St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-04
THE AMERICAN as. THE GERMAN
l. HOG.

Z HOG.
A Chicago organ of the pig sticking ele-
ment of that locality comments on the report
of the commission as follows:
''The report made by the commission, to ex-
anime into the condition of the swine product of
the country, was transmitted to the house by the
president on Saturday. 1t settles the question
to the commurdcabity of hog cholera to HUI
man beings, showing conclusively that
it is not in meat packed for
food It further shows that no well
authenticated case of trichiniosis has arisen in
Europe from the use of American packed swine
product. The time of the slaughter of the ami
NAL and the consumption of the prepared flesh
abroad, together with the processes OF packing
diminishes If it does not effectually destroy the
vitality of the trichinae, and renders the liability
of their development minimum. The investi-
CATION Of the commission have developed the fact
that all the cases reported in Germany were
directly traceable to the consumption of freshly
ly killed native hogs and furthermore that the
virulence of the cases diminishes with the lapse
of time between the killing and eating"
1t is great pity that this important prob
lem cannot be treated other than from pet
tifogger's standpoint. How far, for instance,
did this commission reach for this conclu-
sion? Has it been to Germany for the pur-
pose of making Investigations How does it
know that all the cases of trichiniosis in Ger
many were caused by the eating of freshly
killed native hogs?" Is it to be supposed
that any intelligent person will accept such
conclusions as final? Another curious thing
is the statement that the time between the
bearing on the Transmission of the trichine
and that owing TO the length of this
time there is no likelihood of
infection from diseased American
pork when consumed in Germany. 1t is not
very long since there were deaths from tri-
chiniosis not only in Chicago but in two or
three other portions of Illinois. Without the
slightest hesitation and with complete unan-
unity and without investigation the news
papers of that state announced that the dis
ease was communicated from sausages i'm
ported from Germany. 1t thus appears that
while certain lapse of time
will destroy the worms in an
American hog, the effect of time on German
pork is to give the parasites an increased
strength and longer lease of life. This
won't do. If a commission is to have any
weight it must be mixed one, composed of
both the parties to the dispute. 1t cannot
attract any respect nor reach any convincing
conclusions when composed of partisans and
when appointed for the apparent pur-
pose of establishing conclusions
already formed This is especially
apt to be the case when the report OF such a
commission is directly in contravention of
known facts and is Enthusiastically presented to
establish the interests of one OF the parties
presenting an issue as to the facts.
If there is disposition to elevate this in
terminable and vexatious hog difficulty from
stupid farce to something worthy the
people of Germany and those of this
country, let US invite Germany
to send over some experts to
join with an eqnal number from this country
and then there will be probability that the
whole truth may be reached. If this cannot
be done let the federal government organize
corps of inspectors to see that pork is
healthy and fit for expectation. Another
thing which would have a good effect in this
matter would be for the reputable hog dealers
to unite and purge the profession of the
many scalawags to whose knayishness is
largely due the disrepute into which Amer
lean meat products have fallen in the esti-
mate of European consumers.