River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-06-07

Washington, June 4.-The Senate
and House of Representatives l
transmit herewith the report Of Mr.
James Bronson Reynolds and Commits
sioner Charles p. Neill, the special
committee whom l appointed to in
Vestigate into the conditions in the
stock yards Of Chicago and report
thereon to me. This report is of
preliminary nature. l submit it to
you now because it shows the urgent
need of immediate action by the con-
gress in the direction of providing
drastic and thorougngoing inspection
by the federal government Of all stock
yards and packing houses and of
their products, so far as the latter
enter into interstate or foreign COM
merce. The conditions shown by even
this short inspection to exist in the
Chicago stock yards are revolving. 1t
is imperatively necessary in the in
terest of health and of decency that
they should be radically changed. I'm
der the existing law it Is wholly i'm
possible to secure satisfactory results.
Orders Further Investigation.
When my attention was first direct
ed to this matter an investigation
was made under the bureau of animal
industry Of the department of agri-
culture. When the preliminary state
ments of this investigation were
brought to my attention they showed
such defects in the law and such
wholly unexpected conditions that
deemed it best to have further i'm
mediate investigation by men not con-
nected with the bureau, and according
~ appointed Messrs. Reynolds and
Neill. 1t was impossible under the
existing law that satisfactory work
should be done by the bureau of ami
NAL industry. am now, however,
examining the way in which the work
actually was done
Before I had received the report of
Messrs. Reynolds and Neill | had di-
rected that labels placed upon any
package of meat food products should
state only that the carcass of the ami
NAL from which the meat was taken
had been inspected at the time Of
slaughter. If inspection of meat food
products at all stages of preparation
is not secured by the passage Of the
legislation recommended | shall feel
compelled to order that inspection la
bells and certificates on canned prod
ucts shall not be used hereafter
Packing Houses Unreasonably Dirty.
The report shows that the stock
yards and packing houses are not kept
even reasonably clean, and that the
method of handling and preparing
food products is uncleanly and dan
gerous to health. Under existing law
the national government has no pow
or to enforce inspection of the many
forms of prepared meat food products
that are daily going from the packing
houses into interstate commerce. Ow-
ing to an inadequate appropriation
the department of agriculture is not
even able to place inspectors in all
establishments desiring them. The
present law prohibits the shipment of
uninspected meat to foreign countries,
but there is no provision forbidding
the shipment of uninspected meats in
Interstate commerce. and thus the ave-
nues of interstate commerce are left
open 10 lTdlIC III uISedSSu VI SpOllGu
meats. If, as has been alleged on
seemingly good authority further evils
exist, such as the improper use of
chemicals and dyes, the government
lacks power to remedy them. A law
is needed which will enable the in
spectors of the general government
to inspect and supervise from the
hoof to the can the preparation of the
meat food product. The evil seems
to be much less in the sale of dressed
carcasses than in the sale Of canned
and other prepared products; and very
much less as regards products sent
abroad than as regards these used at
home.
In my judgment the expense of the
inspection should be paid by fee
levied on each animal slaughtered.
If this is not done, the whole purpose
of the law can at any time be de
feated through an insufficient appro-
priation; and whenever there was no
particular public interest in the sub
ject ii would be not only easy but
natural thus to make the appropria
ton insufficient If it were not for
this consideration l should favor the
government paying for the inspection.
The alarm expressed in certain
quarters concerning this feature
should be allayed by a realization of
the fact that in no case, under such a
law, will the cost of inspection exceed
eight cents per head.
call special attention to the fact
that this report is preliminary, and
that the investigation is still unfin-
ished 1t is not yet possible to report
on the alleged abuses in the use of
deleterious chemical compounds in
connection with canning and preserv-
ing meat products. nor on the alleged
doctoring in this fashion of tainted
msat and of products returned to the
packers as having grown unstable or
uRusable from age or from other rea-