The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-05-11
GEN, MILES COUNSEL TALKS
RIDICULES THE REPORT OF THE
 -4RMY-BEEF COURT.
Officers Should Have Rendered Such an Illogical and Uncertain Decision Beef Packers Made to Appear as Saints Meat Was Undoubtedly Preserved.

7 Beef Packers Made to Appear as saint, Meat Was Undoubtedly Preserved.
 Cincinnati, O., May 10~-The Enquirer
 tomorrow will print the following in
 tervlew With H. R. Probasco, eX-Un.ted
 States district attorney here, relative
 of ex-Senator Sherman and counsel for
 General Miles: "When the court con
 vened having previously served Gener-
 al Miles as counsel in other matters, I
 was asked to go to Washington and
 confer with him regarding the proceed
 ings before the court of inquiry It
 was determined that, as General Miles
 was not in the attitude of one accused,
 it would be ill advised to introduce a
 lawyer, and Major Lee was selected by
 GeGeral Miles to aid the count and the
 recorder. My only connection with the
 case was comforting with General Miles
 and Major Lee regarding the summon
 ing of witnesses and the examination
 of the most important ones What is
 your opinion as to the report of the
 court of inquiry?'
 II have not read the full report, but
 have seen the synopsis of it. l was
 amused that three int -lllgent army offi-
 vers, sitting as a court for weeks and
 examining several hundred witnesses
 should have rendered such an illogical
 and uncertain decision. The decision
 amounts to the court finding that beef | packers are saints, sent to our soldiers
 with mama from heaven, and that l General Niles was careless because he 1 did not report the first vague rumor
 which came to his ears, that this food
 was bad. Every witness condemned in
 unstinted terms the so-caled canned
 roast beef as an unfit ration The
 chief clerk of the commissary generals office testified that canned roast beef
 in 1878 was an experimental ration and was adversely reported on after short trial The court was evidently so we'll
 satisfied as to the proof cf the truth of
 General Miles ale cations as to canned roast beef that when shortly bsfore the
 testimony closed they were asked to subpoena 134 additional witnesses they declined to subpoena all fer the reason that 124 would give cumulative testi- m ony against the canned roast beef"
 What about the enbalmed beef?"
 "Refore bids were received by the commissaiy general he was advised by expert cattle and beef men that fresh beef would not hold twenty-four hours after delivery from the refrigerator in the climate of Florida and the West Indies and that the best course to pur- sue would be the purchase of beef on the block or beef on the hoof. He told these gentlemen that the parties who de- sired to furnish the fresh beef had process which they said would enable them to deliver meat which would keep sound and fresh for seventy-two hours | after delivery from the refrigerator. The | day after the bids were opened, attor- neys in Washington addressed com muncation to the secretary of war; | making the argument that notwith- | standing their clients bid somewhat | higher than the others, they ought to ' be awarded the contract because of their 1 ability to perform their contract by | means of the Powell process for the preservation of meat, which they con- troled, and which had been satisfac- torily tested under the auspices of the government This letter was referred by the secretary of war to the commissary general for his consideration, who re- turned it to the secretary with his en- in which he said: These tests are not the only tests which have been made leaving the plain inference { that the other bidders had also processes for the preservation of meat which had been tested.
 This letter was returned by the secre- Iary of war. Dr. Daly's testimony that he had found by chemical analysis of meat furnished the soldiers that it con- tained chemicals was in no wise con- trary. Three witnesses. Sergeant Nell son, Lieutenant Gampfer and Dr. Cas- tie. testified that the agent at Lake field, Fla. had told them that the con- : tractors had found it impossible to with their contract to deliver 'resh meat which would remain sound md sweet for seventy-two hours after delivery from the refrigerator without he means of a chemical process, which process was a secret even to him. If he court found in the face of the tes- imony that no meat delivered was treated it amounts almost o qualification" . Has there been any change in the manner of supplying troops with fresh !, neat since this criticism was first . nade?" was asked. ''Indeed, there las. Battle on the hoof are now being deiv- red in Cuba, slaughtered on the island nd delivered to the troops the next ( ay, and no complaint has been made. so-called canned roast eef was dropped as a meat ration some :, ime, I think, during last August or eptember; all of which shows that | ieneral Miles reference to the method ( f supplying the troops with meat as t n experiment was correct and that his I, pinion that beef on the block or on the oof was the only suitable fresh meat Il ation for troops was well founded. The Il reat majority of the papers and of the i: eople, including the president q know ', ais from conversation about three -eeks since with him), believe that Il eneral Miles would not make state Il lent concerning any person which he b i'd not honestly believe to be well !, 1unded General Miles has no politi- al ambition whatever, and no more Il links of being candidate for presi- h ent or any other office than I do" a Ir PrObaScO blames the secretary of q