report this state Of things to any higher
authority"
II reported to my colonel ~
was there any higher officer on board
"yoe there was tho General commanding the
Army" ,... .o,s
| While on detached duty on shore, witness said'
his men got hold Of one lot OF poor canned peer.
two-tbirds OF which was spoiled and the remainder
OF worse quality than he had seen elsewhere
CALLS IT "BLEACHED" CANNED BEEF.
Alfred F. Foote Of Holyoke, Mass, sergeant
| in the "a Massachusetts,, who served at Santiago
/ had a new name for the much-discussed canned
roast beef lie said It tasted "bleached" Some
Of # seemed he simply boiled to death, ana the
other part vas absolutely putrld. Probably one
third vas spoiled I'm this way The men talked the
meat over abused It privately. and some decllhed
10 eat it, but they did not complain 10 their oceIS
/ His command got comparatively little refrigerator
beaf most az Il spelling before It could he cooked
ara s,uinq inter- II was cooked TO keep from dinner
| 70 sumner The only time ashore when the regiment
was short Of rations was while digging trenches
on San Juan Hill Here for forty-eight hours
rations slxty-sx mon ~ his company received only
nrtv-three bareback IN all and half a pound OF
bacon ror each man. The shortage was due to lack
| Of transportation
Cantain NJ r. Crtchheld OF the sth Ohio. which
also served in Cuba described tho voyage on the ST
Paul "a feast OF plenty. corned and roast beer be-
ing piled up by the ton deck where the men
/ could get 1t for the taking From the landing on
Jul 10 to the surrender the 18th there little
or no complaint as to the ration After the sur
render the regiment was camped at Sevlla. about
six miles cast Of the city. Here they got an issue
Of refrigerated beef that the men refused to take
He inspected the meat cut the quarter In half and
found that It apparently good on the inside.
though green and Shiny the surface. He cut
some from the inside. cooked it and was made sick
by eating It. So other men who tried It, The
surgeon ma jor ordered the beef buried and no more
was drawn for n month.
As to chemical treatment OF the refrigerator beef,
the witness said he had not yet made up his mind
one way the other. He had never suspected such
a thing while in Cuba Since the discussion OF the
matter on returning home certain things had
seemed to him suspicious among others that the
, flies did TO bother the refrigerated meat.
But he could not say he had yet formed definite
l.. T.. Molius OF New-York. civil engineer and
SCI sean, in the lst Volunteer Engineers said he had
been very sick in Porto Rico his weight being re-
duced from l56 to 90 pounds In his stay on the
island he had had great difficulty IN eating any Of
lently cared for and had everything convalescent
The court then went into executive session to con-
slider the reply OF General Miles 70 the inquiry as
by counsel and It was said after the session thar
accredited counsel for General Miles.
GEN MILES TAKES ISSUE WITH WITNESSES.
The appearance OF Major Lee In the is the
elimination Of considerable correspondence between
General Miles and the Court as to the accuracy OF
some statements made by witnesses. and which
General Miles considered he had official data 10
l prove incorrect. 1t began with the testimony OF
Colonel Woodruff several days ago the effect that
beef herds were seldom ii driven with troops
IN the lndan campn.ns ot me ., VS. ., ~, c,rt
10 this case and informed by letter that II he
chose il within his rights TO be present or 10 be
represented by counsel to keep track Of the eXam
General Niles replied that it was sometimes the
ont to assist the recorder in keeping the record.
= The Court replied that it did not need any as
sstance" for its recorder. but suggested again thai
General Miles could be present 70 aid in the ex
animation OF witnesses, could be represented
by counsel II he wished
To this General Miles replied to-day that in &C
cordance with custom in such cases he would b
represented hereafter by Major Jesse Lee FOR tht
: purpose OF participating In the examination with
y Wow 10 elictlnG the full truth pertaining 10 the
subject under discussion"
:, This does not place General Miles In the po
II siti0n OF defendant before the court. but gives hi
:, counsel tho right Of conducting direct or eros:
l. examination fully he desires.
, H. s Van schack. Of tho Rough Ridgers. testi
n fed that the canned beef bad and rations ver
J. generally unsatisfactory. He said that he had beer
:, more or less III since his return. and had been TN
formed by his brother physician that he wa
n suffering from stomach trouble due 10 bad and IN
Y sufficient food.