The times., 1899-06-08

a
meat packers recover from the hue and cry over
the canned beef furnished the United States Army.
After years Of unremittng efforts the packers had
At last succeeded il introducing our canned meats
10 the European trade, and there was no country
where they could not be found and they were IN
use in most of the armies. As soon As the howl
went up that these same packers had furnished
rotten beef to the American armies their sales
went down TO nothing, and now they have all
their work to do over again. II VIII De dOubly
hard this time because they viii not only have
to overcome The original prejudice against Amer
lean meat but they will have To prove in almost
every case to the satisfaction OF the individual
buyer, that there was no foundation IN the charges
made against the meat. When the truth Overtakcs
the lie they may be able to restore their goods
to favor, but they will have hard time TO re-
build their trade.
We are in entire agreement with Secre
tary Wilson that 'it will be a long time
before the American meat packers recover
from the hue and cry over the canned beef
furnished the United States Army" In
deed, if justice be done, they Will never
recover from it. In regard to the asser-
tion that ''as soon as the howl went up
that these same packers had furnished rot
ten beef to the American armies their sales
went down to nothing, and now they have
all their work to do over again." we had
I sincerely hoped that what Mr.. Wilson
AYERS was the case, but the joyful GER
tainty was outside of our knowledge until
he made it plain.
1t is well to remind the foreign Secre-
tary of Agriculture of typical native
American remark which the health author
tiles of Texas made the other day, in con-
nection with quarantine precautions
against the yellow fever. They said that
the lives of citizens were of vastly more
importance than commerce, Mr.. Wilson
evidently does not agree with them. From
| the first outbreak of national Indignation
excited by the beef crimes against our
armies in the field last summer to the
present day, he has consistently advocated
the Administration policy Of suppressing
the truth in the interests of the packing
industry.
AS he is an important public officer,
charged with duties and responsibilities
that considerably involve public health, We
would naturally wish to consider him in
genuous in his course, even if obviously
mistaken; but his department at least did
not come into the case with clean hands.
Indeed, plenty of testimony. of the truth
of which the American people do not en-
tertain the least doubt has been presented
and printed, tending TO show that the pur-
chase, slaughter, and canning of cattle
suffering from tuberculosis and other dis
eases had been going on for some time be-
fore the war. To make the matter worse,
it has been testified and is believed that
whenever and wherever such criminal
practices were detected and reported by
the expert inspectors of the department
they were promptly transferred and si-
fenced. 1t is further significant that such
reports, the facts of which have been
sworn TO by the persons who made them,
have disappeared from the files of the de-
partment.
Mr.. Wilson says of the packers, that
when the truth overtakes the lie, they
may be able to restore their goods to favor,
but they will have hard time to rebuild
their trade" The packer champion again
is partially right, only he is not up TO
date. The truth has overtaken the lie
that the foul messes in cans furnished to
the Army were edible, or at all resembled
goods under the same labels offered in the
open market. II is because the truth has
overtaken the lie that the miscreants who
foisted upon the helpless soldiers nau-
seous pulp from which beef extract had
been made and called it roast beef will
have hard time to rebuild their trade
That they, or some of them. did this, did
supply decomposed carcasses in instances
did connive with certain persons, not here
mentioned, 10 sell to the Government mil
lions upon millions of pounds of timed
goods without any inspection whatever,
and did put off on the Government spoiled
meats which had lain in a foreign port
for years. are propositions which do not
admit OF argument or doubt. They have
been satisfactorily proven.
The fatal error of the Agricultural De-
partment. and of the Administration, has
been In assuming that such a wholesale
crime against the country, its soldiers, ma
tional honor, and decency, could be sup
pressed and successfully concealed, and
in not showing 10 the civilized world that
human monsters. no matter how rich and
influential. could not, in the United States
tenders without exposure and condign pun
ishment. That the Government did not
adopt that course toward the Grim
inals. but. on the contrary. exhaust
ed every means at its disposal to
shield and protect them. is official
notice to all nations and peoples
that the rule "caveat emptor" must be ap-
piled to the products of any American in
dustry which enjoys confidential and
contributory relations with Republican
Administration.
AS for the guilty purveyors OF disease
and death, we are delighted that retri-
button has overtaken them. If they have
lost most of their domestic and all of their
foreign trade. il is not half what they de-
serve. They are public enemies and out
laws, whether nationally or International
ly considered. If their commercial ruin
were shown to be complete and hopelessly
irreparable. they would not be getting all
their deserts. There are graveyards full
OF the dead men they have killed which
mutely testify against them. In any other
civilized land they would have been taken
out and shot. Then the situation would
have been cleared. and honest men might
have had chance to build up the busi-
ness the rotten beef raseals have dis
graced beyond any possibility of redemp-
tion while they are in any Way connected
with it.
Hot Weather I'm Washington.
Washington is not addicted to sensa-
tional headlines and spectacular displays.