Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-01
REEF OBJECT LESSON.
,r Is SET BEFORE ENLISTED MEN
WHO TESTIFIED MONDAY
IT DOESN'T ALTER The VERDICT.
49,, s,v n Isn't nj Al u Fair sample
~ Meat They Had 10 Eat In Cubn-
Lieutenant Insists That Cam
.ts, Hccf was Jnft TO- Food.

,so court. and served to the non-com-
,r.ssioned men who testified at yester-
avs hearing. The court had prepared
...rt plates Of beef-fresh beef. canned
Doc. that had been 10 Cuba and back.
.. aimed beef fresh from the factory.
rr plates were prepared hot, I'm a stew.
,-. .0ur cold, as they came from the
csa ,ae fresh beef being boiled to make
r resemble the others. The enlisted men
rs-s ordered to sample each and say
vl p was The sort they had had in Cuba.
D.. vss trying ordeal for the men. most
O. tfcm declaring that none OF the plates
looked anything like what they had eaten
g. cuba. BY repeated assurance that
'H.re was campaign beef in two Of the
Plates. and after being urged that they
should at least choose 90 the best 81
their belief" the court succeeded In get
t.g an expression OF opinion from each
81 the men.
Au army surgeon. DR.. BOwden. Kept
tally on the giessos OF the men, ana
changed the positions OF the plates after
each witness had left the room Inc re"
suit OF this record was not made public,
however. and Will be reserved till Dr.
Bowden testifes. probably some Tine TINS
week.
BEEF UNFIT FOR FOOD.
The most interesting witness Of the
CAV was Lieutenant Ramsey. Ninth In
far-rv. who had served as cOmmissary
e.. subsistence az BaiQuiri. and character
i-sl the canned roast beef as an 'un-
t...--hle and unlnviting grade Of inferior
me,t" which he would not willingly feed
.. enc man sick or well
Lieutenant Ramsey. In reply 20 Colonel
Gillespie. said that II would have been
osrftctlv feasible to land live cattle at
Rsr"ocl on the wharf. hut it would not
tsva been practicable TO land them be-
s0-s us capture OF the city.
colonel Davis then had "a can Of beef
0..-et nd asked the witness 70 inspect
e. saying that Il had come back from
c.l. Lieutenant Ramsey smelled 1t.
r.eI &c. and pulled some OF IT apart.
saving that 81 was decidedly better beef
-Har any he had seen In Cuba. 1t was
more Ike that he had handled at bar
,acks but he sim did not feel like recon-
re-llre it as good thing with which
Oh feed soldiers.
Witness said he had seen a great many
cans Of beef rejected among a hNe-cdr lol
~ Tann9. The cans had burst. and the
stencil IN the cars was terrific me con-
tractors replaced the spoiled cans IN inns
Instance but there was the same stench
from more defective cans when the car
goes were broken out in cuba.
In quality. the beef on the mississippi
and port Victor. which witness personally
fr-rected. was Of better grade than that
usually found at army posts. lie sald ne
did receive a number Of complaints OF the
lcors spelling before IL reached some or
the camps.
Afterward witness reioined his regiment.
and saw something OF the oiher SIDE or
,he beef problem in the camp mess When
outside Of Santiago about half OF the
meat was lost by trimming on the tainted
parts.
CHEMICAL TREATMENT.
The witness was asked 81 he had any
reason 20 believe that any OF the meat
ISSUED iu Cuba had been chemically
treated
comfy as a matter of general know
ledge ne replied.
"What do you mean by that| said the
recorder
well. ! have been informed by butch
ers and others, and have generally un-
lcrstood. that # is the practice Of the
,arge packing houses 10 treat the exterior
NJ the meat chemically with prepara-
ION which will coagulate the albumen
som 20 trim off the outer surface Of the
meat always before 81 Is used"
Asked by General Davis as TO his per-
.1ual experience with canned roast beef.
witness said he had used II only once at
Ts'Quin. He considered it "of unpalata-
he and inferior quality of badly boiled
beef
General Davis pursued this line Of in
curry. Witness said he had seen canned
roast beef frequently in his own post can
teen. and I'm a mess of which he had been
u charge.
was 10 the same i'm the canteen as You
had in Cuba?" asked General Davis.
The outside Of the package was the
same. but not the inside. The beef we
liI AZ the canteen at Madison Barracks
uas quite popular for picnics ana the
Ike It.Was a beef that could be sliced
Down. 10 was good and palatable. That
which / saw in cuba was evidently from
She chucks and necks. l don't think In
tle cans l saw there was single piece
that would weigh an ounce"
MEAT RESPONSIBLE FOR SICKNESS.
colonel Gillespie questioned the witness
with some asperity when be ventured the
opinion that the meat was unit for sick
men to use but witness replied firmly
that he cons dered it unfit for food for
men. either sick or well. He considered
st responsible ia considerable part for the
sickness and stomach troubles among the
inca IIe had il frequently on his table.
but never tasted ii but once. Neither did
his sergeant eat II more than few
times.
Lieutenant Colonel A. l.. Smith chief
C.mmissary at Habana, testified in some
Cetal as % the purchasing arrangements
ut Tao Commissary Department when the
Wtr broke out and Of the proportion
agreed on as between bacon and canned
meats .n the ration. Ii was finally de-
D4.l '8 make the ration half bacon and
l.l cUued meat. roast beef predomi-
Mating over canned coTned-beef, because
faar- t.s more 10 be had in the market.
c.o. smith did not go TO Cuba with
ihe ct tier expedition 10 Santiago. but
S.H great deal Of the loading at Tampa.
iie bad seen two cars Of ArmouTs canned
meat rejected because Of the stencil aris-
ing from the cars. The contractor
i.. asked leave 10 90 over the cars and
remove the defective cans. This was
.o.- so hc understood, and the cars were
si'erward accepted. lie opened some of
these cans after they had been accepted.
he contents were softer than that in
tie average can he had seen. but he
should say better than some he had seen
Ia Porto Rico and Habana
REFRIGERATED BEEF GENERALLY
GOOD.
Naen stationed in Porto Rico witness
landed considerable refrigerated beef
Ii. troops seemed to be divided in opinion
IS 20 tho value OF the refrigerated meat
some regiments took IL and some refused
lf Hart ~ fha fpeat tVaa logt go,