The San Francisco call., 1906-06-05

WASHINGTON, Juno 4.-The follow
ing massage of President Roosevelt
concerning conditions in the I icago
stock yards was sent TO Congress to
cay:
II tho Senate and House OF Represent
transmit herewith the report of AIr.
James Bronson Reynolds and Com
missioner Charles P Neill, the special
committee whom ] appointed to inyes-
.igate into the conditions in the stock
yards OF Chicago, and report thereon 70
me. This report is OF preliminary
nature. ] submit 4 TO YOU now because
it shows tire urgent need OF I'M
mediate action by the Congress in the
direction of providing drastic ana
rhoroughsoing inspecIlon oy the teas
erai Government OF all stockyards ana
packing houses and OF tho;r products so
far as the latter enter into interstate
or foreign commerce.
The conditions shown by even this
short inspection 70 exist in the Chi
cagO stockyards are revolving II is i'm
Dcrativety necessary. in the interest OF
decency, that they should be radically
changed. Under the existing law il is
wholly impossible TO secure satisfac-
tory results
When nay attention was first directed
20 this matter an Investigation was
made under the bureau or animal in
dustrT Of the Department Of Agrfcul-
ture. When. the preliminary statements
nay attention they showed such defects
in the law and such wholly unexpected
conditions that l. deemed II best TO have
q further and immediate inNestlga-
tion by men not connected with the
bureau, and accordingly appointed
Messrs. Reynolds and lNeili It was inn
possible under the existing law that
satisfactory work should be done by
the bureau Of animal industry. l am
now. however, examining the way in
which the work was actually done.
Rnfnrn I had rnrnfEhT fng Tpn0rf of
Messrs. Reynolds and Neill l had di-
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. II inspection of meat food
products at all sta ges Of preparation
is not secured by the passage Of legis-
lation recommended, ] shall feel COM
PEELED 70 order that inspection labels
and certificates on canned products
shall not be used hereafter.
RIGID LAW NEEDED.
The report shows the stockyards and
packing houses are not kept even rea-
s0nably clean and that the method Of
handling and preparing food products
IS uncleaniy and dangerous 10 health
Under existing law the National Gov
ernment has no power to enforce in
spectiOn Of the many forms Of pre-
pared meat food products that are daily
going from the packing houses into
Interstate commerce. Owing to an in
adequate appropriation the Department
Of Agriculture is not even able to place
inspectors in all establishments desir
The present law prohibits the ship
ment of uninspected meat TO foreign
countries. but there IS no provision for
biddfng the shipment of unihspected
meats in Interstate commerce, and thus
the avenues Of interstate commerce are
left open to traffic in diseased or
spelled meats. If, as has been alleged
on seemingly good authority, further
evils exist. such as the improper use
OF chemicals and dyes. the Govern
ment lacks power to remedy them
law is needed which viii enable
the. inspectors of the general govern
ment TO inspect and supervise from the
hoof TO the can the preparation Of meat
food, products. The evil seems to be
much less in the sale of dressed car
oasses than in the sale of canned and
other prepared products. and very
much less as regards products sent
abroad than as regards those used at
home.
In my judgment the expenses of the in
spection should be paid by a fee levied
on each animal slaughtered. If this is
not done an insufficient appropriation
might result, and whenever there was
no particular interest In the subject it
would not be only easy but natural
thus 10 make the ppropriation insult
cient If il were not for this consider
alton I should favor the Government
paying for the inspection.
The alarm expressed in certain quar-
ltIS LoltetLtlE LlllS feature SnOulQ De
allayed by a. realization of the fact
that In no ease. Under such law
viii the cost of inspection exceed nine
cents per head.
SENATE BILL FAVORED.
call special attention to the fact
tlat this report is preliminary. and
that the inNesti cation is still unfin-
ished. 1t is not yet possible to report
on the alleged. abuses in the use of
1eieterlous chemical compounds IN con-
nectfOn with canning and preserving
meat productB. nor on the alleged doc
torinE in this fashion Of tainted meat
and Of products returned to the pack
crs as having grown unstable from
age on from other reasons Grave al
DIR. PIERcE's REMEDIES