The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-31
MERELY A SANITARY MEASURE.
Has No Political Significance Behind


Washington, Oct 30.-The announce
ment by the Associated Press that the
embargo placed upon American cattle
by the Senate of Hamburg had been
extended to the length of an exclusion
of American cattle and dressed meat
from every part of Germany, was re-
ceived with surprise by department Of
ficiaIs today. That the Texas fever was
merely a. ground which Germany could
adopt for enforcing retaliatory meas
ures against the United States because
of the supposed discrimination against
German interests in the sugar schedule
Of the tariff bill was the prevalent I'M
preston.
The German ambassador, however,
assured the secretary of state yester-
day that the measure of exclusion was
inspired solely by sanitary reasons,
and had no political motive behind it.
His Views Accepted.
Government officials are obliged to
take this view of the case, since any
other view might seem "a reflection up
on the ambassador.
Secretary Morton, who has just re-
turned from a trip abroad, nad con-
sultation with Secretary Gresham
about the matter today, but the strin-
gent measures just adopted were not
known. He assured Secretary Gresham
that the expectation of Texas fever
into Germany by American cattle was
altogether improbable, if not impossl-
BILE, according to the opinion of the
experts of the department, who have
devoted much time to investigating the
disease during the past year, and said
he was confident the supposed discov-
cry of Texas fever was a mistake.
When the Associated Press dispatch
from Berlin was shown to the secretary
of agriculture he expressed surprise.
Exclusion of dressed meats he was at
loss to understand, because they are
all inspected by competent government
officials in this country before they are
shipped. Texas fever, moreover, can
be carried only by live cattle. The live
cattle exported from this country are
also inspected at the ports Of shipment
to see that they are not diseased.
Secretary Morton said he had no
doubt that the German officials intend
ed to act in the interests of the public
health in excluding American cattle,
as the sanitary regulations of that
country are unusually stringent upon
all such matters. The secretary thinks
the damage to be inflicted upon Amer
lean interests by this action is greatly
over-estimated, as our exports of meat
to Germany are compare lively light.
From his observations on his recent
trip, Secretary Morton is convinced the
exporting of live cattle cannot be made
to pay as well as shipping dressed
meats. The establishment of increased
facilities for shipping meats in cold
storage, he thinks, will greatly in
crease the American business.
There is No Danger.
DR.. B. E. Salmon, chief of the bureau
OF animal industry, said:
Admitting for the sake of argument
that the cattle which are killed in
Germany are inflicted with the Texas
fever, there is no longer danger to the
German cattle. because in this country
cattle with this disease do not COM
municate it to other animals The dis
ease is not communicated directly from
one animal to another, but animals
from a certain district in the southern
part of the United States are liable to
infect pastures and pens in which they
have to be placed within thirty days
from the time they leave this district.
The animals of which contract the dis
ease obtain the infection from these
pens and pastures, not directly from
other cattle. The cattle which are sick
do not infect the grounds or pens and
consequently are not dangerous to other
animals. This has been proved DIV
many years of experience in the United
States. The conveyance of Texas fever
in dressed meat is impossible The
animals thus diseased do not fall sick
at all themselves. They simply carry
the ticks. The ticks drop off and lay
their eggs and die. Those eggs must lie
on the ground a certain length of time
before they hatch. Then the young
lie there a certain length of time before
they get on the cattle, and another
length of time elapses before they pro
duce the disease.