Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1906-06-06
ROOSEVELT URGES
REMEDY FOR EVILS
Which Have Been Disclosed In
Beef Scandal.
SPECIAL REPORT TO CONGRESS

tuberculosis Germs MingIe With Filth,
Dirt and Crime and Grease from the
Floors Are Made Into Product La
beied Government inspected"
To the senate and house of repre-
sentatyes: l transmit herewith the
report of Mr.. James Bronson Rey-
nolds and Commissioner Charles P.
Neill, the special committee whom I
appointed to investigate into the con-
ditions in the stock yards of Chicago
and report thereon to me- This report
is of a preliminary nature l submit
1t TO you now because it shows the ur-
gent need of immediate action by the
congress in the direction of providing
drastic and thorough going fnspec-
tIon by the federal government fer 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 imperativeIy necessary in the in
terest of decency that they should
be radically changed Under the ex-
listing law it is wholly impossible to
secure satisfactory results. When my
attention was first directed to this
matter, an investigation was made un-
der the bureau of animal industry of
the department of agriculture. When
the preliminary statements of this in
vestigation were brought to my atten-
tion they showed such defects in the
law and such wholly unexpected con-
dltlons, that l deemed it best to have
further immediate investigation by
men not connected with the bureau;
ana, accordingly, appointed Messrs
Reynolds and Neiu. 1t was impossi-
bic under the existing law that salts
factory work should be done by the
bureau Of animal industry. I am now.
however, examining the way in which
the work actually was done. Before
l had received the report of Messrs.
Reynolds and Neill, I had directed
that labels placed upon any package
OF meat food products should state
only that the carcass of the animal
from which the meat was taken had
been inspected at the time of slaugh-
ter. Ii inspection of meat food prod
ucts at all stages of preparation is
not secured, by the passage of Iegisla-
tion recommended, l shall feel com
PEELED to order that inspection labels
and certificates on canned products
shall not be used hereafter. The re-
port shows that the stock yards and
packing houses are not kept even rea-
sonably clean and that the method of
handling and preparing food products
is uncleanly and dangerous to health.
Under existing law the national gov
ernme1t has no power to enforce in
spection of the many forms Of prepar-
ed meat food products that are daily
going from the packing houses into in.
terstate commerce. Owing to an in
adequate appropriation the department
OF agriculture is not even able to place
inspectors in all establishments desfr.
ing them. The present law prohibits
the shipment of uninsPected meat to
/ foreign countries, but there is no pro-
vision foEbidilng the shipment of un-
inspected meats in interstate com
merce, and thus the avenues of inter
| state commerce are left open to traffic
in diseased or spoiled meats. If. as
has been alleged on seemingly good
authority, further evils exists, such
as the improper use Of chemicals and
dyes. tie government lacks power to
| remedy tLCm 4 law is needed which
will enable tae inspectors of the gen
eraI government to inspect and super
wise from the h0of to the can the prep
arati0a 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 ether prepared
products. In my judgment. the ex-
pense of the inspection should be paid
by fee levied on each animal sIaugh.
/ tered. If this is not done. the whole
purpose of the law can a. any time
be defeated through an insufficient
appropriation: and whenever there
was no particular public interest in
the subject, it would not only be easy,
but natural to make the appropria-
tion insufficient. If it were not for
this consideration, | should favor the
government paying for it, The alarm
expressed in certain quarters con
corning this feature should be allayed