Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-05
PACKERS STATEMENT
DECLARE VITAL SIDE oF CUES
TIoN IGNORED BY PRESIDENT.

Fight meat-packing establishments of
Chicago last night issued joint statement,
replying to the charges made in the Neil
and Reynolds report of their investigation
OF the packing plants and President Roose
velt's message to Congress.
In this statement the packers declare that
their plants are kept Clean their methods
OF manufacture are sanitary their products
wholesome. and that for years doctors
chemists. sanitarians and official investf-
gators from nearly every civilized nation on
earth. who have made examinations of the
manner in which the meat-packing plants
are conducted. have been entirely satisfied
IN every instance with the conditions exist
ing In this industry. Despite this fact, the
packers assert that they stand ready to
ADOPT any practical suggestion in the line
of improvement
The packing companies who affixed their
sisha.ures 10 the statement are Armour &
Co., swift & Co., Nelson Morris e. Co G.
h. Hammond & Co., Omaha Packing Com
pany, Anglo-American Provision Company,
Libby, Mcneil & Libby, and Schwarzchild
& Sulzberger Company
Ask a Square Deal"
The statement, which bears the official
signature of each of these corporations.
says:
re questions raised as to whether dis
eased meats are sold by our packing houses
is question on which the whole world
wants the facts and the truth must be told
II the entire meat and live stock industry
is to have square DEAL This vital side
or the whole question, however. Is abso-
lutely ignored in President Roosevelt's mes
sage ana all but omitted from notice in the
Neill-Reynolds report
Every pound Of meat in our hacking
houses comes from animals which are In
speeted and passed by trained veterinary
agents OF the Department of Agriculture.
EVERY animals carcass that does not pass
thls rigid inspection is condemned and dis
posed of under the personal supervision of
the agents of the United States Department
Of Agriculture.
The administration at Washington
knows these facts. The writers of the
Neill-Reynolds report know them That
these are the facts is reluctantly admitted
IN anelr report, but even this slight reas-
the tail end of what they have written
IT is to be regretted that Messrs NeiI
and Reynolds did not get a practical light
on their subject before writing a report in
which 1t is apparently assumed that blood.
grease and everyday incidents of animal
slaughtering dirt In contrast with
their view, we call attention to a report on
packing house conditions by Prof. T. ].
Burrill, Ph.D., vice president and professor
OF bacteriology of the University of ILL
nois and Prof. H. S. Grindley, professor of
chemistry at the same institution
This report which recites the results of
an investigation made within ten days,
says:
Methods Upheld by Scientists
Our observations make it impossible
for us to believe the horrible stories recent
ly appearing In print, or that anything APP
preaching the described conditions in this
industry really exists. 1t was apparent to
us that the work of the government IN
spectors was done in strict accordance with
the regulations issued by the bureau of
or parts of carcasSes are followed by these
officials, notwithstanding statements to the
contrary to the rendering tanks, and these
tanks are only in their presence. If these
men are competent for their work, and
they appeared to us to be performing their
duty 1t is impossible for the packers il
they so desired, to use unlawfully con-
demned animals or carcaSSes.
1--WE paid particular attention to the
charges that the employees spit on places
which come in contact with the products
We saw only one man expectorate during
our entire investigation. and he was gov
eminent official. We did not find anything
seriously repugnant to cleanliness or whole.
someness in the operations, but We did find
a desire on the part of all the employees
with whom we came in contact to avoid UNI
clean practices
Continuing their statement, the packers
say:
.'In the light of what We are doing, we
have a right we believe. to protest against
hasty and empirical judgments that servo
only to put weapons INTO the hands or Tor
eien competitors of the American live stock
and meat producing industry Without the
foreign market created by the packing IN.
dustry the American livestock growers
business would be absolutely stripped or
profit"