St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-01
PITERNAL GOTERN-MENT AND PLEU-
RO- PINE 4 MONA.

The house has passed the pleuro-pneu-
monia bill whose main purpose is the ex-
tnction of the disease and protection of
foreign and domestic consumers against the
use of diseased beef. This attempt to secure
a national supervision of this class of pro-
duct is one which excites even already good
deal of opposition. Those who believe
in the doctrines OF state rights are
very much of the opinion that
federal inspection of cattle is another long
step toward Capitalization, which may end
in some kind of a monarchy if not indeed
in permanent absolutism. This may be
possible outcome of move to prevent the
existence and importation of diseased cattle,
but there is a chance that in view of the ex-
tent the evil and benefits which bettered
inspection would establish, the country
would be gamer, even if states should lose
portion of their power.
1t is to be said in favor of the matter at is
sue being taken up by the federal authorities
that otherwise it will not be taken up at ALL
A state here and there might be induced to
provide sanitary arrangements for the care
of United States cattle and protection of the
public against knavish dealers, but such is not
the fact with the majority. The public then
has choice of two evils, either to permit the
federal government to assume q little more
power, or run the risk of being poisoned by
diseased beef. Of the two the former is
more frightful in theory, the latter more ter
rible in practice. Of course there is grand
rebellion against any such measure in the
stock yards of Chicago. With but
two exceptions cattle dealers of
that locality oppose the movement for federal
supervision. They oppose it on the ground
that it is usurpation of power by the central
government; they oppose it because it would
create large number of new and important
officials but they mainly oppose it on the
ground, as they assert. that there is no
pleuro-pneumonia in this country and never
has been, unless in the east and among cattle
which have been imported from abroad.
They ask that if there be any federal regula-
ton, it shall be limited to cattle coming into
the country and not applied to those which
are going out.
These might be regarded as excellent
reasons against the proposed law were it not
that the reputation of the Chicago stock yards
and their appurtenances is not above sus-
picion.
very painful impression remains on the
mind of the public from the revelations con-
| corning the manufacture of lard, which were
made in the Fowler McGeoch case. Falsus
| in uno, falsus in omnibus. If not immacu-
late in lard it is possible that the great array
OF hog and cattle dealers may not be above
suspicion in beef. The whole country will
perhaps see, with a sigh of regret, the
power OF the people slowly absorbed
by that monster, federal authority,
but they can derive some little satisfaction in
| this instance, at least from the reflection that
what the public viii lose in power it will gain
| in purity of its beef. It is unromantic and
doubtless unpatriotic to thus allow the
stomach to outweigh lofty moral and politi-
cal considerations, and we may reflect with
bowed heads and Inundated hearts that John
Sobieski, William Tell, Patrick Henry,
VIM. Wallace and other standard patriots
would never have consented to barter
sacred right for the interest of their bellies.
Its base thing to do but we have done
something like it before. We allow the gov
eminent to usurp the right of every Amer-
can citizen to carry his own mail. We have
conceded to this same government
the sacred right of each citizen
to declare war and make treaties
with other people. We have deprived the
people of their sacred right to inspect steam
boat boilers, to collect the duties on imports
and all this sort of thing
Having gone thus far would the people be
very much worse off as freemen if they
should allow this centralism to provide that
they are not fed on diseased meat and that
foreign nations are not imposed on by trichin-
Gus American hogs and cattle with
damaged lungs. And finally we might take
into consideration, to be freemanidoes not