National Republican., 1883-08-20
American Pork md Cattle.

Tho efforts of the German empire to pre-
vent the importation of American pork and
that of the British government directed
against the importation Of American cattle
arc both in the interest of home dealers
American pork is better pork than the Ger.
man, and can be sold in Germany at price
which cuts the profits of German dealers
Trichina is no more prevalent in American
pork than in any other. Herr Bismarck and
other Teutons cat their meat raw. Cooked
in proper heat trichina is impossible; but
Herr Bismarck only seeks an excuse to help
\ that portion of the German people who arc
engaged in tho pork trade, and he no doubt
thinks he has found it, The American peo-
pie in the last twenty-five years have
made great advances in cattle raising. Some
of the largest hcrdors in England have found
il profitable to purchase breeders in this
country. In the way of beef cattle we lead
tho world and our expectations of good,
cheap beef to the British islands have alarmed
the dealers there, who have heretofore held
the monopoly, and they make haste to declare
that the American cattle are diseased and
that steps should bo taken to prevent their
importation to Great Britain, and have sue
ceedod in cnlisting the aid of parliam ent.
The United States treasury cattle commission
has made report on the charge that cattle
were shipped from this country 10 England
infected with foot and mouth disease Here
is part of that report:
After n most extended and almost exhaustive
inquiry your commission have been able to find
no trace of the foot and mouth disease apart from
the herds just landed from Great Britain, and
whole herds have been in every case segregated
until the infection entirely disappeared. The ma.
ture and scope Of our inquiry may be deducted
from our report for 1881. Beginning with the
great rendezvous Of cattle ut Kansas City, Council
Bluff, aud omaha, we have made careful inves-
tigaioHs among all lines of the cattle traffic far
as the eastern sauboard In this investigation we
have included all the great stock yards where cat
tie are detained for feeding, watering sale, DC; all
the great feeding stables connected with distil-
lerics and starch glucose, and other factories all
city dairies where stock yards exist, and where
herds are rGplcnished from such stock yards, and
to large eXtcnt the great dairying districts
into which COWS are drawn from the
above named stock yards aud lines OF
travel. Up to the present date We have made OBJ
seyations in stock yards at the seaboard terminal
end of the cattle traffic, aud that to which all in
feCtion must gravitate, but apart from the im-
ported cases above referred to we have been un-
able to find single case of the foot and mouth
disease complained Of
The steamship NIessmore in March, 1883, landed
in Baltimore herd of Channel Island cattle suf-
tering from foot and mouth disease. These were
secluded by the Pennsylvania authorities, and no
evil consequences 10 our home herds can be
traced. But the Messmore, after attempted disin-
fection by agents, shipped a cargo of American
fat cattle, and these, on arrival in England, were
found to be suffering from foot and mouth disease.
This infection, unquestionably contracted on
board ship, appears TO be the main, If not the sole
occasion Of the recent questions and resolution in
the British parliament. That the infection was
not derived from American herds, but from Eng
lish, is beyond all dispute.
All of which shows that so far from diseased
cattle being shipped from tho United States
to Great Britain, that tho latter country
shipped diseased cattle to us, and is, there.
fore, fairly chargeablo with all the conse,
quences. John Bull and Herr Bismarck must
try again,