Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-06-05

AFTER THE MEAT PACKERS.

President Roosevelt is on the trail
of the meat packers again. Prompted
by Upton Sinclairs exposure of the
horrible conditions existing and meth
DDS practiced in the Chicago packing
houses, the president instituted an in
vestigation by secret agents of the gov
eminent to ascertain what truth there
was in the charges. Whether the stu
alton is as bad as Mr.. Sinclair depict
ed it is not known as the findings of
the commissioners have not been Civ
en- out.
To met the evils and unwholesome
methods resorted to by the packers
in the slaughter of animals and in the
curing of meats and the disregard for
sanitation. Senator Beveridge of In
diana secured the passage in the up
per house of an amendment to the ag
ricultural bill calling for rigid in
spection of meat products in the large
packing houses. This amendment
is meeting with strong opposition by
the packers and their friends who are
seeking to defeat it in the house.
The president is holding his big
stick over the packers. and may let
it fall. He says that if the amendment
is enacted into law he will be content
to remedy the evil complained Of
through the law. If, however, the
amendment is defeated he will consid-
er it his duty to place before congress
the reports in his possession relating
to the abuses existing in the packing
houses. It is not through any particu-
lar regard for the packers that the
president refrains from making the
report public but because he fears that
an official statement Of facts would
iniure the stockraisers of the county,
thus making them innocent victims Of
line of abuses for which they were
not primarily in any sense responsible
OF course, there is clamor in certain
quarters that the report be given pub
licity, but the president, who knows its
contents, is the best judge of what is
the Wisest course to pursue.
Because department of the govern
ment institutes an investigation for its
own information in order that certain
abuses may be corrected it does not
follow that a report must be made TO
congress. Public interests may be bet
ter conserved by avoiding publicity.
Certainly the president is Offering 4
good reason for Withholding the report
if by making it public it would injura
the stcckraiSers of the country who
against now, and the sale of American
meats abroad
TIL statement by one newspaper that
the president was resorting to a spe-
cies of blackmail in threatening to
send the report to congress if the pack
ers did not accept the Beveridge
amendment is nonsense The presi-
dent is after results and no one need
fear but he will pursue legitimate
methods in obtaining them. If he
cannot secure what he wants and what
he thinks the country needs without
publicity the report will be forthcom-
ing. He wants to avoid injury to the
stock interests and has nothing to gain
in shielding the packers.
Since the above was written the dis
patches from Washington state that
the president is not satisfied with the
attitude of the house committee on az,
riculture regarding the Beveridge
amendment, and will make public the
Neill-Reynolds report.
The president holds that the situa
ton calls for immediate legislation OF
drastic nature and is not in a mool
to let the packers down easy consid
erng the evils that have been develop
ed