The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-16

Chicago, March 15.-The last witness
called before the army beef court Of
inquiry today proved to be sensational.
He was an officer of the regular army,
First Lieutenant NJ. F. Davis of the
First cavalry, called at the request Of
Major Lee, the representative of Cen
eral Miles. Lieutenant Davis testified
that in Cuba one-half of the canned
roast beef issued to the soldiers was
thrown away because it was unfit to
eat. He testified that he had opened
one can himself and found maggots in
it,
Major Lee asked: "How did the
maggotS get there?"
''They were canned in there, the wit
ness replied.
Colonel Davis: care you aware that
in the process of canning, this meat
undergoes such an intense heat that
no animal life could survive in it?"
Il don't mean to say they were
alive; they We're dead"
The board left for Omaha tonight.
Inspection of the stockyards will be
made at Omaha and Kansas City, and
at the latter city some evidence will
be taken. The intention of the court
is to return to Chicago by next Tues
day and proceed with the examination
of witnesses here.
The evidence brought forth today
was largely cumulative in its nature,
mainly with reference to the condition
of canned and refrigerated beef when
issued to the troops on shipboard and
in Cuba, and its effect upon the SOL
diers.''
DR.. John B. Shaw of Joliet. Ills, sur
geon of the Third Illinois volunteers,
testified that on the voyage from New
port News to Porto Rico, canned roast
beef was issued and there was q great
deal of complaint about it. 1t was
stringy, pulpy and nauseating, and did
not seem to nourish the men, Much
sickness followed the use OF it. The
witness attributed the sickness to pto-
maine poisoning. He believed pto-
maines would develop in the hot sun
in five or six minutes after can was
opened If the meat were properly
steriliZed ptomaines would not develop
While in Porto Rico. twenty-five miles
from Ponce, the matter of rations was
taken out of the regiments hands to a
great extent
GRANT BROKE THE Law.
General Grant seemed to know more
about it than anybody else. The wit
ness took no particular interest in them
because of the action of General Grant.
He cannot violate the law?'
"He did
Did he issue orders?"
HE issued whatever he saw fit"
1.-THE law requires the surgeons to
supervise the cooking of that which is
issued. Did you interest yourself to
ascertain what was being issued to the
enlisted mem"
eve saw what was issued. and took
it because we could not get anything
else. We had canned roast beef nearly
ali the while, and the men refused to
eat it, 1t was ordered condemned and
we buried a lot of it. One of the men
said if we did not bury it, it would
0ury US. A board of survey was or
Iered, but I never heard anything
more about it. as to the refrigerator
beef, very little of it was used, as at
least three-quarters of it would have
to be cut off. 1 do not think any chem
icals had been used on the meat. 1t
was simply spoiled. The meat had un-
doubtediy been acted upon by the heat
which had softened it. The fat and
grease and gelatine had all intermin-
gled with the fibre"
POISONED BY BEEF.
Under cross-examination, DR.. Shaw
told about being called out one night
to look after the men of company A,
who were reported to have been poi
| soned by eating canned roast beef. He
said they vOmited fearfully, and it
seemed that hypodernic injections OF
morphine would hardly relieve the pain.
They were sick for some days after
wards, with a great deal of diarrhoea
and Intestinal trouble.
when the men ceased eating the
canned roast beef was there any i'm
provement?" asked Major Lee.
Yes; the canned roast beef gener-
alIy gave thegn diarrhoea and castro
enteritis."
Did you in an official way recon-
mend its discontinuance?
Yes, sir; to my immediate comman-
DER
.sDid the com1nissary come around
! and find out how these things weTe?''
.sHe came several times and told US
/ il was all right. L think it was Cap
| tain Piper. He told US it was all right,
| and we would have to eat it. Some
| times we substituted what they call ba-
con. but a great deal of that had mag
cots i'm it. and had to be condemned. If
! we had depended upon the army ra-
| tions the troops would have been
starved to death They spent all the
money they got to buy things to eat,
| either at the commissary store or in the
city, .,
7 think it was Libby, Mcneil &
| Libby; l am not sure oilSU - -
some of it, but could not; IL was aOso-
lutely revolving"
"When the beef was eaten from cans
did YOU order it emptied out OF the
cans?''
we tried to have it served imrnedi-
atelv. but under the intense heat, pu-
trefaction would set in almost as soon
as the can was opened. L think pto-
maines were developed almost lnlllleei- l !,
Df the cans
.sTo what do you attribute the bad
condition of the bread?"
selves. perhaps the ovens; the natives
took the same flour and made it into
fair bread"
REP1JIsTvE AND NAUsEATING-
! The next witness was Colonel Fred