The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1906-06-07
NELL REYNOLDS REPORT Of
STOCK YARDS INVESTIGATION.
President Roosevelt Submits II to Congress and Urges
Immediate Action By That Body
He Advises Drastic and Inspection BY the
Federal Government of All Stock Yards and Packing
Houses and of Their Products, So Far AS Latter
Enter Into Interstate or Foreign Commerce.
ITO the Senate and House of Rep

sentatives:
81 transmit herewith the report Of
Mr.. James Bronson Reynolds and
Commissioner Charles p. Neill, the
special committee whom appointed to
investigate into the conditions in the
stock yards OF Chicago and report
thereon to me- This report is of a
preliminary nature. submit II TO
you because It shows the urgent need
Of immediate action by the congress in
the direction of providing a drastic
and thorough going inspection by the
federal government of all stock yards
and packing houses and of their prod
ucts so far as the latter enter into
Interstate or foreign commerce. The
conditions shown by even this short
inspection to exist in the Chicago
stock yards are revolving. IL is i'm
peratively necessary In the interest Of
decency that they should be radically
changed. Under the existing law IL
Is wholly impossible to secure salts
factory results.
When my attention was at first d.
rected 10 this matter an investigation
was made under the bureau of animal
industry of the department of agri.
culture. When the preliminary state
ments of this investigation were
brought TO my attention they showed
such defects in the law and such
wholly unexpected conditions that I
deemed II best TO have further i'm
mediate investigation by men not con.
nected with the bureau and accord
ingly appointed Messrs. Reynolds and
Neill 1t was impossible under the ex.
listing law that satisfactory work
should be done by the bureau of ami.
mai industry. am now. however.
examining the way in which the work
actually was done
Before ] had received the report of
Messrs. Reynolds and Neill, | had dl.
rected that labels placed upon any
package of meat food products should
state only that the carcass of the ami.
NAL from which the meat was taken
had been inspected at the time of
slaughter. If inspection OF meat food
is not secured by the passage of legis-
lation recommended. shall feel com.
PEELED 10 order that inspection labels
and certificates on canned products
shall not be used hereafter.
The report shows that the stock
yards and packing houses are not kept
even reasonably clean, and that the
method OF handling and preparing food
products Is unceanly and dangerous
10 health. Under existing law the ma
tional government has no power to en-.
force inspection of the many forms OF
prepared meat food products that are
daily going from the packing houses
into Interstate commerce. Owing TO
an inadequate appropriation the de-
partment OF agriculture is not even
able to place inspectors In all estab-
lishments desiring them. The present
law prohibits the shipment OF unin.
spected meat to foreign countries. but
there is no provision forbidding the
shipment OF uninspected meats in in.
terstate commerce. and thus the ave-
nues OF interstate commerce are left
open TO traffic in diseased or spoiled
meats. II, as has been alleged on
seemingly good authority, further evils
exist. such as the improper use OF
chemicals and dyes, the government
lacks power TO remedy them. A law Is
needed which will enable the inspect
ors Of the general government to in
spect and supervise from the hoof to
the can the preparation Of the meat
food products. The evil seems to be
much less in the sale of dressed car
casses than in the sale OF canned and
other prepared products.
"ln my judgment the expense OF the
inspection should he paid by fee
levied on each animal slaughtered II
this is not done, the whole purpose OF
the law can at any time be defeated
through an insufficient appropriation;
and whenever there was no particular |
public interest in the subject II would |
be not only easy but natural thus to |
make the appropriation insufficient. II
II were not for this consideration. |
should favor the government paying |
for IT,
"The alarm expressed In certain |
quarters concerning this feature |
should he allayed by a realization of
the fact that in no case under such a |
law will the cost Of inspection exceed |
cents per head
II call special attention to the fact |
that this report IL preliminary and that
the investigation is still unfinished II
is not yet possible to report on the al
legged abuses In the use OF deleterious
chemical compounds In connection
with canning and preserving meat
products, nor on the alleged doctoring
In this fashion OF tainted meat and OF
products returned to the packers as
having grown unstable or unusable
from age or from other reasons. Grave
allegations are made In reference 10
abuses of this nature.
Let nae repeat that under the pres
ent law there practically Is no method
of stopping these abuses II they should
be discovered TO exist Legislation is