Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-09
PRAISE FOR REFRIGERATED MEAT
SENT TO PORTO RICO.
FAR AHEAD OF NATIVE BEEF
SECRETARY WILSON HAS A WORD
TO SAY OF CANNED MEATS.
Experts Prove That They Are of High
est Nutritive Value, md That
High Esteem In Which They
Are Held Is Well
Based.

General EaSan, OIL tle army to.ooS AA.oN~
public a letter from Lieutenant Colonel A.
+ smith. of the subsistence department,
touching the use of the refrigerated beer
furnished to troops in Porto Rico from that
landed at Ponce. In this letter Colonel
Smith says in part:
"Among others to whom the refrigerated
beef was issued. remember the following
officers as having spoken OF the immense
superiority of it over the native peer.
Major H. p. Birmingham, surgeon OF the
general hospital; Captain Irvine. Eleventh
infantry, who was acting as commissary
for the steamship Panama Il think load
ed with convalescents en- route to the
United States; Captain w. P. Evans, com,
manding battalion Nineteenth infantry;
CAPTAIN Hoppin. Second cavalry. command
ing cavalry squadron.
There We're no preparations made Tor the
receiving and taking care Of the beef on
shore It had to be unloaded by lighters
and thrown on the floor of the commissary
storehouse until the troops called for 1t IN
open wagons. It was. therefore. subjected
to the worst possible usage in handling. 1t
was frequently twelve hours off the ves-
sell before being issued. One issue to Cap
tain Hoppin was over twenty-four hours
in the storehouse. Notwithstanding this,
the meat was in good condition except
pieces which had not been sufficiently pro-
tected, but these could be trimmed off with
some loss. :
II inspected the refrigerator beef each
morning before it was issued. and know
that it was in good condition except as
stated above. Cases where it was rejected
were, think. due to the prejudice arising
from the appearance when out Of the re-
frigerator a short time, and to the fact
that it was known the beef had been long
time on the vessel in Porto Riean waters.
1.-The officers. without exception. to whom
spoke condemned the use Of the native
beef, which had to be consumed the same
day it was slaughtered
Colonel Smith also has the following to
say about rations for the soldiers:
"I further beg to call your attention to
the fact that, with the exception of soap
and candles for two or three days, there
was never a time after my arrival when
the main storehouse at Ponce could not
issue the complete ration, fresh vegetables
not included. These spoiled so rapidly that
it was deemed best to commute the ration
of them for several weeks, and give the
troops the noney value to buy other ar
ticles. Coarse salt was issued In lieu OF
fine on one or two occasions.
"Commissary stores had been SO unsys-
tematically unloaded and stored at Ponce
that it was hard to tell what articles were
on hand in the island in sufficient quantity
to provide for the wants Of the soldiers.
II further beg to call your attention to
the receipts filed with my July and August
returns in your Office from the comissary
| officer of each artillery. cavalry and In
| fantry command, which left Port Tampa
| for Porto Rico up to August 16, with sixty
days rations. These receipts will show
| that complete rations were furnished to
! every vessel, with the exception of a small
portion of the fresh vegetables, that 1t
| was well known could not keep sixty days.
IT further state that about 10 a. M, Oc-
| tober 10, on taking leave of General Henry,
| commanding United States troops at
| Ponce. he requested me, among other
| things. to say to the honorable secretary
| of war on my arrival in Washington that
| the rations furnished to the troops in
| Porto Rico were abundant in quality and
| excellent in quality"
/ Colonel Smith was on duty at Ponce from
August 25 until October II, when he was
| ordered to Havana. -....
In view of the statements which have
| gained wide circulation regarding the hu-
| tritive value of American canned meats,
| tending to inJure foreign and domestic
trade in these goods, Secretary Wilson has
called upon the director of the office of
| experiment stations for a statement Of the
| conclusions of scientific experts on this
matter. This statement is as follows:
| The high nutritive value of American
canned meats has been established repeat
| edly by thorough and impartial tests con-
| Quoted by scientific experts. Some years
| ago DR.. w. .. Atwater, professor of Chem
istry at Wesleyan university. Middletown.
| Conn, began extended investigation Of
| the nutritive value of foods. Later this
work was continued by the department of
| agriculture with funds appropriated by
congress for the purpose the investigation
being assigned to the office of experiment
| stations and Professor Atwaters services
secured as special agent in charge. These
| Investigations are still in progress, and a
| large amount of information has been Sc
cured and the results published In the form
Of bulletins. Educational, phiIanthropie
and other institutions throughout the
country have co-operated in this work.
| The food problem has been very carefully
studied in Europe. Koenig. Rubner, Eft
niger, StutZer. Gautier, Fassbender. Soln-
tier and other eminent authorities have
made such Investigations in France, Ger
tries. The value Of different foods for men
| engaged in ordinary occupations, for sol
diers in times of peace and war, and per
has been studied. A part of these investi-
cations in America and abroad has had to
do with meats, fresh and preserved In a
| communication to this department Pro-
fessor Atwater says:
1T is unfortunate that the public at large
has SO little appreciation Of the nutritiye
value of canned meats. They are really
cooked meats divested of the inedible por-
tions, bone, gristle, etc, which are found
in fresh meats. In the cooking and can
ming, which is of the nature of boiling
rather than roasting, water Is expelled, but
the amount of nutritive material removed
is very small. indeed. so that pound OF
ordinary canned meats has, on the average,
weight of the fresh meat from which it is
| prepared The removal of the bone and
part of the water. while SO little nutrimeni
Is taken away, leaves the meat in a less
that pound for pound. the canned meat
has higher nutritive value than the fresh
meat.
I'm a large number of analyses of fresh
and canned meats, collected at Chicago
during the worlds fair. and in other parts
of the country before and since that time
and analyZed under my direction, the pro
portions of the nutritive ingredients in the
than in the ordinary fresh meats. This Is
especially true of the protein compounds
which are used by the body to build up 1t:
nitrogenous. materials, as blood, muscle
and bone. Among the analyses referred to
| some Of the largest proportions of proteiI
were found in the boiled meats. Such pre-
pared meats. made OF good material ans
are worthy of the very high esteem IL
, which they have long been held"
The charge of inferior nutritive value
needs only investigation for its refutation
| The experience of almost every family ha
| shown that such articles are sattsfactor,
| foods. Man requires four classes OF foo'
life: "a Protein or nitrogenous matter, a
: is found in the lean of meat, casein (curd
; | of milk. gluten of wheat: CD carbohydrates
as sugar, starch and allied substances; q
mineral matter. such as phosphates an
other salts. is also required. Meat is on
of the chief sources of protein in the da1i
| food AS shown by chemical analysis 1t
l al NIT