Netherlands; President Seth Low, of Columbia University; Captain William Crozier, of the United States Ordnance Department; and Captain A. T. Mahan, who is considered to be one of the foremost naval authorities in the world. Mr. Frederick Holls, a New York lawyer, will be the Secretary of our delegation.

The general feeling as to the results of the conference is that it will have no direct effect, but that indirectly it may turn the thoughts of the diplomatic world towards arbitration and encourage the settling of any troubles that may arise, by such peaceable means, rather than by the resort to arms.

Although the Czar is believed to be sincere in his desire for peace, there is a suspicion that his ministers are not so. Russia is preparing for war at the time that she is urging peace; but this may be only a precautionary measure.

It is announced that the Dutch anarchists have arranged to hold an international convention at The Hague during the sittings of the Peace Conference. They maintain that their object is to pass resolutions approving of general disarmament and the abolition of standing armies.

The bill to prevent the laying of four tracks on Amsterdam Avenue was passed by both houses of the Legislature in Albany on Friday, April 7. The vote was unanimous in both houses, and there was no debate.

The Amsterdam

Avenue, Manhattan, Bill Passed.

The people of New York are naturally jubilant

The Army Beef Inquiry

539

over this triumph, which they feel was due in a great measure to the efforts of the Governor, who, at the critical moment, took a hand in the affair, and so shaped the bill before the Legislature that it would prove acceptable to both houses.

The work of the court called to inquire into the condition of the beef supplied to our troops is likely to be finished at a very early date. The Army Beef The members of the court expect to Inquiry. close the investigation by April 15.

The results of the inquiry are as yet uncertain. A request was made by the representative of MajorGeneral Miles that additional witnesses should be called to testify concerning the poor condition of the beef. This was refused. The Committee declared that sufficient testimony had already been given.

It is true that numbers of men stated on their oath that the beef was nauseating in appearance, that it was not nourishing, that many of the men could not eat it, and that some of those whose hunger overcame their daintiness were unable to digest the food.

It has been shown that men were made ill by eating the beef, whether canned or refrigerated, and enough evidence has been brought out to show that it was entirely unfit for army rations.

Major-General Miles, whose report led to the inquiry, expressed himself as unable to understand why his complaints were met in such a hostile spirit. In his opinion it was a gross wrong to attempt to feed the troops on unwholesome food, and he con

sidered it his duty as Commanding General of the Army to expose the wrong.

General Shafter was called as a witness, and testified that he ate the canned roast beef, and that it was not unfit for food. He also declared that the refrigerated beef was good, and said that it was quite out of the question to take beef on the hoof to Cuba. Had the war been in our own country, he thought it would have been an easy matter, and the proper thing to do, but that the idea of taking live beef to Cuba was, in his opinion, preposterous.

Dr. R. L. Huidekoper, who was summoned by the court as a witness as to the fitness of the meat supplied, rather upset matters by saying that good canned beef would have been an excellent ration for the troops, but the trouble was that the beef supplied was not good. He asserted it was of varying quality, but that none of it was what he would have termed firstclass.

In regard to the statement that the beef had been chemically treated, Dr. Huidekoper, who was chief surgeon at Chickamauga, and at Ponce, said he did not pay much attention to the subject, because he had known for fifteen years that chemicals are used in preserving beef. The doctor at one time took a special course in meat inspection abroad, and holds a certificate from the French government. He is therefore perfectly familiar with the processes used, and testified that the chemicals employed were absolutely those which various analytical chemists claimed to have found in the beef.

The Mazet Inquiry

54I

Assemblyman Robert Mazet has given out a statement in reference to the work of his Committee. He said he is very much gratified with the way in which the proceed

The Mazet
Inquiry.

ings have opened, and that the information already obtained has convinced all the members of the necessity for the work.

Surprising revelations are expected concerning the operations of the political leaders in the city. It is asserted that there is no end to the dark and devious ways in which Tammany officials forced private persons to employ its henchmen.

A very favorite plan has been to send word to the owners of office buildings and apartments that a certain man must be employed as janitor or watchman. If the proprietor objected and said he preferred to choose his own employees, a notice was served on him that there was something faulty in the construction of his building, and he was put to infinite expense if he did not give in and accept the person suggested by Tammany.

The Committee declared that it had information laid before it which absolutely verified the accuracy of these statements. If this is so, there is truly a crying need for the investigation.

The State Department officials have been watching affairs in Jamaica with a great deal of interest, for it is stated on excellent authority that the United States would be very glad to trade her Philippine pos

The Crisis in
Jamaica.

sessions for the British West Indies. During the last few days matters in Jamaica assumed such a serious aspect that it seemed as if something radical would have to be done.

The Governor, Sir Augustus Hemming, persisted in trying to force the objectionable tariff bill through the council, but the representatives absolutely refused to give their consent. As the government had not a sufficient number of votes to carry the measure over the heads of the people, the Governor availed himself of his privilege to increase the privy council when necessary. He therefore added sufficient members to give the government a majority, and forced the bill on the people without their consent.

The representatives then entered a unanimous protest, and for a short while it was feared that an outbreak would occur, and that the people would demand annexation to the United States.

The representatives, however, contented themselves with passing a vote of censure on the officers of the government, and adopting a resolution demanding their removal. The demand included a request for the removal of the Governor.

Mass meetings were held throughout the parishes into which the island is divided, and Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the Governor were burned in effigy.

Mr. Chamberlain, when interviewed in London on the subject, said he did not regard the demand for annexation seriously. He thought the Jamaicans were only using it as a threat to compel the home government to forbid the importation of bounty-fed