New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-23
MORE ABOUT BAD BEEF.
MILITARY AND MEDICAL WITNESSES
HEARD AT CHICAGO
EVIDENCE by DIR. MURDOCH OF HEALTH BOARD.
REGARDING EFFECT or PREsERvAT1vEs
ON MEAT-oNE WITNESS SAID
MEAT KILLED MEN.

MEAT KILLED MEN.
Chicago March 22-The members Of the Govern
ment Court OF Inquiry finished their lahors In chi
cago to-day and started for New-York this even
ing. The testimony OF Governor Roosevelt will
there h. received after which the court will pro-
coed TO Governors Island.
The evidence adduced to-day was largely cumu-
atve I'm its character. consisting mainly In crit-
cisms OF the canned beef and refrigerated beef
from soldiers who ate 1t and watched its effect
In CUBA and Porto Rico David Fleischmann. a
bellboy In the Hotel Morrison. told Of visit TO
the stockyards In company with an unknown man.
whose purpose he supposed he to experiment
in the matter Of preserving beef by chemical treat
ment W Clark Marshall. the provision specialist
whose testimony expected 70 he sensational,
threw no additional light the question, his evil
dence being principally the expression Of the opn-
ion that canned beef as now put the market
Is totally unfit for human food
Lieutenant J. y L. Hartman o. the lst Cavalry
who was acting regimental qusrtermaster while the
regiment YVES stationed az Lakeland. Fla. testified
that refrigerated beef received from Armour &
Co. II brought TO Lakeland In cars. At first n
was good and there objection 70 IT, but IN
three four days It began n get poorer IN quahty
In Instances board ~ survey rejected the beef
In the witness rejected whole carload
The stencil observable before the car was
opened This beef not received. because de-
accounted for in the vouchers
He had recollection Of any conversation be-
tween Sergeant Mason (his clerk and the repre-
sentative Of Armour & CO. Mason had charge ~
the delivery ~ the meat to troops. The witness
had recollection of saying anything 70 him with
reference meat personalities. II he had said
anything witness thought he would recollect IT, He
had recollection OF any conversation with Ar
rnour's representative on that subject. He had no
reason 70 believe or suspect that the beef had
been treated with personalities or chemicals. The
spoiling was due he thought to the fact that the
meat had been chilled and would not hold up after
exposure m the excessive heat AZ Lakeland. After
tho rejection Of carload the agent OF Armour
said that would not do referring 70 the way in
which the meat had been furnished. The agent
tried get the meat shipped in ice. In some
ice put In with the beef. bur This gave
the meat Shiny. repuisive appearance, and it was
rejected Witness then got authority 10 buy beef
in the open market
EXPERIMENTING WITH PREsERvATTvEs
David A Fleischman testified that he en-
ployed "a bellboy the Hotel Morrison. Chicago
In the month OF June 1905 "One day in June" he
said "a man in Room No lN asked me- II
would he nj leisure to 60 to the stock yards with
him went out there with him and had 10
carry two boxes tin galvanized iron boxes He
went out TO some man about some meat. ne told
me We took the boxes and went 70 A car. whore
there were three or four rows OF meat. In each OF
the boxes there were four smaller packages, con-
tanning as I recall IT. black or rather A light
gray-coored substance He put this into per-
fo-ated trays made for that purpose. set fire 10 1t
and placed {, under the meat ! asked him what
that was done for and ne said # was done as an
experiment to preserve the meat
Next DAY / was to go back and get the cans.
asked him whether Il 10 kill germs or anything
Ike that but ne said no. simply 10 preserve the
avpa ne me an IL.
and n burned the end Of my tongue. I called at
tention 10 the fact that the meat looked rather
larger than when we're there before. He said
that was simply enlargement OF the meat from
the ice There sulphurous smell In the car
and another odor which l cannot describe. took
the cans 10 the hotel l noticed in one end OF the
car there was a card marked Tampa, Fla This
was at Armour's packing house; there was only
one car: in IL there only about three rows or
beef I think II halves. | asked him VINO he
was and n am not mistaken. he told me ne Was
a Guartermaster. or a quartermaster- general OF
something ike that He was about hve teet zen
inches tall wore eyeglasses. and l should judge
uas about fortv-Ave years old He uni
form. but dressed in plain clothes. understood
from what he said that he had some connection
with the military service
DR. z Murdoch who was FOR TWO years presi-
dent OF the auxiliary medical STAFF or the Chlcago
Health Department and IS an analytical chemist
was
made several examinations OF both canned and re-
,r,garated beef dating back several years. some
lime in the latter pa r. OF June 1895 ne said. some
canned meat was brought 10 him TO determine
its character. The first sample was brought with
the assertion that IL was horse hesh. out on eN-
animation this was found 10 be untrue The Wit
ness found that the meat in the can was apparent
" boled beef. IL probably had been boiled some
what before II was sealed in the can and some
what after There was In the can quite quantity
of common salt and also nitrate OF potash called
saltpetre These personalities said the witness
must have been in the before the boiling was
complete because they had saturated the fibre OF the
meat and hardened it,
SALT TOUGHENED MEAT
In his report to the who brought 10 MIN
The meat the witness stated that this was the
great objection 10 canned meat II should be cooked
without salt in order to be nutritious the season
ing should be placed in 1t on It after the cook
ipe was complete The character OF the meat. IN
DIT Murdocks judgment. was largely poor grade
or rather a low grade Two OF the cans CON
ralned only a small quantity OF muscular tissue
which is the nutritious part OF the oeei Inc ok
animation was continued by the boiling OF the meat
IN a retort to see how much beef extract could De
taken from four pounds Of IT, the amount produced
was so small that II not perceptiolei Il was
not enough even TO be used as culture medium
In experiments in bacteriolosy.
With reference to the examination OF fresn peer
the witness said that at three different times there
were brought 10 him pieces Of what seemed 10 De
ordinary meat from the markets which evidently
h,d haen kent for some time presumably In a
re,rtserator I found salt In small quantity.
said DR. Murdoch and some OF the meat was
coated with boracc acd. In other specimens !
found that they had been coated with prepare
,ion OF salicylic acid for preserving the meat
gave the opinion that salicylic acid was not only
poracic acid while In Itself not nauseating. delays
~. nrocess OF digestion and hence Is not M pre-
servative for meat used as diet. understood
this 10 ne refrigerator beef. found boracic acid
In TWO specimens and salicyllc acid In one These
experiments were made ABOUT the middle Oh JUNE
SOS ., ,.A 49,
II don't know that . rad"
was II delivered o.. --I by any ono connected
..,.h ,he ,,overnmorty Had he contract relations
- ho nltad SinfesL