Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-03
STORIES rLATLY CONTRADICT
Volunteer Branch Of Service Gets an Inning
in Beef Court of Inquiry.
STATEMENTS OF FARNAN ARE REFUTEO
DIR. Christine Explains what the
Allegations of the Former South
Omaha Man, Relative TO Chem
icnls, Mean.

several interesting developments in the beef
court OF inquiry today. II VAS field day
for the volunteer arm OF tho service, the
waiting room being filed all day with mem
bers of the various volunteer soldiers which
served in Cuba and Porto Rico. The first
Of these, Clarence Walters OF tho First vol
unteer engineers, told a sensational story
Of hardship and inhumanity suffered during
his service, describing the canned roast beef
In harsher terms than have ever before been
applied TO that much-abused article.
Later in the day Lieutenant Sewell, who
was major OF the volunteer battalion in
which Walters served. contradicted his story
completely, saying there was no canned
roast beef aboard the transport which took
the command to Porto Rico. Further than
that he said Walters had come to him after
landing and asked to be discharged so as to
accept a position as newspaper correspond
ent, and on being questioned said that he
had been well treated while in the service
and had no complaint to make
An important development was the debate
of the story of one James Farnan Of South
Omaha, Neb., who wrote DR.. Maxwell
Christine OF Philadelphia that he had seen
beef injected with chemicals in an Omaha
packing house. DR.. Christine explained
that what he had seen was the picking of
the meat to save several weeks time in the
pckling vat
The question OF counsel for General Miles
before the court Is still In allegiance, some
correspondence having passed between the
general and tho court, but both sides decline
to give out the letters till after settle
ment Is reached. General Miles has not
asked to DO represented by counsel, presum-
ably because that would put him in the po.
sition Of admitting himself on trial by the
court, which Up TO date he has declined
TO admit. On the other hand the court does
not feel aide. under the articles of war, to
permit Major Gentry, or anyone else, to
cross question witnesses unless he can be
recognized officially as counsel for the de-
fense. 1t is stated that the matter prob
ably will be settled tomorrow.
The court expects to start west Tuesday
or Wednesday of next week.
The testimony OF Clarence Walters
of the First volunteer engineers OF
New York was rather sensational He was
apparently we'll educated and intelligent,
evidently q man OF the world, and gave tes-
timony clearly and calmly, but with positive
directness.
He was asked what his experience with
canned beef had been on the voyage OF his
transport to Porto Rico and replied that
the first can he saw opened had worms In
It and few minutes after being opened
developed such putrid odor that 1t was
impossible to have it about. He ate some
of it and was made violently sick He said
he had been on sea trips before and was
never seasick. The men of his company
complained Of the meat and the commissary
sergeant refused to accept 1t. Some of the
meat was given to the surgeon major, who
tasted it and said it was all right. The
sergeant CommisSary was compelled to ac-
cept 1t, but did so under protest. Nearly
all the men of his battalion were sick
throughout most of the voyage as result
of eating this meat.
Colonel Davis, the recorder, ordered
can opened and asked witness IL 1t was the
same he had used in the service. witness
said it bore no resemblance to the cam
paign article. The cans he had seen were
different form, keystone shape, and color,
consistency and odor of contents were en-
tirely different. second can was opened
for inspection with the same result Witt
ness did not recognize 1t.
After reaching Porto Rico he was sick
week as a result of the voyage. He was
given some medicine and told he would be
all right in little while. On shore he got
supplies from the Red Cross and bought milk
and eggs from the natives, practically sub
sisting himself during his stay on the
island At least two thirds of his company
were fully as sick as he, and from the same
cause.
Were you sick before you went aboard
the transport" asked Colonel Gillespie.
mo SIR
"what sort of a life had you led before
going into the service?"
II can't say that have been a dissipated
A. 1a
the room. Colonel Gillespie frowned and
Changed the form Of the question.
II don't mean that. What business were
you in before entering the service?'
II was in the newspaper business"
Captain Herbert o, Hicks of Company M,
Second Massachusetts. in describing the
meat did not make 1t out quite so repulsive
as that served to Walters in Porto Rico, but
he said it was "a Shiny, stringy mass,
nauseating to the taste. that it could not
be recognized as meat except by the melted
fat in which it was soaked"
Witness was shown several of the cans on
hand with the commission, but said they
were not the same that he had seen in serv-
ice. He described the cans in Cuba as round,
dark-br cans, without paper wrapping.
Lieutenant George Taylor, late of the
Sixth Massachusetts,, who said he was q
grocery man before entering the service,
said his regiment served IN Porto Rico. IT
had very little that the men could eat on
the voyage down. They sometimes had
bacon, but no chance to cook It, and had
to throw 1t overheard, They had canned
roast beef which they could not eat and had
frequently only canned tomatoes, hard tack
and coffee
Sick for Lack of Food.
Asked IL he thought any sickness in his
command was caused by the food the men
had to eat, he replied: II think it was more
due to what we did not have to eat When
we got to Porto Rico there were thirty of
our men so sick they We're never landed"
WAS this state OF under feeding general
aboard the transport" asked Colonel Davis,
Eyes, SIR"
Colonel Davis-General Miles was on
board. Did you report to him?
'I did not think we had any right to go
over the head OF our colonel. We reported
TO him / heard him speak to the commits
sary commander and he answered that the
men were getting all they would get and
probably would get a good deal less when
they got ON shore That was all / ever
heard of the report
His colonel was Charles F. Woodard.
Witness said there was a great deal OF
sickness in his command on shore, but he
had attributed II at the time to the climate
rather than to the food. on shore the ration
was usually short how much so he could not