Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1906-06-05
TAINTED MEATS
Get TO MARKET
President Wants More
Stringent Inspect.
ion Laws

ulations regarding meat inspection
were recommended in the message sent
to congress by President Roosevelt
was as follows:
THE conditions shown by even this
short inspection to exist in the Chi
cago stockyards are revolving 1t is
imperatively necessary, in the interest
of decency that they should be radi-
cally changed, under the existing law
it is wholly impossible to secure sat-
isfactory results
When my attention was first d.
rected to this matter an investiga ton
was made under the bureau of animal
industry of the department of agricul-
ture. When the preliminary state
ments of this investigation were
brought to my attention they showed
such defects in the law and such
wholly unexpected conditions that I
deemed it best to have further and
immediate investigation by men not
connected with the bureau, and ac-
cordingly appointed Messrs. Reynolds
and Neill.
"The report shows that the stock
yards and packing houses are not kept
even reasonably clean and that the
method of handling and preparing
food products is unceanly and danger
Gus to health. Under existing law the
national government has no power to
enforce inspection of the many forms
of prepared meat food products that
are daily going from the packing
houses into interstate commerce. Ow-
ing to an inadequate appropriation, the
department Of agriculture is not even
able to place inspectors in all estab-
lishments desiring that.
1.-THE present law prohibits the ship
ment Of uninspected meat to foreign
countries, but there is no provision for
bidding the shipment of uninspected
meats in inter- state commerce. and
thus the avenues of Interstate COM
merce are left open to traffic in dis
eased or spoiled meats.
eff, as has been alleged on SEEM
ingly good authority, further evils ex-
ist such as the improper use of chem
icals and dyes, the government lacks
power to remedy them. a law is needed
which will enable the inspectors Of the
general government to inspect and
preparation of meat food products. The
evil seems to be much less In the sale
OF dressed carcasses than in the sale
of canned and other prepared products
II call special attention to the fact
that this report is preliminary and
that the investigation is still unfin-
ished. 1t is not yet possible to renor1
on the alleged abuses In the use of del
eterious chemical compounds In con-
nection with canning and preserving
meat products. nor on the alle~ed doc
torinR in this fashion Of tainted meat
and Of products returned to the pack
ers as having grown unstable from
age or from other reasons. Grave al.
legations are made in reference to the
: abuses OF this nature.
|. Legislation Badly Needed.
!. Let me repeat that under the pres
!, !. ent law, there practically is no method
: Of stopping these abuses II the.
should be discovered to exist. Legis
lation is needed in order to proven
the possibility Of all abuses In the flu
ture. II no legislation Is passed, thel
the excellent results accomplished D!
the work Of this special commission
will endure only SO long as the memoir
OF the commissions work is fresh, an
recrudescence OF the abuses IL abso
lutely certain.
II urge the immediate enactmen
into law OF provisions which will en-
able the department OF agricultur
adequately to inspect the meat an
; meat food products entering into IN
terstate commerce and to supervis
the methods Of preparing the same an
to prescribe the sanitary condition
\ under which the work shall be per
formed"