The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-05-29
PACKERS TO GIVE IN.
viii Not Make a Fight Against
the Passage Of Meat In
spection Bill.
VILE CONDITIONS ALLEGED.

Disclosures Of State of Packing Houses
Declared to Be Too Disgusting to
Print-Effect on Export Trade Fear
ed-President Stands Firm For Pend I
ing Measure.
Washington, May 30. The packers
will not make n fight against the enact
ment of the meat inspection bill intro.
duced into the senate by Mr.. Beye-
ridge. The bill has passed that body
as d rider TO the. agricultural appropria-
ton bill and promises to be adopted
by the house and signed by the presi-
dent.
In this issue the packers, to quote
the vernacular, have been caught with
the goods on them" The bill came as
a surprise to them. They believed that
it was late in the session, that con-
gress had too much work on hand to
take up this matter, and they expected
to get away without trouble. They
did not consider the plan of making
the bill rider on the agricultural bill.
The bill provides for the inspection
of animals on the hoof and also for the
inspection of all food products pre-
pared in any slaughtering, canning,
sailing, packing. rendering or similar
establishment. 1t is provided that moth
ing in the way of meat products shall
20 to the public for consumption until
it bears the label, Inspected and
passed
Rigid sanitary rules for all packing
houses are laid down in the proposed
law
While Speaker Cannon, Congressman
Lorimer and others went to the White
House with representatives of the
packers to protest against the measure,
it is known that these same members
told the packers that they had better
take their medicine. 1t was pointed
out to them that they could pass the
cost Of the inspection along to the
consumer, that it would boom their
business in Europe and that if they
put up a fight the revolving revelations
as to abuses in the packing houses
would ruin their foreign and badly
cripple their home business. The for
eign trade already shows a consider
able loss.
Speaker. Cannon is believed to be
earnestly in favor of the bill, having
been converted by the disclosures.
viii Protect Home Market.
The rider provides for the same sort
OF inspection Of meats for home sales
as for meats sent abroad
TO the publication Of a book can be
traced the present inspection bill. 1.-THE
Jungle" showed that the inspection
service at the Chicago packing house
was wholly inadequate. 1t was true
that the government inspectors passed
on the healthfulness Of the carcasses
when they We're killed, but after that
there was no inspection, and the condi-
fions were Incredibly revolving.
Secretary Wilson sent out a commits
sion to look into the matter, but later
j. b. Reynolds, prominent social
worker, and Charles P. Neill, the COM
missioner of labor, were sent on a
purely personal inspection tour.
The expenses of the investigators
were paid by the government, but they
received no salary, and the investiga-
tion was entirely outside the line Of
government commission. There was
no written report, possibly there will
not be, but congress knows all they
found out and so do the packers. The
packers were Mortified,
Report Of the Commission.
The findings of the presidents com
nissioners are, it is said, about as fol-
sows: They say that lard is manufac-
tured from hogs which die from chol-
era, that the meat inspectors are in
competent and overworked, that sani-
fary conditions prevailing at the pack
ing houses are revolving, that the pack
ers use preservatives and that meat Is
sold to Americans which is deemed I'M
fit for expectation to Europe. The COM
missions remedy for all this is pub
liclty.
IF this sort of story gets out 1t
will ruin our business abroad" the
packers said The president added in
effect, IF all know gets printed it
will ruin your business at home too"
Therefore" said the packers, make
any sort of an inspection law you
want, and we will stand for it, but
don't make public scandal of the mat
fer
The president replied that he was
willing and the inspection law would
be passed without scandal If 1t could