The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-06-14
Inspection Provision May be
 Reported Today
UNCLE SAM PAYS EXPENSE
Bill Provides Annual Automatic Ap- propriation of $2,ooo, ,ooo-RlqiS
 Post-Mortem and Ante
 Mortem Inspection.

Washington June 13.-A neat inspection provision was completed by the House committee on agriculture today. and will be presented to the House for action prob ably tomorrow, which 1t Is declared by 1 the committee win insure that Ameri- can meats and meat products are health- ful, clean and ip every respect wholesome and fit for food.
 The important feature of the legislation are that it places the cost of the inspec- 1 ton on tue government and makes an an- nual aufomatic appropriation of s2O00,0e0 to pay the expense It requires a rigid post Imortem and ante mortem inspec- l top of all animals killed for food It l requires a government label as q pass port for all meats and meat products 1 which enter into interstate commerce, and in addition to this label a certificate of purity to the carrier and to the Sec retary of Agriculture for such products which enter foreign commerce. To se- cure this label the product must be han died In accordance with sanitary regula- tions to be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, who Is authorized to em- ploy without regard to the civil service
 laws for the first year an adequate corps of efficient inspectors to supervise tho enforcement of his regulations It pro- hibits the use of conservatives or chemi- calls in the preparation of meat food which are delterious to health, and leaves the matter of determining this question to the Secretary of Agriculture. To Label Products. | The label on the product is to indicate the ingredients but the date of manufac- tnre is not required to be stated.
 The sanitary requirements which the secretary is to prescribe must insure com plete sanitation as to all buildings. whether slaughter houses or canning es- tablishments. There are many penalty clauses attached to violations of all these provisions. The common carrier Is sub ject to a heavy penalty if he accepts for transportation any goods not bearing the 1 government label or in case of foreign shipments in addition to the label not accompanied by the required certificate. 1 The packers are subject to heavy pen atty for false libelllng to contents of | packages Trade names are to be allowed in some cases in the discretion of the sec ] retary. but in all cases the contents of 1 the packing must be stated.
 | The violation of any provisions of the regulations is made a misdemeanor or punishable by fine not to exceed $l0,000 or Imprisonment not to exceed two years | There is a special penalty against tho | bribery of inspectors imposing imprison- | ment from one to three years and fine Of from $l000 to $10000 for offering bribe l in the same punishment for acceptance of a bribe on the part of the inspectors. Farmers and small butchers are ex- cepted from the operation of the regula- tions. This conclusion of the committee was reached after three full days of con | sderation following the exhaustive hear l ings held in connection with the official reports regarding conditions in the pack 1 Ing houses at Chicago; the statement of 1 the packers and the report of the live | stock raisers.
 Minority Report. | The conclusion represents the judgment of nine members of the committed. as against seven who preferred the Bever- idge amendment slightly altered. A ni- nority report will be made to the House 1 by some of the members dissenting. Representative Cromer of Indiana led | the forces of the committee favoring the 1 Beveridge amendment. He offered four amendments to the Beveridge amendment and then moved its adoption by the com mittee in the place of the substitute which had been perfected. On this mo- ton he was sustained by Representative | Penny of Connecticut. Haughen of Iowa. l Davis of Minnesota, republicans; and Lamb of Virginia: Bowie of Alabama, and Chandler of Mississippi. democrats. Nine votes were recorded In the nega- 1 tive on this motion and the substitute was then adopted by the nine negative votes on the motion.
 The four amendments which MT. Cro- mer offered to the Beveridge amendment are all contained In the substitute. They were:
 l. That in the destruction of unfit meat products the destruction should only be for food purposes.
 2. That the inspection should be re- | strcted to continental United States and not extended to it's possessions. | 3. Waiving the civil service operation for one year In the selection of inspectors. 4 Excepting the farmer and small butcher from inspection.
 l The members who voted for and car- ried the substitute were Chairman Wads- worth of New York; Scott of Kansas; | Haskins of Vermont; Lormer of Illinois; | Brooks of Colorado; Adams of Wisconsin: l Cooke of New York, republican; Lever of | South Carolina and Trimble of Kentucky, | democrats.
 | Representative I.afane of Pennsylvania. was unavodably absent but left word | that he was in favor of the substitute. | Representative Field of Texas was ab- sent as also Delegate Andrews of New Mexico
 | During the afternoon session the entire Texas delegation in the House presented to the committee plea that the cost of the inspection be placed on the govern | ment and not on the packers. If the lat 1 ter course was pursued, 1t was stated. | the packers would not only throw this l cost back on the producer, but would also undoubtedly make a double assess ment by charging it to the consumers. 1 The bill completed by the committee was made public tonight. The sanitation pro- vision reads as follows:
 | Provision for Sanitation. "rhe secretary of agriculture shall | cause to be made by the experts In sani- | tation or by other competent inspectors such inspection of all slaughtering. meat | canning, salting, packing, rendering or