Evening star., 1899-01-05
BEEF FOR THE ARMY
Col. 0sgood, Commissary Of Subsist-
enee, Testi6es.
SOME OF IT WAS MOLD Y
But if the Mold Was Cut Off It
Was All Right.
CONDITION OF TRANSPORTS

The first witness who appeared before the
war investigation commission at the SeS-
sion this morning was Col. Henry B. Os-
good commissary of subsistence. He stat
ed that he served during the late war with
Gen. Miles at Tampa; was also with Gen.
Shafter al Santiago, and at Camp Thomas
and Chickamauga. In reply to question
from Gen. Beaver the witness stated that
the quality of the rations furnished the
army was the equal to that supplied the
regular army, and, as far as the beef was
concerned, it was superior. He said he
Santiago or elsewhere that was not of good
quality. AS far as the beef was concerned
that was issued under him, he said that he
had a butcher who made an inspection of
each days issue, and the butcher rejected
all that was not good.
Complaints of the Meat.
II reply to further questions the witness
said that he received numerous complaints
in regard to the meat. He then went on to
explain that in August at Santiago one
cargo of meat lay in the refrigerating ship
in the harbor for month because, owing
to the congested condition of affairs at that
time, it was impossible to get the refrger-
atlng apparatus on shore, and SO, when the
brought out from the ship, it had u moldy
appearance; and he said that its appearance
onended Il good many people, and it was
finally reJecGed by board of survey, al
though he thought unjuStly. Meat in this
condition, he said, il properly cut, was
fit for use.
As illustrating, the witness said, the dif-
ference in people in regard to food, he
stated that beef from the same cargo that
had been pronounced rotten was sent to
San Louis and there was no complaint
heard about it. He further testified that a
beefsteak from the condemned lot was
served at his mess, and his fellow officers,
who, of course, did not know the history
of the beef, said it was the best they had
eaten. He accounted for this difference in
opinions or taste on the ground that people
judged the meat by their eyes. He added
that when the mold was removed the meat
beneath was found to be sweet and good.
Chemically Prepared Beef.
In regard to the statement that had been
made before the commission that beef sent
to Cuba and Porto Rico had been treated
chemically, he said that he was satisfied
that such statements did not refer to beef
that was purchased by the government
He said that he assisted in loading the
transports that took over to Cuba the Shat
ter expedition, and one day while he was
engaged in this duty his attention was
called to some beef hanging exposed to the
sun in one of the ships He stated that the
beef had been allowed to be placed there
at the request of an individual, Powell by
name, who was interested in "a process for
preserving beef. There were four quarters
of beef thus prepared, and he believed that
was the foundation of Sergeant Bailey s
statement which he saw in the papers the
other day. This meat, he said had been
prepared by Armour & Co. at the instance
of the individual to illustrate his process,
and the government had nothing to do with
the experiment.
The witness, in reply to further questions,
said the government did not issue such
beef and did not intend to. He then went
on to say that the beef delivered at San
tiago was kept in the same way as meat
that was delivered in the various cities
OF this country, namely, in refrigerators.
No Reason Why Meat should Be Doc
tOred.
In answer to question from Gen. Beav-
er, the witness said there was no reason
for the meat contractors to doctor the meat
with chemicals to preserve it, as they could
accomplish the same result and at much
less expense by the refrigerating method
which they had in use.
He was asked if those who received the
meat covered with mold We're told that
all was necessary was to cut off the mold
and that the meat would be perfectly good
He said he supposed they We're so Informed
of survey rejected the meat, as he was
not called before them although the ses-
slonS We're held near where he was station
ed. All he knew was the decision reached by
the board He said that at the beginning
OF the war he was opposed to meat supplies
preserved fresh by any process and was
Of the opinion that the meat should be sup
piled in the hoof. His experience in Cuba
however. had convinced him that refriger-
ated beef was superior.
asked mir ~ haa in
cans he said that it was good beef but it
was not very palatable, especially if men
dld not know how to prepare it. The con-
sensus in the army he said, was against
the use of this meat, although when sea-
soned properly he has been told that a
palatable dish has been made of it. He
added that he would not use it except in
places where no other meat could be OBJ
tanned.
Theories and Practice.
Something was said about food that was
deleterLous to health, and the witness
smiled and then apologized for doing so,
saying he had heard so much on this sub
ject before going to Cuba, and when he
contrasted the theories with actual expert
ence the recollection was amusing. He
then went on to say that as far as he was
personally concerned he ate in Cuba as he
did when in this country
The members of the commission laughed
with the witness when he added that he
was asked his return home if he had
drunk boiled water while in Cuba, and he
replied that he did once when he could get
no other kind of water.
When asked in regard to the loading of
the 4ucatan, the witness said he was in
charge of the loading of that vessel and by
orders OF Gen. Humphries he directed a
battalion OF the I'd Infantry and the Rough
Riders to go aboard, which was done Both
he and Col. Wood, in command of the
Rough Riders, acted in this matter in ac-
cordance with orders.
Some Transports Good, Some Bad.
In reply to questions by Gen. Wilson, the
witness stated he went aboard the various
transports and found that in some cases
the condition of these vessels was good.
and in other cases bad. He said all
the vessels we're clean, but what he meant
by good and bad was the ventilation
The witness further said that most any,
thing was possible in the state of con-
fusion that existed in Tampa and while if