The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-25
PURE LARD CAN'T BE HAD
DISEASED AND DEAD HOGS USED
BY MANUFACTURERS.

- w lCueSS before GA6 1OuSo COIuhlL-
tee on Agriculture Who Retired
From the Packing Business Because
it Became so Corrupt-Cotton Seed
Oil and Stearine Purify the Original
Article.
WAsHINGroN, March 24-The House
Committee on Agriculture resumed the
hearing on the lard question to-day. Will
ham G. Bartle, of St. Louis, testified that
he had been in the pork packing business
for forty years and had also been engaged
in shipping cattle to the East. He had re-
Gently been in Kansas City and examined
the stock yards and packing houses there.
At Jacob Dale q Sons he had found them
slaughtering a great many diseased hogs.
Most of them were suffering from what is
known as cholera. One firm told
him that but little white grease
was made now, and also that his foreman
had recently bought 1900 smothered hogs,
which were put into tanks and went into
prime steam lard The witness said he re-
gardad the attack on the manufacturers OF
refined lard as unjust and unwarranted.
SHOULD BEGIN AT THE ROOT.
He thought that the investigation ought
to begin at the root of the matter, and show
from what truck the refner was compelled
to make his refined lard, owing to the prev
alence of disease among the hogs at the
stock yards He could, as pork packer
and experienced farmer, verify all the
statements he had heard about the manu-
facture of prime steam lard. He had only
gore out of business because he could not
pursue his business any longer and deal
honestly The tricks of the trade
had become so corrupt during the
past few years that even in his
order trade with the South he could not
compete with small dealers of his own city.
On cross-examination, the witness said that
when he was in business he necessarily
packed cholera hogs, because they were
mixed in with other hogs. 1t was very diff
cult for man in purchasing 1000 or 5000
hogs to detect cholera hogs.
FULL OF DISEASE.
The stock yards were filed with cholera
hogs to-day. He had cut hogs into hams,
etc, knowing them to be diseased, Just as
every other packer did. Everything that
affected hogs was called cholera The meat
of a cholera hog was not, in his Judgment,
poisonous. If the meat of cattle suffering
from Texas fever was poisonous half the
people in ST. Louis would have been dead
long ago One of the crying evils
of the time was the shipping of
diseased hogs and pregnant sows to, market
by the farmer He had tried to stop this
and had been Instrumental in framing
bill for introduction into the Missouri Leg
islature imposing penalty upon any
farmer shipping that character OF swine.
The bill was not introduced because Chicago
would not ask for a similar law, and if
Chicago would not join with st. Louis upon
the question the current of trade would De
turned to Chicago and st. Louis would be
given the cold shoulder. He was in favor
Of law which would prevent a packer
from using cholera hogs.
WHY HE CAME ON.
He said that the suggestion that he should
come here came originally from Mr.. Bur
nett, of Fairbanks 81 Co, whom he had
met accidentally, and TO when he had said
that there was more filth in prime steam
lard than in anything else, and that moth
ing a refner could do to it would purify
it.
In response to a question from Mr.. VIII
son, the witness declared that man would
immortalze himself who would frame
legislation which would prevent reffnerS
and packers from acting improperly in the
manufacture of food products.
In response to question by the chair
man the witness said that out Of a carload
of sixty animals the number of boars, stays
and pregnant sows would sometimes be
none, but at times would run from five to
twenty.
ONE SECTION DEFENDED.
The chairman said that while that might
be true of the st. Louis market it was not
true of Northeast Missouri. Not one farm
er out of 100 in that section would spoil a
nice lot of hogs by putting a boar or stag
among them. He did not believe shipments
from Hannibal would average one such an
lmal IN 100 hogs.
The Chairman-Did you while you were
packing hogs in St. Louis with a large
Southern trade use cholera hogs and put
them into food product!
The Witness-I did, sir and SO does every
other packer. ....-.....
PURIFIED BY ADULTERATIoN.
In responce to Mr.. Cromwell the witness
stated that he knew of no reason why an
inspector should be appointed to inspect re-
fined lard if the cotton seed oil and stearine
used were pure. Refined lard was much
better than the steam lard from which it
was made.
In response to Mr.. Laird, the witness
said that he did not think that farmer
had any guilty knowledge of the use to
which his diseased hogs were put.
Carl Dreier, of Fairbanks & Co., read
synopsis of the testimony Of Mr. Fairbanks
before the Senate Committee.
NUTRITIOUS AND WHOLESOME.
Continuing he declared that refined lard
made from refined or purified hogs fat,
pure beef fat and pure cotton seed oil was a
nutritious and Wholesome food product
which he considered as good in qmality as
most Of the lard made from the fat
of the hog His firm used no other products
than these, and they were of the Lest quail
ity. The process Of manufacture was care
ful and clean. The opponents of refined
lard admitted that beef fat aud cotton n-sesd
oil were healthful. and If this were so, there
could be nothing wrong in an admixture of
those articles with hog fat
THE IEsPECToRsHIp PROPOSITION.
There would be no use in putting reve-
nue. inspector in a tank room if none were
placed in the slaughter house. The manu-
facturers OF refined lard were opposed 10
taxation unless it were made 10 cover all
fats rendered for culinary pur-
poses To injure the exporta-
ton of refined lard by legislation
which had 10 other object than the protec-
ton Of one article against another should
not he thought of, especially as the total ex-
port Of refined lard was about 80 per cent.
more than that of natural lard.
HAS STOOD THE TEST
IF any deleterious su ubstance was TO be found
in refined lard the article would have been
tabooed long ago AS long as foreign gov
ernments witnessed refined lard as an arti-