The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1906-02-13
ATTACK THE HEPBURN BILL
IN THE SENATE.
Humane Society Trying to Block the
Long Shipment of Stock With
out Feed or Water.

medSuro bbrlkluB Out Ill UuJ Tue
enacting clause Of the Hepburn bill
preparatory to substituting for it a
bill prepared by the National Food
Manufacturers Association. Now a
national pure food law has been long
and urgently needed. 1t touches
every man, woman and child in the
country, especially the children and
it is law that no honest manufac-
turer has any thing to fear from. 1t
has been urged by all state food
authorities and by all of the agri-
cultural colleges of the country. The
Hepburn bill was drawn under expert
advice to fill this particular need and
it put the execution of the law into
the hands Of the department of agri-
culture where it would be enforced.
1t also made the department of COM
merce and labor, the treasury de-
partment and the department of just
ice parties to it's administration. 1t
was not measure that any manu-
facturer of impure food liked, and as
they did not dare to fight it in the
open, they have prepared rsubstitute
which will be so placed that it is like
ly to die of inanition. The substitute
measure while on the face of it more
drastic even than the Hepburn bill,
leaves a beautiful outlet for every
retail dealer in misbranded and ad-
liberated foods by requiring that the
label and the name of the shipper
shall appear only on the box or crate
in which the goods are shipped and
not on the packages sold to the con-
sumer. It also provides against pub
fishing the names of firms misbrand-
ing and adulterating foods and thus
robs the law of the greatest Of all
safeguards, namely publicity. The
measure has not yet come to a vote.
But there is bound to be lively
fight, aud the manufacturers have
strong lobby engaged in trying to push
their measure through.
Shippers of live cattle who would
gladly make an extra penny out of
the sufferings of their dumb victims,
have encountered strong obstacle
in the house in the shape of the HUI
name Societies which are trying to
block what would be disgraceful in
human law. Cattle shippers are linn
tied by statute to 28 hours as the
longest haul to which they can sub.
ject stock without rest, food or water.
This law was for years dead letter.
But 1t has been enforced by Secretary
Wilson for two years past and the
shippers are feeling the pinch of it.
They are now trying to get the time
extended so that they can haul cattle
86 hours without rest, food or water,
claiming blandly that the cattle suffer
less in this way than through the ad
ditional handling to which they would
be subjected were more frequent stops
made. This is pure sophistry and is
designed to make the run just as long
as it can be made without losing on
the weight of the beasts shipped.
Their sufferings are nothing. It is
merely question of making the great
est possible profit out of them. II
the decent minded men aud women
who are urging reduction instead of
an extension in the feeding time have
their way, it will result either i'll the
shippers being forced to put on cattle
cars with feeding and watering at
tachments or better still in moving
the slaughter houses from Omaha and
Chicago nearer to the cattle raising
centers. The beef trust is largely in
different to the outcome of the fight.
It does not have to pay for shipping
the cattle and il the extra expenses to
the seller forces the trust to pay tri-
tie more for beef, it will come out of |
the consumers pocket anyhow. OF |
course should the slaughter house
have to be moved, it would entail
some additional expense that would
have to be made up ont of the seller
and the consumer combined. But the
question of the humanity or the in
humanity involved is mere detail |
that would never have received
thought had not this fight been forced
by the Humane Societies in tho COM
mittee of the house.
Representative Sulzer of New York
has touched on very sore spot with
the government by introducing a res
olution for Investigating the deal by
which the old custom house in New
York was sold to the National City
Bank eight years ago for mere song
aud in yirtse of which the government
has been paying rent ever since for
the old building. The bank has
never paid out a cent for it and has
lodged the taxes on the property by
letting the deal still rest in the hands
Of the government. This is not the
1rst time that this transaction has
been brought up, but it is an ever ten
der subject aud if forced this time to
an Investigation is iikelyto uncover
pretty scandal 1t Will be remember
I'd that the price was ridiculously low
IN the first place, The property was
sold to the bank for 1880, 900 when
experts valued it at nearly $lO,-
300, 900. II has been appreoiating in
valne every minute since. The bank
Is big depository of government
funds, aud 1t paid for the building ]