Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-06-08
The Packing House Scandal.

4
The Chicago packers are re-
ceiving large amount of free ad-
vertising, but it is not of a nature
that will tend to increase their
profits. The President in his
message urging passage of the
Beveridge amendment. alludes to
the practices INDUCED in at the
Chicago packing houses as "re-
voltiug," and the plain statement
of what has actually occurred in
the handling of food products in
that city warrants much stronger
condemnation. Food adultera-
ton and improper handling OF
meat products are due to the fact
that packers see in their improp-
er methods an increased profit
over that which could be secur ed
by the exercise of cleanly, decent
| methods. Nothing brought out
| i / any of the numerous investi-
cations of beef trust affairs has
ever disclosed the slightest indica-
tiou of any qualm of conscience
on the part of the trust managers
against indulging to the limit in
all kinds of sharp practice and
dishonest work, providing there
was any money to be made.
Mr.. ]. Ogden Armour and his
multi-millionaire associates un-
doubtedly cared nothing about
the sanitary condition of their
packing-houses, or the condition
of the diseased animals which
were converted into merchant
able product in their houses. So
long as the product could be
placed on the market and sold at
a liberal profit there was no con-
cern over the health of the per-
sons who bought it and used it in
blissful ignorance of its true con-
diticn. But this fearful result OF
special commissioners Neill and
Reynolds, in which the simple
statement of facts discovered dur
ing their investigation is nauseat-
ing in the extreme, will have the
effect of touching the meat tru
on sensitive spot. With mil
lions of consumers reading the
story OF packing-house nastiness,
there is certain to be a pronounc-
ed decline in the demand of
staples of this character, in the
preparation of which the meat
trust has been growing enormous
ly wealthy.
The packers have been guilty
of incredible nastiness and cruel
disregard for the health of the
consumers, but until thev were
brought up with a round turn by
the Government there was no
evidence on their p ,rt Of any ac-
acknowledgement of wropedoing or
a desire to do better. As usual,
when a reform is long overdue,
the pocketbook must be affected
before start can be made toward
reform ton, aud then the guilty
are liable to be worse injured
than they would have been had
they behaved themselves all the
time. The foreigners, especially
the Germans, have always viewed
our packing-house products with
a certain degree of suspicion, and
recent disclosures show that the
suspicion was we'll founded. We
are eraciousiy informed, how
ever, that all of the diseased
meat was sold to American Gus
tomers-a statement of fact
which substantiates the generally
accepted opinion that the Ameri-
can citizen will meekly submit
to almost any injury and in
dignity which the trusts care to
force on him.
This essential feature Of the
Presidents message regarding the
matter is embodied in the asser-
ton that "a law is needed which
will enable the inspectors of the
Genera1 Government to inspect
and supervise from the hoof to
the can the preparation of meat
food products Ii such a sys-
tenn is perfected and the inspec-
tors are inspected" at proper
American packed
meats may be restored to public
favor after the present stencil is
forgotten, but there is nothing