Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-04-13
RULE AGAINST MILES
BEEF INQUISITORS DECLINE 40
CALL HIS WITNESSES.
POWELL EXPLAINS PROCESS
New York Man Who Treated Car of
Armour Meat by a Secret Process
to Preserve 1t Without the Use Of
Ice-Testimony Will Be All in by
the Last of This Week.

Washington, April 9.-The army
court of inquiry into the beef supplied
to the army decided yesterday to al
here to its decision not to call the list
Of witnesses submitted by Gen. Miles.
The reading of the official reports was
concluded. Alexander Powell gave
many OF the details concerning his in
vention for the preservation of meat t,
and stated that he had made an agree
ment with Armour & Co. to have them
use his process III case they could Sc
cure the government contract He
stated, however, that Swift q Co. had
not had the use of it. Gen. Shafter
probably will testify early this week
and the outlook is for closing the tes-
tlmOny by Saturday next.
Powell stated that he had been
dealer in meats in New York for 25
years. He explained at some length
that he was the owner of the Powell
process for preserving fresh meats
without the use Of ice, that the form
ula was secret and that it was not
patented because so eminently simple
He declared emphatically that neither
boracic nor salycilic acid was used in
the process, nor, he added, lis there
any injection Or immersion in chem
icals. The process is supplied by
fumigati0n. There is no smell ex-
cept that Of sulphur for half an hour
or so after application; nor would any
taste be noticeable" Powell gave the
ut 10, Of h
Armour's beef which was sent to
Tampa in the spring of '9S. When he
heard that contract was to be given
by the government he reached the
conclusion that the government ought
to have the use Of his process and he
had written the president, Gen. Miles
and Gen. Eagan asking when he
should apply to have the process used.
Eagan replied saying the department
was not engaged in purchasing any
process, that it could only deal with
those who would supply meat and
guarantee it should keep. Powell said
the process was applied to a car of six
carcasses of beef at Chicago owned by
Armour. These carcasses were taken
to Tampa the latter part of May last.
Col. Weston secured four of the car
casses, exposing them in the sun for
about 80 hours. 1t was after this
exposure that Col. Weston of the
commissary department made his
report, which was commendatory.
Powell said later that not to his knowl-
edge had Armour used the process dur
ing the war; nor had it ever been used
by anyone except himself There were,
however, other beef preservative pro-
cesses in the market. The witness de-
MED that his process reSembled the
embalming process. Powell said he
knew of instances where meat prepared
by his process had given satisfaction.
He had only verbal contract with
Armour, but the understanding was
that if the firm got the contract it
was to have exclusive control Of the
contract only. He was to have so
cents per hundred for it's use. He had
not attempted to make any arrange
ment with Swift, the successful bidder
at that time, but after the battle Of
Santiago had written Swift on the SUBJ
ject, furnishing him piece of beef
that had ben treated Nothing, how
ever, had come of it. Powell said he
made no claim that his process would
not discolor beef. Any process would
cause change in appearance. After
the use of his process, the beef would
1h0l lilo had hnon n an1i
storage for two weeks, darkening the
grain and bleaching the fat. There
would be a smell of sulphur for an
hour, as sulphur was one of the articles
used in fumigation.