Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-10-31
is A LOCAL ISSUE.
That Prohibition Of Our Beef
Products in Germany.
A BERLIN DISPATCH THAT EXPLAINS

A BERLIN DISPATCH THAT EXPLAINS
But Leaves the Matter i'm . More D3micuit
Situation Than Before-The Prohibition
Not Imperial. but Only . Local Police
acknowledgements by DE-. Salmon
Report on Education in the United States
Rewards for Brigands.
WASHINGTON, Oct 3l.-The following
telegram was q source of considerable in
partInents:
berlin, Oct. 3l.-Regartling the prohi-
bition by certain German ports of the i'm
port of American meats and cattle--which
has now been extended to every port in
the empire-interviews with the officials
of the interior department of the Prussian
husbandry department and the German
foreign Office would seem to show that it
is of a preventive nature and the action of
individual German states. The foreign
Office officials, for instance, state that the
prohibition is no affair of theirs, as the
measures adopted are purely administra-
tive and sanitary, and that they strictly
belong to each German state. The en-
pire, rs such, these officials add, has not
taken any steps to prohibit the landing of
American cattle or American meat
Omcials Were Much Surprised.
The announcement 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 port of Ger
many was received with surprise by de-
partmcnt officials. That Texas fever was
merely ground which Germany could
adopt for enforcing retaliatory measures
against the United States because of the
discrimination against German interests
in the sugar schedule of the tariff bill was
the prevalent impression. The German
ambassador, however, assured the secre-
tary of state that the measure of exclusion
was inspired solely by sanitary reasons
and had no political motive behind it.
Government officials are Obliged to take
this view of the case, since any other view
might seem reflection upon the am
bassador.
Morton COnsults with Gresham.
Secretary Morton, who has just returned
to the city from a trip abroad, had con-
sultation with Secretary Gresham about
just adopted We're known. He assured
Secretary Gresham that the expectation
of Texas fever into Germany by Amer
lean cattle was altogether improbable, if
not impossible, according to the opinions
CT the experts of the departments, who
have devoted much time t. investigating
the disease during the past year, and said
he was confident that the supposed dis
covcry of Texas fever was a mistake.
When the Associated Press dispatch from
Berlin was shown to the secretary of
agriculture he expressed surprise. Elk
clusion of dressed meats he was Mt a loss
to understand, because they are all in
spected by competent government officials
before they are shipped.
Merely a Police Regulation.
Texas fever, moreover, can be carried
only by live cattle. The live cattle ex-
ported 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
intended to act in the interests of the pub
tic health in excluding American cattle,
| rs the sanitary regulations of that coun
| try are unusually stringent upon all mat
| tiers. The secretary thinks the damage to
he inflicted upon American interests by
this action Is greatly erestimated, as our
exports of meat to Germany are compare
| lively light. From his obs ,rvation on his
| recent trip he is convinced that the ex-
| porting of live cattle cannot be made to
pay as well rs shipping dressed meats
Not Communicable Direct.
DIR. ID. +. Salmon, chief OF the bureau of
animal in iustry, said: Admitting for
the sake of argument that the cattle which
are killed in Germany are infected with
Texas fever, there is no longer any danger
| to the German cattle, because in this coun-
| try cattle with this disease do not COM
municate 1t to other animals The disease
is not communicated direcly from one ami
nal another, but animals from GER
tain district in the southern part of the
United States are likely to infect pastures
and pens in which they happen to be
placed, within thirty days from the time
| they leave this infected district Animals
| which contract the disease obtain the in
lection from those pens and pastures, not
directly from other cattle.
How the Fever Is PrOpagated.
"The cattle which are sick do not infect
| the grounds or pens and consequently are
not dangerous to other animals. This has
been proved by 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, lay their eggs
and die. Those eggs must lie on the
ground 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 produce the disease"