The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-22
FAULTs OF rHE NEAr Law.
WIN II Drive the Small Packers and job
hern OuR M ~guslneaeF

To NJ EDITOR or n sUN-Sr! There
are several phases OF the new meat law which
seem to have escaped the general attention
Of the public and to which II may not be arniss
10 draw attention. The working Of the law
10 entirely In favor OF the large packers and
will eventually give them almost absolute
control or the business. This 10 contrary 70
the general tendency OF public opinion, but q
fact. II is also against tht'present policy OF
curbinG and coptnolling the lrge combinations
and giVh4 the smaller independent houses .
chance to live and do business. Thu law
makes 1t difficult. II not impossible. for many
small houses even TO stay In business.
No meat can be shipped out OF any state
without inspection or exemption certincate.
The big packers with Q big volume OF business
will have inspectors st their main packing
houses and from there will ship 70 their
branch houses In every State inspected
goods suItable for that particular market
and nothing else; and once IN the State the
goods viii not have 70 be resiipped out OF IL.
II q branch. say In New York. has been doing
some business in New Jersey, that trade or GUS
toner will be turned over TO some branch IN
New Jersey: and 90 In all the States. II will
be all the same to the parent house which
branch distributes the product so long a. the
parent house gets the business The big
packers have branches not only In every state
but in every town Of Importance. just watch
out Of any car window for the Armour ana
Swift houses.
Now. take the small independent packer and
jobber. perhaps doins business In an isolated
country town. away from any packing centre.
or a dealer In New York who really acts as a
clearing house for many small packers and
cutters In and around New York. We will
take first the country packers killing 500 to
1000 hogs a week. There are many doing
about this volume OF business; not a really
small one when you consider that 900 hogs
uai0hin0 1O0 nOun6a AaCh are worth RAAtIV
St2, 900 at present, and as q rule this packer
also buys a good many cars OF meat during
the year. will this packer get an Inspector
II 30, the Inspector will have very little to do.
II he does not get an inspector. how will he
do an interstate business? There are many
small packers doing busines in two or more
States. win they have to abandon all business
except that In the States where their packing
houses happen to be2 IL looks so. Secretary
Wilson says In a letter to the National Pro-
pisioner in reply to an inquiry regarding the
position Of the smaller packer under the new
law:
An esn biishment such as you cite In your exam
pie 10 q manufacturer and preparer OF meat food
products and is not eligible to exemption under the
law. II will be necessary For such establishments
TO secure inspection or connne their trade to the
State In which they are located. There are prob
ably some establishments which do 50 little inter
state business that the department could not be
expected to incur the necessary expenses OF main
tinng inspection. and 1t may be necc Ssary for
such TO discontinue their interstate trade.
Suppose 10 or 10 or 30 or so per cent. Of the
packers business Ia In another State, why
should he be forced to sacrifice it? II his
Interstate trade is cut of he may have 70 give
up his packing house because II won't pay
and abandon a business that ne has spent
almost Z lifetime worElnS up, o he IS dSl9E a
exemption. Just because he Ia not a big
packer with branches in various States, has
legal. to cay that ne can never grow any
larger and must do business within certain
enough business TO get inspection. and Just
because he has not inspection Is forced 70
%eonfns his business within 1rG restricted Limit;
to get Inspection Has the Government any
right 10 pase a law saying, you can DO bus-
vision and then not furnish the same2 The
amount Of interstate business the packer
nrIDyci 6H e si, SoS i tns % Sr ecn. dhisst'inSM; Is Hove tSe
big must a business be TO have the protection
Now lei us take a dealer in New York. and
there are a number Of them The ccnditicns
in New York are peculiar. We have a great
not have Representatives ali over the world
like the big packers. but there IL a certain
amount OF their product that they cannot sell
for local consumption at any fair price. To
take care Of this product the denler comes in.
lie takes the surplus Of cuts not salable TO
lie gets enough goods in the aggregate to
J make his business large enough for him to
, keep in touch with the export markets where
these goods can be sold TO advantage. IL
not his business a fair one? Yet the small
cutter does not set inspection the dealer can
| ship them for export, and the small cutter has
| no Pxpoit buyer end must sacrifice locally or
put his meat in the tank for the grease that
The independent packer and dealer has had
a hard enough neht nssins, the Pig houses
Government making IL harder. The margin
Of profit Is small. and i the export trade is
and the dealer out Of business, Is this a
Vow shout the inception Of the law. There
YVES no demo nd for il snywhere until the Presi-
dent saw a chanceto take adyants &c OF a SEN
timent created by a sensational Socialistic
he thought. with the packers. who h0d repent
edly defeated him in the courts, when We
hsye 10 rely cT1 c a loren s .nG = h to I I9sni5e
President anxious for sny club 10 hit his
opponents. willing 70 take advantage Of
anv temporary sentiment to get square: we
surely are in need Of sympathy. SO far frCm
hitting a blow at the big p1ckers. the new law
and I" give The hig rNckers amore complete
control over the business thsn they ever had
before or hoped to have: asth" Sm"h packer
and new small houses were starting No all
over the country. The Presidents famous
snyinr ~ a SQUARE deal must be changed
The big p1cksrs say they will accent cheer;
| fully the new law, ana TncN tAn wei ~ 'hnU
laugh 81 tapers like thP Tip1rs and the Ere
MIRO Post with theiT silly editorials IN tho
volume Of business. &c. The biR packer
knows how the law will work cut when nut
in force and IL well pleased, hut he Ia p't
saving 40 for publication. There WIS no
necessity for the law. The product ~ TIE
American Dackin9 house had won is way all
oyeT the globe on ia merits, Gnd oil the inves-
legations started Nv tho P'Fs!dsnt's eCtion
have proved 'ha' the IN ckin" houae product
was Of the highest standard in the world.
know he general Dnnlic II in"linrt to think
10 the n, ntrnrv, and really rannct lie blamed
whsr srn reminders the news matter and
eiHcrLals nrIntcd wv s majority cf the papers
which DRIFT With the current.
When on illustrated BcTiHdical ruhlishes
end Circnlntns all over the world n full rye
! picture II the sausage department in = Chi
csRN packing house which any cns who knows
ANYTHING about the business knows and
which the publishers must have known to
he absolutely false; when they support II In
their editorial columns, and when papers llSl-
ally sane vie with the y~ellowest journals in
publishing news that Ia false and editorials
thst are misleading. how cen the reneral
urhlic sentiment helr heinV Influenced?
Now this same publication m
the Ioes ~ business by a respectable corpora
ton and PIRATES about how TO devise aOma
nra c'ical means NJ undoing such Injustice"
The Injustice has been done with ia full sup
mort editcrially and pictoriallv, and this perl
ndical IL but One NJ many publications that
-. .Ioa- thu IN iyaNfna and Nbia NOrnnFn