Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-01-08
REFRIGERATED MEAT GOOD.
Commissnry of Subsistence John d.
Hack TestiAes Before the War
investigating Committee.

COmmissnry of Subsistence John d..
Hack Teatines Before the War
investigating Committee.
WASHINGTON, Jan. major John D..
Black, commissary of subsistence in the Of
flee of the commanding general, testified
before the war investigating commission
that the general character of the commits
sary supplies was good. He said that the
Massachusetts ttransportt arrived with
troops and fresh meat. but she grounded
and discharged her troops, proceeding with
all the fresh meat to General Brooke S
further up the coast.
On August 10 the Manitoba arrived with
1,s55 quarters of beef, which. he said. was
preserved by some chemical process.
This Immediately drew a volley of ques-
tons from the commission, which resulted
in an explanation from the witness that the
chemicals were ammonia. used In the re-
frigerator plants to keep meat cool
That Is all right, said ex-GoVerhor
Woodbury..
ing. plant and not in the meat replied
The Manitoba was towed out into deep
water, having previously grounded on the
same reef as the Massachusetts,. A large
force of stewards was put aboard to clean
her up: Here she remained until the 24th.
when he was watered and some more
provisions put aboard her, and She was
sent TO Arecibo to supply General Carr.
son S M Witness Qlu not see the
beef aboard the Manitoba, and did not
know anything about its quality except a
very small amount landed a: Ponce for the
jorify were spotted and discoiored."
What sort of spots asked Coionei
DENLY.
Dark. muddy spots"
Did these spots affect the quality of the
beef?"
II was informed hey did not"
You delivered this TO the sick. You
would not have done this If you had
thought 1t was spoiled!
ne doctors made no objection to feed
ing this beef to the sick?"
Il heard none"
self?'
No. sir: l ate the native beef"
Governor Woodbury. asked: Did you.
while in the island. see or hear of any beer
that was treated with chemicals to pre-
serve it?n
Il heard of none: but 1 have had no ex-
perience with chemically treated meat. and
] do not know that my opinion would be of
any value"
Tell. me. major" said Colonel DENLY,
how long you cave been in the commits
Since the sth of last June"
What were your duties before that
Il was a farmer replied the witness.
OF raising beef han of preserving it"
OF the timed beef. $4,000 pounds were is
sued. Witness tasted it only once. He was
uiifty dLu ~ vi "Vh. II diu
not look well. and there were numerous
complaints of bad canned beef. and in these
cases the bad cans were replaced. Later.
he said that he had received no complaints
personally, but whatever reports were made
were made to the depot commissary. Cap
tain Pomeroy. All he knew of these reports
Captain Pomeroy. He did not know that
any regular reports were made even to
Captain Pomeroy.. but understood that
there was a general verbal complaint as to
the timed beef. Witness then read a re-
port he had made to General Miles. after
their return to New York. 1t was based
said. in part. that some of the hospital
surgeons had refused to accept the refrig-
orator beef. on the ground of Its appear
member the name. had ordered some of 1t
buried.
of General Miles to Porto Rico many of the
captains Of the vessels reported they had
no knowledge of what they had aboard. He
referred to a delay in landing supplies Of
Concho and said General Brooke had stated
to Surgeon Greenleaf that he had sick men
lying on the ground with no supplies avail
able.
1t was stated at the commission to-day
that II had been decided to allow General
Eagan to retestify, as he had requested to
be permitted TO meet the beef charges. He
is expected to appear again early next
week.
The commissary general has received a
letter from F. B. Thurber. of New York,
| president of the American Export Associa-
| ton. volunteering to appear before the war
investigating commission or any other body
| of the war department to testify to the
high character of American export meats,
especially the canned or corned beef which
| his several firms. he says. have sold hun
dreds of thousands of cases in the past
thirty years to this government and to
tropical and Arctic expeditions. He says a
serious injury has been done our export
trade in unjustly discrediting our own
| meats. He also suggests the names of Cen
| eral John P. Hawkins. ex-commissary gem
eral OF subsistence and General A. w.
| Greedy as witnesses whose practical ex-
! perience should be valuable to the COM
mission.
In view of the recent statements re-
garding the nutritive value of American
canned meats. tending 10 inJure foreign
and domestic trade in these goods. Secre,
tary Wilson has called for and received
| from the director of the Office of expert
ment stations a statement of the conciu-
| This statement says the high nutritive
value of American canned meats has been
| established repeatedly by thorough and
impartial tests conducted by scientific ex-
perts. 1t quotes a Communication to the
| department from DR.. w. Q. .Atwater. pro-
lessor of chemistry at Wesleyan univers-
ity. Middletown. Conn.,. and a well known
They are really cooked meats Invested
of the inedible portions. bone, gristle. etc;
found in fresh meats; In the cooking and
ing rather than roasting. water is expelled.
| hut the amount of nutritive matter removed
very small. Pound for pound, the canned
meat has a higher nutritive value than
the fresh meat"
The statement says cans imperfectly han
died in process are easily detected and
their average is only one-fourth of per
cent.
I'm the great stock yards in Chicago,
Kansas City and elsewhere. where nearly
ali of the canned meat is put Up. all the
meat is inspected on the hoof and at the
time of Strengthening by government ex-
perts who are on the ground all the time
| and without whose examination not an
animal is killed and no shipment of meat
can be made without violation of govern