The Portland daily press., 1899-03-06
ofArHry SMELL.
How witness Described the Army
Beef.


weeks work with half days session
today, having exhausted its list of wit
nesses now on hand. There may be some
witnesses ut the Mondays session but
the court will start for Chicago carly next
week, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday.
just before the closs Of the session to-
day volunteer witness presented himself
but was not accepted He wore an army
uniform and said his name was Frank
Rundns. late NJ the Third Nebraska Nv.
j. organs regiment); that he had Teen
recently hunorably discharged from the
service and was on his way home His
story was in brief that be had served in
the company kitchen with his command
in Jacksonville aud that during n long
period when the men were living on re-
frigerated beef there was SO much intesti-
nal trouble among the men that the issue
of this meat was stopped. AT another he
got hold OF some refrigerator meat in the
kitchen that was of such peculiar color
that the attention of the company officers
WAS called TO It, The surgeon In charge
examined IL, So Rundas alleged, and re-
marked THAT the meat was all right
| but had been prepared to sent TO Porto
Rico and since 1t had been issued the
men might as we'll use u"
Inc meat was cUDktu Dub all VINO ate
| Ii were sick. The inference drawn was
that this was some of the Porto Rico beef
which DR.. DAILY had analysed ana alleged
| to be chemically tire ated. kundas said
he was on his way home but had stopped
off in Washington to offer this jnforma.
ton to the court of inquiry II they
thought 1t worth hearing. He presented
himself TO Col Davis, the recorder OF the
court. but was told that he would not be
wanted as witness.
/ On being asked soon Afterwards wheth-
er hundas was TO be called or why he had
been rejected Col. Davis said: 81 know
nothing about the man He has on a
uniform but that Is no proof he Is IA SOL
dier or ever has been. There are all sorts
of cranks and imposters who come up
here and want to testify. AS TO this
man, II he can identify himself aud the
court directs me to call him, | will do
It,
The counsel for Gen. Miles will inquire
into the antecedents of this witness and
II be appears TO be what he represents,
he will be called.
Major q. w. Ruthers of the commits !.
ssry department who had supplied the 9TH
army corps with refrigerated beef while
at jacksonville was on the stand today.
He said he hal never received n COM
plant. The meat had been rigidly In
speoted and showed no evidence OF cuts
vi puuCNlIts VI cAsb tHab nlkHi
give rise TO the suspicion that 1t had been
chemically treated.
Major Lee took up the cross examina-
tlon and developed the fact that at times
thsre had been complaints as to the beef
and that in one case 500 pounds of beef
mad been condemned. The witness said
he had three official complaints OF the
beef at Jacksonville
~ understand you to say" said Major
Lee. THAT you had never had "a single
complaint as to the refrigerated beef. II
] am wrong I'd like to DO corrected
you are, sir, replied the witness.
"Nhat l said was that had handled
100000 bounds OF refrigerator beef at
Savannah without any complaint. The
complaints wero made at jacksonville. -
Lieut. Col Guild Of Boston. who was
attached to General titzhugh Lees staff
as inspector general of the 18th army corps,
said that he had already been before the
war investigating commission and had
made two very careful reports on the sub
iect one by order of Inspector General
Breokinriuge. both of which were on tile
In tho war department. He submitted to
the court that these reports being ao-
curately con piled from official data.
would be better evidence than he could
give off-hand.
ave will of course, call for your official
report to the war department. said Col.
your testimony before the war commits !.
sion will of course not be available for
u.s. +"
The witness said his experience at Jack
sonville had been very satisfactory. He
had personally inspected many cars. find
amount to which any exception could be
taken. OF the canned roast beef, he had
officially condemned 1900 pounds at
Jacksonville, which had been trans
shipped from New Orleans before IL was
delivered to the army in Jacksonville
He explained that large shipment Of
canned roast beef arrived at Jacksonville
in very offensive condition. He had
picked out offensive cases. amounting TO
Il, 900 pounds, and called in the Jackson
VILE health officer who condemned il as IL
public nuisance, thus giving him the
right to destroy it vt once In the public
crrmatory. Armour's agent who was on
the ground asked leave to telegraph his
home office and quickly received word
to take back the whole shipments and
furnish good beet in its place This was
done. The beef had been sent to New
Orleans by Major West the commissary
officer there, but there was no stamp or
Other means on the packages to tell by
what army officer the beef had been in.
spected and accepted. 1t was stamped by
the bureau of animal Industry.
1.-The witness had subseq uently made
inspections of the Texas beef killed In
Cuha in the past few months. He had
mad, chemical analysis and bacteriologi.
cal examinations of the canned roast beef
In Cuba and had made personal COMPARE
sons between refrigerated beef, native
Cuban cattle and Texas beef, killed in
Cuba which had not been in cold storage.
His experiments had been exhaustive
and conducted as fairly as possible with
reference to practical conditions. His own
opinion was that the best meat our
troops could get in the West Indies was
American cattle killed and refrigerated
in Cuba rs near as possible to the spot
where 1t was to be used.
Quartermastsr Sergeant O'Sullivan of
the Ninth Massachusetts had been
through the Santiago campaign and came
tothe stand full Of the memories of
canned and refrigerated beef. The former
he said. the men barely tasted. The lat
ter he started in to describe as a strange
and Rruesome article, unlike any thing else
he had ever seen. He said 1t had death
ly smell. Here he ooliided with the re-
corder. who insisted on having strict
definition of n ''deathly SMELL The