The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-01
ORDERS FROM ALG[R
Why Eagan Experimental With the
Embalmed Beef.
WANTED BEEF ON HOOP
BUT SOMEONE HAD A POLITICAL
PULL
Texas Cattlemen Relate What Ea-
gan Told Them-Secretary Alger
Preferred the Refrigerated Beef
and Eagan Said Something About
Political Pressure.

Washington, March, 31.-All but two
witnesses before the army inquiry court
today were members of the medical
staff who were on service in Cuba dur
ing the Spanish war. The other two
witnesses were George II. Giddings and
General J. Hale Sypher, who had been
interested in securing contracts Tor sup
plying beef on the hoof and on the
block for the army in Cuba. They tes-
titled that General Eagan had told them
that the secretary of war had asked him
to give the refrigerator beef a trial,
while Mr.. Sypher said that General
Eagan had created the impression upon
him that he preferred beef on the block
to refrigerator beef. Their testimony
throughout was contradictory of Cen
eral Eagan's testimony. Mr.. Giddings
said that Congressman Hawley was
present at several of his conferences
with General Eagan.
A majority of the army surgeons eX-
pressed the opinion that the canned
beef was unsatisfactory as food for the
troops, but some of them, thought it no
more harmful than other meat in the
Cuban climate.
George e. Giddirgs of San Antonio,
Tex, who had put in bid to supply
the beef for Cuba on the hoof, detailed
the particulars of various interviews
with General Eagan concerning the let
ting of the contract for beef. His first
conversation had related to the speci-
ficatfons for bids at which Mr.. Gid
dings had called attention to the fact
that they We're vague. General Eagan
had then said that the specifications
were necessarily vague, as he could
not at that time give any specific in
formation General Eagan had at that
time said his preference would be re-
frigeTator beef if ne had any confidence
in it, but he did not think the refrige-
rator beef could be made available in
the Cuban climate.
Mr.. Giddings then told of his visit
to the commissary general ON the LIST of
July, when the latter told him that the
secretary of war had sent for him the
night before and had said that, owing
to the difference in price, they had bit
ter give the refrigerator beef a trial,
and that he would have to do this.
ST then asked General Eagan if he
had any confidence in the proposition,
and he replied that he had very little,
but that the refrigerator men were pre-
pared to give bond to keep the beef
good for seWenty-two hours after leav-
ing the refrigerators, He also stated
that they had a. preserving process by
which they were able to keep the beef
in condition, but he said that if there
was dissatisfaction after the contract
went into effect, he would upset it and
give the Texas cattlemen a chance
Mr.. Giddings said in reply to ques-
tons by Major Lee that General Eagan
had told him that when he was an Of
ficer in the field he always drove his
beef with him on foot, and that he
Eagan) thought this the proper way
to supply beef for the army.
Repeating his interview with Secre-
tary Alger, General Alger had said, ac-
cording to Mr.. Giddings:
well, the secretary sent for me last
night, and told me that there was so
much difference in price that we should
give the refrigerator beef a trial"
Did he order you to do that?' 1
asked.
"'No," he replied, But his wish
amounts to an ORDER"
General Eagan then repeated his
want of confidence and reiterated that
if the beef did not prove satisfactory
he would annul the contract, for he
would not let the soldiers be poisoned.
With reference to General Eagan's ref
erence to a preservative process, Mr..
Giddings said the general had told him
that Swift e Co., who had made the
lowest bid on refrigerator beef, had a
process which would enable them to
keep the beef for seventy-two hours
after being taken from the refriger-
ator.
"'Do you believe it?' asked General
Eagan," said Mr.. Giddings. ITO which
he replied: I've got to believe-Tve got
to give it a trial.