Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-06-28
THE PACKING SCANDAL
General Miles as the Original
Muck Raker.
EXPOSED BEEF TRUST METHODS

EXPOSED BEEF TRUST METHODS
Republican Party Deceived the Poo
pie by False Whitcwnshins Re-
ports Administration Responsible
For wills In Meat Industry-A Be
lated Spnsm of Virtue.
When the president had sent his
packing house message to congress,
accompanied by the report of Neill
and Reynolds, showing insanitary con
ditions and violations of law, the pack
ers replied:
"Every pound of meat in our pack
ing houses comes from animals tliat
are inspected and passed by trained
veterinary agents Of the department
Of agriculture. This is the absolute
fact. We are not interested in an
imals condemned before s%laughter.''
If this statement is true, as it may
be-, it shows either that President
Roosevelt is mistaken Or that his adj
ministration has been conniving at the
very things he now pretends to on
denim, so that his words have not been
backed up by his acts. The packers
| statement is corroborated officially by
the records of the department of agri-
culture and the war department. In
the bureau of animal industry of the
agriculture department there is not q
scrap of paper on file rejecting in any
way on the conduct of the packers,
though hundreds of men are paid by
the government of the United States
to inspect all the processes and prod
ucts of the packing business and see to
it that lone but wholesome and clean
meats We're allowed to be sent out of
the state to consumers. This has been
the case for years, and the administra-
ton, if it's present charges are true,
has been deceiving the people by means
of false whitewashing reports eve
since the Spanish wal began. And it
must have done so knowingly and sys-
tematically, for General Nelson A..
Miles fully exposed the methods of
the beef trust ven years ago and
turned the evidence over to the wa
department. Referring to the presi-
dents sudden spasm of virtue and pro-
found Indignation on the eve OF a con-
gressional election, General Miles gave
out an interview on June +, in which
he said:
"The disclosures about packing house
products now being exploited are no
news to me. l knew it seven years ago.
l told what l knew then. Had the
matter been taken up at that time
thousands Of lives would have been
saved. l believe that 5000 United
States soldiers lost their lives because
Of adulterated, impure, poisonous
meat. There is no way Of estimating
the number of soldiers whose health
was ruined by eating impure food. |
have a barrel of testimony on the sub.
ject in the way of afidavits that l
collected when l made my investiga.
ton seven years ago. The investigat.
ing committee closed the case and re.
fused to hear 1000 witnesses whom
had ready.
II turned the reports over to the wa
department., and a embarrassing in
vestigation was instituted and success
fully carried out. The official report
was that a colossal error had beer
made. AS a matter of fact, it was ;
colossal fraud, and the persons wht
perpetrated it and were interested il
it should have been sent to the peniten
tiary."
Under such circumstances, the presi
dents action is, in any just view O.
it, either a political feint or a confes
sion that his administration is respon
sible for the very evils he is now at
lacking, by reason of the incompetency
of the agricultural and val department:
and their connivance at frauds ant
other crimes. In either case it is evi
dent that the administration has beer
on a level with the graft system whicl
has so long prevailed in the police ad
ministratior of certain cities. 1t il
probable that nothing will come o
these present spectacular investiga
lions but a bill in congress which viii
be held owe the heads of the packer!
until they fill the itching palms of tn
Republican campaign managers, as tn,
corporations in general filled the Roose
welt war chest in 1904.