Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-07
CLEARED OF THE CHARGE THAT HE
Is FULL OF TRICHINAE.
GERMAN APOLOGIES IN ORDER.
PRUssIAN GOVERNMENT FAILS TO
SUSTAIN ITS CASE.
Set an Extensive Investigation ON
Foot and Failed to Prove, in
Single Instance, the Exist
ence of Trichinne in
American Pork.

Berlin Feb. 6-Thc forthcoming govern
mcnt report on the cases of trichinae in
fected pork offered for sale i'll Prussia dur
ing the period from July /, 1896, to January
/, 1897, and seized by the authorities, Will
be II sore disappointment to the Prussian
government, and still more TO the Agra
rian party, both of which have all along
contended that the United States sends
trichinous pork, despite the American ofti-
cial certificates 10 the contrary accompany
ing each package of meat.
In the Prussian diet, as well as in the
reichstag and in the German press, and
likewise in the official correspondence be-
tween the governments, 1t has for years
been emphatically stated that these Amer
lean meat certificates tesufying to the
healthy condition of the exported pork,
both canned and smoked or salted are not
trustworthy, and that in many instances
tricninae have been discovered by the Ger
man meat inspectors in such 'certlhed
meat after delivery here. This claim has
never been admitted by the American gov
= Nernment but TO all demands TO substanti-
ate it with more than mere allegation, the
Prussian government has turned deaf
ear though reiterattng the claim itself
from time to time. a lew cases OF alleged
American trichinouS pork, which were cit
ed by the Prussian government in support
of its claims, turned out, on investigation
instituted by the American embassy here,
as fictitious, or, at least, unproVen.
In one single case it was, last spring,
established beyond doubt that a lot OF pork
sold i'll American packages did contain
trichinae, but those packages mad been
sent by the American exporters over year
prior, and the fact that the marks on the
packages had been tampered with was
evident so that the conclusion that the
German packer had simply used the Amerl-
can packages q second time to do up his
German pork in was inevitable. In other
cases, those former Prussian reports con-
tained such meaSer notices as the three
cases of American trichirouS pork in Col
ogne;" Two cases ditto in Salsewedell,
etc, etc, but when the attempt was made
to identify those cases by demanding the
number of the American packers, such as
accompany each American certificate, such
numbers could not be produced. The
American embassy in Berlin thereupon in
sisted that each case of alleged American
trichinouS pork herafter be accompanied
in the official Prussian report with the
number of the American certificates, etc,
so that the shipper and the negligent
American inspector could be provided
against at home. Against this demand,
which the American government hoped
would show the utter groundlessness of the
Prussian claims, the Prussian government
made resistance in various forms for some
length of time. but last spring, at last,
they were induced TO promise to comply
with it. Instructions were issued by the
Prussian minister of the interior to all the
presidents of the government districts of
trichinae had been found in American
pork such details, numbers of certificates
of facts which might enable. the Ameri
can government to trace the offending ship
pers and officials at home. and the forth
coming report is the result of this decree.
The reports from the Rresidfents of the
ing the Prussian monarchy have now
reached the Prussian minister for the in
there any reports of alleged American
trichinous pork, but these reports, in dis
regard to the instructions issued by the
Prussian minister of the interior, are unac-
companied by the necessary proof which
would establish the fact that the pork in
question was really of American origin and
packages before others had had chance
to tamper with it. Hence even these cases,
of which there are thirteen all told. are
worthless and do not prove the trichinous
character of American pork, even in a sim
gle instance. These thirteen cases are re-
ported from Muenster, Westphalia, Goes
leiben, Schleswig and Altoona, near Ham
burg. Each package of imported Ameri-
number and with a certificate from the
American meat inspector at the place of
shipment bearing the same number. In
none of the above cases are these numbers
given. The American embassy will. there
fore dispute that these cases of trichinous
pork are of American origin. So far, there
fore as this government is concerned. ii
amounts to vindication of American
pork.
This report if the American embassy OBJ
tains it. will be ready for publication about
March /, or sooner Meanwhile, it will go
through the hands of the chiefs of the diff
ferent departments, both in the ministry of
the interior and of the ministry Of hus-
bandry. If the American embassy Is able
u obtain this report it will be sent to
Washington. 1t is likely, however. that the
report, since it is. so much more favorable
to American meat interests than was sus-
pected, will not be, forwarded to the Ameri-
can embassy at all. as it is surmsed on the
Prussian side that it would only furnish
the American government the means TO dis
prove the allegations made often and
50 persistently to the discredit of the Amer
lean pork. a number of statements have
been made in the Prussian diet to the ef-
feet that American pork in Prussia was,
detriment to public health, and should be
excluded. 1t is probable. now that the Off
cial report utterly disproved these allega-
tions. that the Radical and Liberal factions
in the diet and reichstag,. who favor the
unrestricted importation of American pork
as II wholesome and cheap food for the
masses in Germany, will, as soon as the
facts contained in the report are accessible
to them. interpolatn the government as to
the reasons for restricting the Importation
of American pork by veXatious tariff reg
ulations.