Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-10-05
STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR BELL.
Fires Rich but Defends Rest Of the Cattle
Commissioners.

East Hardwick, Sept 29--Hnyng received
a communication from the Hon Clarke c.
/ Fits, attorney general relative to the charges
that the state OF Vermont has been dealing in
diseased meat, | would state as follows: q
Companants and witnesses, at the request
! of the attorney general were summoned to
appear before the grand jury of Chittenden
county in Burlington, where the investigation
/ before the grand jury has been carried on
and partially completed. That body having
/ taken a recess until Oct 10, have no means
of reporting their findings, but inasmuch as
! the above communication is in my hands and
| | desire to retire from office with my every
duty performed, | now give it to the public
and reply thereto.
The attorney general names the cattle com
mission OF Vermont, the Burlington Render
ing company of Burlington, the New England
Dressed Meat & Wool company of Someryile,
Mass, drovers from East Berkshire, Ran
dolph, Underhill, West Windsor and ST.
Johns bury and former cattle commissioner.
1t appears to me that all but the first
named commission are in the hands Of the
grand jury or are liable under the laws OF
Vermont and must answer for their sins of
omission or commission without any unneces-
sary word from me.
Some years ago Vermont found the disease
of tuberculosis in her herds. Previous to
1894 some cattle that responded to the
tuberculin test were killed, being total loss
to the owner The laws of 1894 seeking to
aid the unfortunate dairyman made it possible
to receive so per cent. of the value of the
cattle slaughtered the cafcaSSeS OF all con
demned animals to be buried or burned
This law was carried out until 1902 when
some dairymen through the legislature, trying
to rescnd the law, failed, but made it as in
effective as possible by curtailing the com
mission in their assistants and per diem while
the work had increased from year to year so
that it was impossible to answer promptly all
demands upon their time for work.
This same legislature increased the price
of diseased cattle to 80 per cent of the value
of healthy cattle continuing to bury or burn
the carcasses of diseased cattle. The session
of 1904 changed the law, not in price of dis
eased animals, but in the disposition of the
condemned cattle.
| will not attempt to question the attorney
general in his construction of the law, but
must say in my opinion the cattle comm ssion
has acted in good faith in the matter of con-
demned cattle and has the same understand
ing of the law as did those interested in the
legislature of 1904, believing that the state,
while killing so many cattle and paying such
what by selling for fertilizer the cattle CON
demned knowing that, while the tuberculn
test is not infallible, II is by far the most re-
liable test for tuberculosis; that in some |
cases, less than 2 per cent. the disease is
not found to exist; also that the United |
States government recognizes the TACT mat
even while the disease does exist, under Ger.
tain conditions the beef is suitable for food |
purposes.
| have always been opposed to having the |
state of Vermont party to encourage IN the |
least degree the production of anything but /
pure article and doubt not this has been the |
intention of the law maker. But in his inter |
est to help the unfortunate dairyman he has |
lost sight of the fact that 80 per cent of the |
value of healthy animals might lead some to |
continue to produce only second class arti- |
Gle, with good paymaster to pay so nearly |