The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-01
But Nothing So Vile as the CAM
paign Beef.
ARMY BOARDS SCHEME
SAMPLES OF MEAT PLACED BE-
FORE SOLDIERS.
Corned Beef Hot and Canned Beef
Cold, But the Soldiers Declared
None of It Resembied the Stuff
Issued at Santiago - Lieutenant
Denounces Canned Beef.

Washington. Feb 2S-The feature of
the court of inquiry into General Miles
beef charges today was an object lesson
in canned meats prepared by the court
and served TO non-commissioned men who
testified at yesterdays hearing. The court
had prepared eight plates of beef, fresh
beef. canned beef that had been to Cuba
and back. and canned leef fresh from
tne factory. Four plates were prepared
no. in "a stew, and four cold they came
from the can, the tresn beer pelnS Dolieu
10 make it resemble The OF hers. Ihe en-
listed UeH were ordered - sample f3c1.
ana say which WAS the sore they had nad
in Cuba IL was 4 tryiEG ordeal tCr tue
men, most of them declaring that none
Of the plates looked like anything that
they had eaten in Cuba. But upon re-
peated assurances that there was cam
paign beef in two Of the plates. ana amer
being urged that they should at least
choose to the best OF their bellei. the
court succeeded in getting an expression
of opinion from each of the men. An army
surgeon, DIR. Bowden, kept tally on the
guesseS OF the men and changed the po-
SiiioEs Of the plates after each Witness
had left the room. The result of this rec
ORD was not made public, however. ana
will be reserved till Or. Bowden testities,
probably some time this week.
The most interesting witness of the day
was Lieutenant Ramsay. Ninth infantry.
who had served as a c0mmisSary oincer
at Baiquiri and Santiago, and who char
acteriZed the canned roast beef as an
unpalatable and uninviting grade of in
ferior meat which he would not willing
ly feed to any man, sick or well.
The court of inquiry convened with only
officers present. II had been reported that
Governor Roosevelt, who was in the city
last week, and to whose appearance there
has been much popular interest, would be
called to testify. This was officially de-
MED at the court. II was said Governor
Roosevelt had been sent a letter request
ing him 10 name a day Wnen II would be
convenient for him to appear, but that
he had not yet replied one way or the
other
BEEF WAS BAD.
The first witness today was Lieutenant
Ramsay, Ninth infantry, who acted as
company commissary at Tampa and de-
pot comnissary at various times. He was
also one of Colonel WestOnS assistants
after the capture of Santiago. He told,
in some detail, of the unloading of the
snip supplies ar Baiquiri and Siboney and
their Transportation to the front. SO far
as he knew, no complaints came from the
front as TO the sort of rationS that were
sent out After minute inquiries from
the recorder, intended 10 develop whether
any protests were made from the front
against the canned beef, the witness said
that he received requests for as much
bacon aS he could stand.
Colonel Davis then had can of beef
opened and asked the witness to inspect
1T, saying that it had come back from
d.
tested it and pulled some of it apart, say
ing that it was decidedly better beef than
any he had seen in Cuba. 1t was more
like that he had handled at his barracks,
but he still did not feel like recommending
it as a good thing to feed soldiers.
Witness said that he had seen a great
many cans of beef rejected among q five
ear lot at Tampa. The cans had burst,
and the stencil in the cars was terrific.
The contractors replaced the spoiled cans
in this instance. but there was the same
IL
earGces were broken out in Cuba.
ASKED by General Davis as to his per-
sonal experience with canned roast beef,
witness said he had used it only once at
bic ana inferior quality Of badly boiled
beef. General Davis pursued this line of
inquiry. Witness said he had seen canned
roast beef frequently in his own post
canteen and in the consolidated mess, of
which he had been in charge.
Was it the same at the canteen that
you had in CuDa?" asked General Davis.
The outside of the package was the
same but not the inside The beef we
had at the canteen at Madison barracks
was quite popular for pienics and the like.
1t was beef that could be sliced down,
II was good and palatable. That ] saw
in Cuba was evidently from the chucks
and necks l don't think in the cans l
saw there was a single piece that would
weigh an once"
UNFIT FOR FOOD.
Colonel Gillespie questioned the witness
with some asperity when he Ventured the
opinion that the meat was unfit for sick
men TO use. but witness replied firmly
that he considered it unfit to feed men.
either sick or well. He considered it re-
sponsible in considerable part for the
sickness and stomach trouble among the
men. He had il frequently on his table,
but never tasted it but once. Neither did
his sergeant eat 1t more than "a few times.
Lieutenant Colonel a. l.. Smith, chief
cOmmissary at Havana. testified in some
detail as to the purchasing for commits
sary department when the war broke out.
Colonel Smith did not go to Cuba with
the Shafter expedition, but he saw a
great deal of the loading at Tampa. He
had seen two cars Of ArmourS canned
meat rejected because OF the stencil arts
ing from the cars. The contractor had
asked leave to go over the cars and re-
move the defective cans. This was done;
so he understood, and the cars afterward
accepted. He opened some of these cans
after they had been accepted. The con-
tents were softer than that in the average
cans he had SEEN but he should say bet
ter than some he had seen IN Porto t.lco
and in Havana.
When stationed in Porto Rico witness
handled considerable refrigerated beef.
The troops seemed to be divided in Opion-
ion as TO the value of the REFRIGERATED
meat Some regiments took 1t and some
refused it. Sometimes one battalion of a
regiment would take it and another would
not.
w
it came on shore. Part was mouldy and
some was tainted, but the larger part was
good.
beef al Porto Rico but there was com
plai1t as to this supply and some of the
Commands asked for bacon in place of
fresh meat The bacon issue was in
creased from one-third to one-half of the
meat ration in some cases. Witness did
not urge the issue of canned beef.
Replying to Colonel Davis, witness SAID
that where the troops under his obSerra-
ton could get both sorts, the refrigerator
beef tended to displace the native beer.
NOT A FAIR SAMPLE.
The afternoon session opened with
surprise for the. witnesses. On the long
table in the court room were eight plates
with various stews and compounds OF
beef some of canned beef fresh from the
factory some of beef that had gone to
cuba ana back and others of fresh beef
from the Washington market, but pre-
nared as nearly as possible in the same
way that the canned beef was packed at
the factory. The enlisted men VINO tesu-
fed Yesterday We're brought in and asked
TO pick out. if they could, the various
sorts of beef The men disagreed TO some
extent but when Major Jesse Lee asked
each of them IL the beef shown them
here was prepared the same way as that
they had had in Cuba, and whether the
plates were a fair sample of what they
had used during the campaign. they
unanimously agreed that il did not look
like the same and did not seem TO be
fair sample of the campaign beef in any
way.