The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-03-21
Prom the Chicago Republican.
The Trichlna Imposition.


The latest fraud practised upon public
credulity affects seriously the interests Of
the agricultural community. We mean the
atrocious triehina story, by which more
than one half Of the American people have
been frightened into the abandonment of
one of their accustomed elements Of sub
sistence. Pork, as an article Of food, is to-
day in the United States IS much avoided
as ever was strong drink by faithful Mus
sulmans. The public have been RECALLED
with elaborate articles, showing beyond all
question the fatal effect upon human life Of
introducing into the stomach any portion Of
pork, no matter how in6nitesimal, which
contains one trichina and the manufac-
turers Of microscopes have had their instru-
ments advertised, under the pretext Of in
forming the public how they might discover
the presence Of the fearful creatures that
are supposed to be literally feeding on their
vitals.
The enormity of this hoax may best be
understood when it is known that not one
authenticated case Of presence Of trichinm
in pork in the United States has yet been
produced. The whole story is . fabrica-
ton, made out Of whole cloth, originating
and encouraged by spectators, who, to
escape losses, present or prospective, have
not hesitated to spread alarm among the
whole people, and cause serious loss to the
growers and packers of pork.
few facts are worth whole volumes Of
theory. The actual existence Of trichinn in
pork is confined to very small district in
the Hartz mountains in Germany, and that
fact alone demonstrates that they are the
result Of some local cause. It is also known
Hh~A q - - - 80 ~ .
the people Of that district who eat the pork
raw and uncured. It is also demonstrable
that the presence Of trichina in the pork is
disease affecting the general health Of the
animal, and that It is rs Impossible 10 cnre
and preserve diseased pork as it is to cure
and preserve FISH that has begun to decay.
No effort of science or Of human ingenuity
can cure any pork that is diseased by the
presence Of trichine, or otherwise, before
killing. These are well established facts,
sustained by universal experience and by
every possible test. Consequently, any
pork that has been cured, and will pass an
ordinary inspection by an intelligent person,
may be relied upon Is having been free
from disease, whether from trichine or
other causes, before killing. Pork cannot
be cured by any known means whereby, If
it contain trichine or be otherwise diseased,
that disease may not be easily and readily
detected and therefore there is no more
danger Of eating pork containing trichine
than there is Of eating pork or any other
animal food diseased in any other way.
Trichinm in pork, in the districts where
the fact is nscertained, are attributed to the
food upon which the hogs are reared. Corn
is too valuable in those districts, and pork
too cheap, to justify the growth of the
former to fatten the latter. The swine are
therefore left to fatten themselves upon
what they can get; and no matter how UNI
pleasant the thought may be, it is neverthe-
less true, that the peculiar flavor which has
made the hams Of Westphalia SO celebrated,
is due to the number and the character of
the snakes upon which the hogs are fed and
fattened. Nature seems to have supplied
that district with the particular kind Of
snake upon which pork-growers may fatteu
hogs with q flavor that has attracted the
taste of epicures the world over.
The pork of the United States, however
is not affected by any such causes. It i.
universally fed and fattened upon corn
The hogs are not driven to feed upon snakes
or vermin; they are raised to be sold as
pork, and for that purpose corn is the
cheapest, as it is the best and most rapid
food for purposes Of fattening. The pork
Of the United States has, during tho last few
years, been more generally than ever used
as food, particularly by the millions Of sol
diers on both sides during the war, and not
one case has ever been reported Of any per.
son being injured or affected by the pre-
| sence Of any disease in the cured pork. L
| is possible that some unprincipled dealer il
fresh meat may serve out to his unsuspect
ing customers pork that is unfit to be eaten
but that might happen as well in beef, NUT
ton, venison, poultry, or even in vegetables
as in pork; but in no event could such q
case occur in pork cured aud packed, be-
cause, as We have seen, diseased pork can
not be cured by any process. When in that
state it rejects the penetrating and preserv-
ing properties and operations Of the brine.
If any other reason were needed to DEM
onstrate the total absence Of trichine in the
pork packed in Chicago aud throughout the
Union, it is to be found in the fact that al.
most every portion of the hogs killed, and
not used in packing, has already been con-
sumed in the shape Of pigs feet, tenderloins,
and other parts, eaten fresh by the people
and yet not one instance has come to light
wherein any human being has in any wise
been injured by the food. Had there been
trichin@ in the hogs killed in the United
States during this or any previous season,
the injurious effects would have been mani
tested in some at least of the millions Of in
stances where portions of those same ami
mails have been eaten without previous
curing.
No reasonable man, no honest journalist,
and no one but wilful trafiicker in human
fears, will, in view Of these irrefutable facts,
any longer countenance or encourage hoax
which has already done great injury to one
of the leading productive interests of the
country, and is calculated to do still more