The age-herald., 1899-03-23
THE BEEF BOARD GOES TO NEW YORK Colonel RGOSsVelt'S Testimony Will Be
 Taken There. THE COMPLAINT IN CUBA Was That ths GTFl Product Vas
 Yes, : tten.
 SS- THE sURGS$ CONDEMNED IT The Men O $ Battalion of the First Illinois Absolutely Refused to
 Eat the Meat Unless
 Compelled To.
THE COMPLAINT IN CUBA

a Chicago, March 22.-The members of the government court of inquiry finished their labors in Chicago today and left for New York this evening. The testimony of Col onel Theodore Roosevelt will there be re- ceived after which the court will proceed to Governors Island.
 The evidence brought forth today was largely cumulative in it's character, consist ing mainly of criticisms of the canned beef and refrigerated beef from soldiers who ate 1t and watched its effects in Cuba and Porto Rico David Fleischmann, a bell boy, told of visit to the stock yards in company of an unknown man, whose pur- pose he supposed to be an experiment in the matter of preserving beef by chemical treatment.
 pr. J. q. Burne, of Chicago, who was as- sstant surgeon of the Second Illinois vol unteers, while the regiment was at Jack sonvie, stated that he had condemned the refrigerator beef several times before it left the wagon which brought it. He had also returned some of it to the cars, tell ing the agent of Swift & Co. that he could not use it. He had refused the meat seven times in one month on account of the bad odor and bad taste. The men complained bitterly that they could not eat it
 Colonel Dayis-Had you occasion to be- lieve or suspect that the Swift refrigera- ted beef had been chemically treated with a view to it's "preseryation?'
 That had never been suggested to me, but 1t occurred to me when used it. The only ground 1 had for that belief was the difference in its taste and its appearance after 1t had been removed from the car. It had deadened, peculiar appearance, and l wondered whether any chemicals had been used.'
 It Yves Rotten ] First Lieutenant Hedekn of the Third | cavalry testified that the principal meat ration in Cuba was refrigerated beef. The | complaint against it was that it was rot l ten.
 Col. Davis asked the witness if he had any reason to believe or suspect that chem icals had been used in preserving the re- frgerated beef.
 "The night after I joined my troop re- frgerated beef appeared on the table in the form of steak. That was the first I had seen. Upon tasting it I remarked that it had a peculiar taste which had never mo- ticed before in beef. l ate very heartily of 1t. That night had diarrhoea, which de- veloped shortly afterwards into dysentery, and was unable to ascribe the disease to any other cause"
 "TO what did you ascribe the peculiarly of the preservative?" "The fact that the meat was different from any I had ever tasted and made me sick"
 What preservatve would have that ef- fect?'
 "I do not know"
 "Why attribute 1t then to a preserya- tive?"
 ''I considered it different from the fresh beef and its appearance was different"
 What led you to connect that with chem- ical preservatves?
 "only 1t seemed to me a natural proceed ing to endeavor to preserve the beef under the circumstances"
 Was that all you had to base your opin- ion on?''
 "Yes, sir.''
 Sold Chemicals to Packers
 w. A. Robinson, travelling representative of the chemical firm of Charles P. Fiser &, Co.,, testified that he formerly had solicited orders and sold chemicals to the packing i trade. The witness said it was within his knowledge that his firm sells to packing houses large quantities of boraic acid and other chemicals, but that so far as he knew such chemicals were not applied to fresh beef; they were used for export pork.
 John Bierma, private in Company D. First Illinois volunteers testified next In all cases he said that the men in his bat talion refused to eat the canned roast beef unless absolutely driven to 1t. He said it was unpalatable, their stomachs rebelled against 1t. and they were attacked with vomiting after eating 1t. In Porto Rico the men very seldom ate the canned beef while their money lasted. The surgeon told the men that the refrigerated beef was unfit to eat, and that he could not do anything with his medicines so long as they were com- pelled to eat it; he also condemned the canned beef.
 W. Clarke Marshall said he had been @ specialist In meat provisions since 1s4s. al- though he had not been in any of the es- tablishments in seven or eight years.
 Please explain the nature and character of your experience with canned meats. more particularly canned roast beef, so- called" said Major Lee
 Unfit for Human Food
 q have investigated and experimented in the matter since 1S4S. The process or canning meat today robs the meat of all its nutrition, leaving nothing but fibre. fat and gelatine in the can. l consider 1t en- tirely unfit for human food. The govern ment chemist describes it as mass of in- soluble matter.
 "In the packing houses this matter of insouble matter would come under the head of tankage and would be used @ fertilizer. There are thousands of experl- ments in all colleges known to all scientists 10 SHOW tHdt leu WilH It, VIII starve to death. Canned corned beef"
 Colonel Davis: q object to any testimony from this witness which does not relate strictly to the objects of the inquiry'
 Major Lee q believe at times the ques- tions of the recorder have gone outside of the subject of the inquiry. wish the wit ness, of course to keep within bounds"
 In reply to Major Lee. the witness stated that he knew where O'Malley's slaughter house used to be located. He v