The Mena weekly star., 1906-06-21
AGREEMENT ON MEAT BILL
President Roosevelt and House Con- mittee on Agriculture Reach
 an Understanding.
CONCESSIONS MADE BY BOTH PARTIES
Substitute for Beveridge Bill Practically Completed and Ready for Conference Court Review Provision Eliminated labels on Packages Not to be Dated President Now satisfied with Measure.

Washington, June 20-- The basis of a complete agreement on the meat in- spection legislation between President Roosevelt and the house committee on agriculture was arrived al Monday at the White house. Speaker Cannon rep resented the committee in this instance and subsequently spent some time ex- plaining the situation to the committee in it's room at the capital. The bill was practically completed when the committee adjourned.
 !. It will authorize an annual appro- priation of 5000. 900 to pay the cost of inspection and will contain no pro- to make up any deficiency in the amount available for this work, as suggested by Mir. Cowan, representing the Texas Cattle Growers and later urged by the president.
 The court review provision will not be contained in the measure. This ac- tion meets the suggestion of the pres ident. The words in the judgment of the secretary of agriculture" will not be inserted as suggested by the president and this conclusion now meets MT Roosevelt's approval. The section waiving the civil ser vice law for one year in the selection of inspectors wrl go ont of the pro- vision. also one of the presidents re- concentrations.
 There is to be no date on the label of the packing of meat food products. In this the president yields to the committee. The language which gives inspectors the right to the packing plants at all times is amplisied by the words whether the same be in op- eration or not"
 With these changes made. the pres ident has indicated his entire satis- faction with the measure which was reported from the comnittee as a sub stitute for the Beveridge amendmen. and was Monday re-committed to the committee that the changes might be made.
 The objection which was urged to the president as a reason why he should not insist on giving authority to the secretary of agriculture to levy tax to make up any deficiency was the constitutional provision that congress shall levy all taxes. A head tax on animals, it was pointed out, would be an exceedingly unequal one, as the value of fine beef steer would be much greater than steer of inferior weight and condition, yet the tax would have to be the same The same con dition would prevail as to all other anil mals killed for food
 The guarantee of the conGtitution of every mans right to have his griev- ances heard before a court was also presented to the president forcefully as to why the decision of the secretary of agriculture should not be mace f- nal, as would be the case should the words fin the discretion of the sec retary of agriculture" De inserted throughout the measure. In this ar gument. it Is said. the president ac- quiesced
 The house committee on agriculture Tuesday reported the amendment as agreed upon to that body and it was adopted without division.
 The bill was sent to conference The speaker first named Messrs. Wads- worth tNY), Scott (Kan.), and Lever (S. e. as conferees. but withdraw them upon protest by MT. Williams, the minority leader, who objected to passing over Messrs. Lamb (Va.) and Bowie (Ala). Subsequently the con Eerees were named, being Wadsworth, Scott and Lamb.
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