Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-28

of the 9Th Cavalry had told him at Tampa
that he had rejected five carloads of the
beef. AS one car was opened the stencil
from inside was terrific. This was due to
blown cans. These had burst. The con-
tractor, Armour & Co, replaced the burst
cans with good onesJ but there was the
same stencil from burst cans when the
cargoes were opened in Cuba He could not
recall that he had seen the inspection made
on these cars.
the alleged process beef on the Orizaba
before she sailed, but he said he knew
nothing Of its genesis or exodus He said
he did not know that refrigerated beef had
ever been sent more than three miles from
refrigerators.
He said that he told! the commissarv gen.
eral in September that the canned roast
beef was the worst he had ever seen. He
was told, in reply, that no complaint had
come in from the regular subsistence Off
GERS He said the commissary general said
he would investigate the matter.
Arrangements to Feed the Army
Lieut.. Col. w. L. Smith of the subsistence
department was the succeeding witness.
He told of the purchasing arrangements
before the war. 1t was decided to make the
meat ration half bacon and half canned
meat, roast beef predominating because
there was more Of it than of corned beef on
the market. He said he helped to load the
transports for the Shafter expedition, but
did not go to Cuba with it. No particular
effort was made at Tampa to familiar ize
the troops with the proper method of cook
ing the canned beef.
The meat ration consisted of one-third
bacon and two-thirds canned corned and
roast beef.
He recalled the cars of bad beef to which
Lieut.. Ramsay testified He said that he
caused an Investigation of the meat in
these cars and only few cans were dis
covered to have been spoiled because of
leaks. The other cans were accepted. After
ward he opened some of these and found
their contents softer than he had seen in
other average cans, but better than were
issued in Porto Rico and Havana He was
in Porto Rico and there had experience
with the refrigerator beef. The Manitoba
was the first of the meat ships he unloaded
The officer in command told him the meat
was sweet, and some Of 1t was taken off
every day. Some of the men rejected IT
but others accepted it and said it was good.
Opinions Differed.
Colonel Smith said one battalion of a regi-
ment rejected it, but another battalion in
the same regiment accepted it, Opinions
were very much divided. He inspected it
only as it reached the shore. He found
some moldy, part tainted, but the re-
mainder was perfectly good. 1t was kept in
a storehouse, and some of 1t spoiled there
Explaining the seventy-two-hour clause
in the meat contracts he said that it pro-
Vided for the erection of a refrigerator on
shore. The meat had to keep seventy-two
hours in this, and before that time the
commissary officer need not accept it,
After leaving this place the meat, COW
cred with tarpaulin, must remain good
another twentyfour hours. He acted upon
this Interpretation in Porto Rico and is
continuing it in his work now at Havana
The Manitoba was, he said, sent back to the
United States with sick soldiers before he
could get her cargo of meat used up
Speaking of the Panama, on which Dr.
Daily and the convalescents returned home
he told of his work in fitting her I'D as a
hospital ship. He said she carried some of
the Manitoba's meat on ice. He did not
know where the other mat he had came
from.
He said some of the commands preferred
bacon to native fresh beef. The bacon issue
was increased fromi one-third to one-half
the ration in some cases. He did not insist
on the issue of canned beef. The COM
plants were based on the lack of vegeta-
bles. There were not enough of these on
the island to give the men full alton, and
therefore, he commuted this part of the
ration and permitted the men to buy for
themselves. The men took refrigerated
meat instead of the native beef He had
no reason to believe the meat had been
chemically treated. He thought the Dole
process beef had been chemically treated,
but not secretly. There was but little of it,
but the men ate it and said it good
meat. He had recommended to the commits
sary general that more of this beef be used,
but had been informed that the price was
fnn hitrb