Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
ALGER ON ARMY BEEF
FORMER SECRETARY, OF WAR RE-
VIEWS OLD SUBJECT.
Article in North American Review De-
Tending His Position In
the Matter.

The North American Review in it's next
issue will contain an article on 1.-The Food
of the Army During the Spanish War by
former Secretary of WaraRussell A. Alger.
The article says in part.
1.-THE commission appointed by the Pres
ident at my request to investigate the
conduct of the War Department in the
war with Spain, commonly known as the
war investigation or the Dodge commits
sion, met on the oath day of September,
1898. On the 21st day of December the
major general commanding the army of
the United States appeared before the
commission. then sitting in Washington,
and made his statements with respect to
the canned fresh and refrigerated beef
furnished to the army during the war.
Gen. Miles refused to be sworn or af-
f1rmed, as every other of the 495 witnesses
had been, declaring, in substance, that he
would make his statement without being
sworn, and was responsible for what he
said
although the commission had been sit
ting nearly three months, the charges
with respect to canned and refrigerated
beef were now made for the first time.
and, stranger and more ineXcuSable and
more unsoldierly STILL during all those
months, with this pretended knowledge Of
facts, which, if they existed, should have
DeeH Hdue Known 10 the secretary OF war
for the protection of the army, Gen. Miles
never mentioned the subject. Nor did l
ever hear a rumOr Of chemically treated
beef being purchased for the army until
the generals testimony was given before
the commission"
Gen. Alger then goes over the testimony
given by Gen. Miles before the commits
sion and says:
Upon Commissary General Charles p.
Eagan the charges fell with the sudden
ness and sharpness of a blow from an as
sassin's knife out of the dark Gen.
Eagan had been an officer of the regular
army for thirty-six years. He had risen
from a second lieutenancy to the highest
rank in the commissary department to
which his ambition could aspire Gallant
and fearless on the battlefeds of the
civil war, and the hostile Indian plains of
the west, he had a record for suldierly
qualities of which any officer might well
be proud. With energy. honesty and zaal
he had administered his department dur
ing the war with Spain, a fitting climax
to a long and honorable career in the
service of his country
Regarding the specific charges, Gen. AL
ger says:
IF General Miles did not look into the
question of food for the Santiago expedI
ton, he was as cupable though he had
failed to inspect all ether important mat
tiers. There was no shortage in vegetables.
The unexpected delay of eight days on the
transports off Tampa, resulting from the
fright of the ghost fleet, prolonged the
of the canned beef on the transports
and intensified the dislike for it, which
was created by improper cooking facili-
ties and lack of accessibility to the vege-
tables.
Besides finding that canned fresh beef
was unsuitable when not cooked with veg
etables, the court of inquiry also express
ed the opinion that the purchase Of 1900,
600 rations by the commissary general.
during the first two months of the war
with Spain, was colossal error for
which there is no palliation. This of
course, is a question for judgment as be-
tween the court Of inquiry and Gen.
Eagan. +--.
Fresh canned beef was preferred over
corned canned beef, because of the fact
that the salt in the latter produced thirst
"a decided objection in a tropical coun-
try but the timed beef should have been
used only when cooked with vegetables
and properly seasoned. In this statement
lies the secret of the source of complaint
against canned fresh beef. The only fault
found with the ration. was that 1t was I'M
palatable when served without additional
cooking and without vegetables and condi-
ments. The ration was not used to any
great extent in the camps in the United
States, but only the transports to Cuba
by part of Skaters army the trenches,
where objection to it's could also be
raised on account of the inability to cook
and serve it suitably. A few issues were
also made in Porto Rico And yet, de-
spite the improper preparation of the food,
owing to unavoidable circumS tanceS re
sulting from military necessity, no COM
plants of it's unpalatability reached the
War Department"