The National tribune., 1906-07-05
LET THE PEOPLE DO gHEIR OWN
INSPECTING.

entire reform in the conditions in the
Chicago packinghouses. II 1t does all
that its advocates have promised II will
do far more than any law ever put on
carefully watched the course of legisla-
ton. and not only in this country but
elsewhere, are the ones that are least
sanguine as to what it will accomplish.
We are entirely too prone in this coun-
try to believe that almost anything we
do not like may be cured by act of Con-
gress or of Legislature. We persist
in this cheerful belief in spite of tine
fact that both National and State stat
ute books are numbered with a vast
.accretion of laws, passed with the ut
most hope and confidence, which are
| absolute dead letters
Let us calmly examine this question
| in the light of abundant experience. and
consider how far we can reasonably en-
pect the packers to faithfully obey the
doubtedly for awhile they will make
much pretense of scrupulously comply
ing with it. precisely as they are now
carefully cleaning up their houses, and
inviting the public to visit and inspect
such portions as they choose to show
them. This is compelled by good busi-
ness policy. They must do something
to regain their lost trade. But they
know very well how quickly an excite
ment like the present is dies away and
is forgotten. and they are calculating
shrewdiy upon it. Is 1t at all probable
that men who have shown such a con-
tempt for the lives of their fellow-citi-
zens. who in order to fill their greedy
pockets have committed unspeakabIe
crimes against every law of decency,
who have made such tremendous efforts
to prevent the passage of a proper IN
spection law, and who have actually
beaten the President and the Senate in
the matter of saddling the cost of the
inspection upon the taxpayers are sud-
denly going to become meek and law
abiding? Incredible. Are men who
have managed to have $4,000, 600 a year
taken out of the pockets of the tax
payers. instead of diminishing their
own immense profits by that very just
charge, going to desist from all the
evil practices which have so swelled their
gains2,, They will when the leopard
changes his spots or the Ethiopian his
skin. They are going to obey the law
no farther and no longer than they
nave to. Common sense tells US that
emphatically. We shall have precisely
the same difficulties in properly en-
forcing the laws that we have had with
other laws curbing great. uascrupulous.
greedy interests. There will be the
same scandals. the same iaxity of en-
forcement where enforcement will di-
minish profits the same corruptions of
watchers and inspectors, the same dis
coveries of riches amassed by dishonest
officials who have betrayed the public.
Undoubtedly, in time we shall perfect
the law and its administration. as we
have in other cases. but that consum-
nation is years away, as it was in those
cases.
The people have, however, a remedy
near at hand, which they can them
selves apply. 1t is to develop an ener-
getic and thorough municipal and State
inspection. This has begun at Indian
apelis, where the State Health Officer
has quietly made purchases in open
market, and inspected the goods. with
startling results. In more than half
of the canned goods he found poison
Gus preservatives, which were ruinous
to the health of well people. and prob
ably fatal to those in a debilitated con-
dition.
This points clearly to a method by
which the packers as well as other food
purveyors can be held down to the
right far better than by any Govern
ment inspection. Every City, every
County, every State should have a COM
petent Health Officer whose duty IT
should be to keep vigilant watch of
everything brought in from these can
neries and offered for sale. This Is a
matter of far more importance than
quarantining against contagious dis
eases. The assaults of greedy packers
upon the public health are much more
dangerous than yellow fever, smallpox
or dfphtheria. With proper Hea ith Off
GERS everywhere fearlessly doing their
duty it would be matter of lighter i'm
portance how the Inspectors at Chicago
were doing their duty These Health
Officers should report the names of
those packers whose goods were found
for any reason to be unfit for public
consumption, and 1t would not take
many reports of this kind to bring the
packers to sense of the need of being
clean, decent and honest in their work.
The National Tribune is firmly of the
opinion that good local Inspectors are
far more valuable than Government Of
ficialS and are more 10 he fea red h,, +ha