The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-04-25
BEEF INVESTIGATORS
Hold Their Last Open Session and
Are Preparing Their Report.
THE ARGUMENT OF MAJOR LEE

sci OF General Miles I'm n Technical
Sense-Believes That Great Fraud
ana n Crime Has Been Committed.
Washington. April 25-The Wade
court of inquiry appointed to investi-
gate the allegations made by Major
General Miles in his testimony before
the war investigating commission con-
cerning the meat furnished the army
during the late war with Spain held
its last open session yesterday, and is
now engaged upon the preparation of
its report. The court has been in ses-
sion almost ten weeks, and in addi-
tion to daily hearings given in this
city for several weeks sessions have
been held in Chicago, Omaha and
Kansas City to afford the members of
| the court an opportunity personality
to inspect the canning and refrigerat-
ing processes of the packing houses.
| Several hundred witnesses have been
examined, most of whom have been
officers and enlisted men in the reg
ular or volunteer service, and over
$500 pages of testimony have been
submitted.
Yesterday the court decided not to
accept a report made by Lieutenant
Colonel Darlington, of the inspector
| generals office. This report had been
transmitted to General Miles through
Inspector General Breckenridge. The
report of General Darlington covers
about 80 typewriter pages, and goes
exhaustively into the reports made by
officers and men, without drawing any
! general conclusion. The board in eX-
| planation of its refusal to accept this
report in evidence, gave out the fol-
| lowing statement:
"The report of the investigation con-
Quoted by Lieutenant Colonel CARING
| ton, inspector general under orders of
! the major general commanding, con-
tains the result of an inquiry carried
on for the most part at the same time
and in the same places as that en-
| trusted to this court by the president.
During the progress of the investiga-
| tion Colonel Darlington has submitted
| the names of witnesses and from time
to time has suggested subjects of in
quiry, all of which have been fully
considered by the court. The reports
which were furnished him by officers
of the army have already been read
and submitted in evidence. In view
of these facts, and as it does not ap-
pear that Colonel Darlington had any
other or better means of information
than were accessible to the court at
every stage of its inquiry, it is ordered
that the report be not received in evil
| dence."
At the afternoon session Major Lee,
who had been Major General Miles
representative before the board, sum-
med up for his side of the case. Re
corder Davis read brief reports from
General Breckenridge, the inspector
general, and also from two of his
subordinates, Major Philip Reade and
Lieutenant Colonel Darlington, as to
the result of their individual work and
observations. General Breckenridge
condemned the canned beef ration, and,
speaking generally, said that while che
army ration fulfilled alone the scien-
tific requirement of food values, its
component parts should be changed to
meet the new conditions of service. As
the ration was fixed by law, this was
a matter for congress to remedy. He
also suggested that articles required
by sick and convalescent soldiers
should be added. Major Reade's re-
port was mainly devoted to the lack
of certain camp equipment among GER
tain regiments, and that of Colonel
Darlington to the result of his per-
sonal inspection of the various camps
of the country
The court then decided that If any
of the depositions for which General
Miles had called should be received
prior to the completion of the report oi
the board they should be admitted as
evidence, subject to the boards limita'
tions.
Major Lee then summed up the case
disclaiming at the outset that he was
acting as counsel for Major Genera
Miles in technical sense, and adding
that he had been there simply to pre-
sent and elicit evidence He read hi.
argument from carefully prepared
manuscript, and was given careful at
tention by the three members of the
court and the recorder. no one elst
being present except the representa-
tives of the press. He declared tina
the evidence showed conclusively tha
the beef furnished the troops in Flor
ida, Cuba and Porto Rico had beer
J chemically treated to insure it's keep
ing the specified contract time, that i
was perfectly practicable to have land
ed beef cattle with the armies at al
points, and proceeded:
"There was no necessity for de
parture from the army travel ration
which has been found perfectly salts
factory. Instead of supplying tn
troops during this war, as other ar
mics have been supplied with whole
some food (of which there was an in
exhaustible supply in the country
there was gathered up all of the can
ned food possible, much of which ha
been stored for years in the ware
houses of the Baltimore and Ohio rail
road in other places and in foreig
t storehouses, and falsely labeled 'prim
roast beef when there was not a
ounce of roast beef and, we believe
not an ounce of prime beef containe
In the cans.
1--WE believe that a great fraud hn
been perpetrated upon the governmer
and great crime committed upon II
soldiers, and as to the party or partie
who had committed this offense, an
whether the evidence should be refel
red TO the judicial officers of the GOV
ernment, in order that justice shall b
done, are matters that we leave to th
consideration of your honorable court
Major Lees statement consume
about an hour, and when he conclude
J, with the statement that the member
of the board must decide whether tn
great fraud and great crime which b
believed had been committed shoul
be carried before the courts. RecordC