Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-19
WILL FIND CHARGES UNTRUE
General Miles Accusations of Chemically
Prepared Beef Not Sustained
COURT OF INQUIRY FRAMING ITS REPORT
Meat in Good Condition when Sold to
Government. but Was spoiled In
Tropical CIimntc-OHcers
to Re Ccnsurcd.

to Re Ccnsured.
| WASHINGTON, April iS.-The army court
of inquiry has begun the framing of its re-
! port, While a few minor matters remain
! for examination they are not such to
affect the main facts. 1t is regarded as GER
| tain that the court will find that General
Miles charges that embamed or chemically
! prepared beef was sent to the army have
not been sustained
The position of the court is believed to be
! that the testimony is conclusive that both
! the refrigerated and the canned beef were
! in good condition when delivered to the
! government and continued so until issued to
! the troops except that portion damaged in
transportation or affected by tropical condi
tions, and to these causes of injury and
! these conditions the chief cause of trouble
| will be attributed. 1t will be shown that
| the refrigerated beef after being taken from
! the ice in the tropical climate spols quickly
unless well cared for and that the canned
! beef after being opened because of the great
! heat, became repulsive in appearance and
! soon unpalatable. But the court will hold
as the result of chemical investigation by
! the experts, that the canned beef is whole
| some and nutritious. Attention will be
called to the fact that 1t was used through
out the war by our navy and is still used
by the fleet. 1t is believed the court will
criticise those officers who have testified
| that they became aware that bad beef was
issued to the troops and failed to report
| their observations until after the war had
| closed.
Wade Inquiry.
The Wade court of inquiry held three
sessions today, devotng the forenoon to an
executive meeting, the afternoon to hear
! ing testimony and the evening to the read
! ing of reports of army officers. General
! Weston related the provision made for
vlctualng the soldiers during the war ana
contended that beaf on the hoof could not
have been landed at Siboney.
George L. Taylor, a sanitary engineer
and chemist of Philadelphia, who went tc
! Porto Rico last July as lieutenant of the
! First volunteer cavalry, said he had dis
! covered the presence of formaldehyde in
! the refrigerator beef on the transport
! Chester. He and many members Of the
command had been attacked by gastritis
after eating the meat. This gas, he SAID,
was the base of nearly all embalming fluids.
At the afternoon session Captain Irvine
was on the stand. After Captain DAILY, he
! was in command of the Panama on the trip
from Ponce to the United States when the
meat was thrown overheard He said he
had asked for the board of survey which
condemed the meat and said he had made
! this request because of the putrid smell
from the refrigerator. They destroyed all
| the fresh beef on the vessel-900 pounds
| This occurred on the third day out. Previ-
| Gus to that time the officers and men had
! eater the beef and found 1t good.
| General Weston tlen recalled.
II believe" he said, 'our meat ration Is
entirely too big and / am now arranging TO
! cut it down materially, adding vegetables
to supply the deficiency. The people in the
tropics do not eat much meat and our SOL
! diers do not require much
would the wealth or standing of any
J firm justify any officer in making his in
/ spection of his meat less rigid?" Major
! Lee asked
mo, sir General Weston replied en-
phatically He then said that he had had
a good deal to do with the packing firms
| and he had found that they always deliv-
cred food of as good quality as they had
/ bargained to supply.
| Speaking of the canned roast beef, Cen
! eral Weston said that when it was spoiled
/ il emitted horrible odor. He told of one
instance in which five entire carloads had
! been rejected by one officer. He had found
only twenty spoiled cans In fact the beef
canned for the army this year was the best
ever furnished but it had been put up hur-
! riedly.
Letter from Soldiers Mother.
Between sixty and seventy reports from
army officers bearing upon the ration served
! to the army in Cuba were read during the
night session of the court, which lasted un-
! til nearly 10 80 o'clock. When the court con-
vened Colonel Davis submitted the follow
/ ing letter signed "A Soldiers Mother"
CHICAGO, Aug. 8, 1S9S.-President Nc
! Kinley-Dear Sir: workman from one of
! the packing houses told my husband today
! the stuff they were packing up for the
army was awful. Now is not that too bad?
! We are living under generous government,
with kind good man at its head, willing
I to give the army the best possible and yet
| thieving conspirators viii give the boys the
worst. We see in Ine papers the soldiers
! complain of the canned beef; some of it
not fit to eat. OF course. dear president.
you cannot help all the wrongs done the
army. If you will only threaten the ven
geance of the government on the packers,
the food may be better.
This letter was referred to the War de-
partment for investigation and by the de-
partment referred to Major o. M. Smith,
! purchasing commissary at Chicago. Major
| Smith returned to the department letters
| in reply to it from Armour & Co.. Libby, Nc
Neil & Libby, Cudahy and Hammond & Co.
These letters Colonel Davis put in evidence.
They were general denial of the charges
contained in the above letter and one of
them offered an explanation Of the so-called
| "swellers" among the canned roast beef.
The reports read by Major Lee were along
the same lines as those heretofore submit
ted to the court. AS rule they were unani-
| nous in condemnation of the canned roast
beef and discussed the general question of
food supplied to the army from the point of
view Of their individual experiences Colo
mel Davis also read a large batch of reports
among them one from Major General Sum
ner in which he stated that to the best of
his belief his command at no time had suf-
| fered for want OF food during the Cuban
campaign.