The record-union., 1899-04-05
Surgeon DAILY Recalled by the Army
Court Of Inquiry
To Testify Regarding Character Of Beef
Furnished the Soldiers.

TObOrated by DE. N1cOdemus OF
Philadelphia, Who Compared
the Smell of the Beef to the
Odor About a Dissecting Room.
WASHINGTON, April 4.-The army
court of inquiry to-day again heard DR..
DAILY in regard to the character of beef
furnished to the army during the late
war. He reiterated his former state
ments, paid his respects to the War
Commission, and declared that the re-
frigerator beef smelt like a cadaver
after it had been embalmed.
Dr. NicodemuS of Philadelphia, who
saw service in Porto Rico, corroborated
this testimony, comparing the smell OF
the beef to the odor about a dissecting-
room.
The day brought out proposition
from General Miles to supply the court
the names of large number of wit
nesses, and that he had in February
offered the reports of 141 officers as
testimony, but that the court had not
indicated its acceptance of them. Ma
jor Lees remarks in presenting lhls
matter were as follows:
L
army. on February 10, 1899, transmit
ted to the SECRETARY of War original
official reports of 147 officers represent
ing twenty-six regiments and some 26.-
coo troops, called for by circular order
from the headquarters of the army
September 20, 1898. On February -
1899, the Major General commanding
the army submitted with his letter to
you of that date additional reports and
original communications voluntarily
sent to the headquarters of the army,
arranged as per said letter of February
%, 1899.
Il now offer as evidence in this case
the reports of the 147 officers trans
mitted as aforesaid to the Secretary OF
War. and the additional reports of OFF,
GERS now in your custody. 1t need not
be argued that the officers who made
those reports made them upon their
honor in the discharge of their ofhcaai
duties. and that the same credenee
should be given to the statements mad1
in the above reports as though their
contents had been sworn to. 1t is an
axiom that the official reports of an o1fl-
Ger of the army impart truth.
TESTIMONY AT yesterday S
HEARING.
WASHINGTON, April 4.-Dr. VIM.
H. DAILY was the first witness before
the be ef inquiry court to-day. He was
n medical member of General Miles
staff in Porto Rico, and had previously
testified before the court, and WAS re-
called to complete his testimony then
begun. After relating the extent of
his service with General Miles, DR.. DAILY
n
Major Lee that he had been President
of various national medical societies of
the United States and a member of the
foreign societies, in recognition of scien-
tinc Investigations by himself and with
out any asking on his part.
DR.. Days testimony dealt on this oc-
casion, as on his first appearance, es-
pecially with the beef supplied to the
army. He had, he said, made sufficient
observations to warrant him in submit
ting an official report, and after that
time he had made an analysis which
had confirmed his suspicious as to the
meat. His first observations had been
made ON a transport at Tampa before
the sailing of the expedition to Santi-
ago.
DR.. Daily again detailed the particu-
Panama last September, which was in
his charge.
DIR. DAILY took occasion to pay his re-
spects to the War Commission, before
which he had appeared. He said the
commission had given out the impress
sion that the deterioration of the beef
en- the Panama was due to want of ice.
This was contrary to his testimony, and
hax hoo a
tanned AS matter of fact, the Pana-
ma had an excellent refrigerator, and
IT carried ten tons of ice to one of beef.
He also referred to the criticism of
the War Commission of his use of the
expression in his report that the smell
about the beef was like the odor of
boric acid.
1T is" he said, "as difficult to say
what a smell is like as it is for an artist
to paint a dying groan. If the phrase
was offensive" he added. 81 might have
adopted the language of the soldiers.
some of whom said it smelt like the
devil while others compared it to bou-
Guet of cesspool."
Or. Daily said he had since made ex-
periments upon beef subject to treat
nent by boric acid, and found it gave
Ipi LII aDOut dS lOui oAii~AA 80 >o>->- -
be imagined.
Major Lee then read various reports
made by DIR. Daily concerning off1clai
inspection of the beef at the camps at
Jacksonville, Lexington and Chacka-
manga. All these stated that the meat
used generally looked well. but that
there was a universal complaint OF It's
smelling badly. He had found the
fresh beef to be apparently preserved
by the injection of some chemical when
destroyed its natural flavor, and which
must of necessity been injurious to the
health CT those eating it. 1t was to has
mind impossible to preserve the meat
without the use of acid, and apparently
the meat had bseS preserved 'by the
Infection of chemicals to aid the work
Of defective cold storage"
In one case he had found the odor
similar to that of a dead human body,
and in another, speaking of the odor,
he said 1T was unnatural, mawkiSh,
something like that of human cadaver
afIer an undertaken had injected his
embalmirg preservative."
He was satisfied that the beef had
been chemically prepared-that it had
been embalmed in fact. He then re-
ferred again to the report of the War