Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-02-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent.

iF EOm Ouf reg ulhE
Washington, ID. c., Feb. 3.-Tbe
foes of the Pure Food law have show
ed their hands in the Senate by intro
dueing a measure striking out all but
the enacting clause Of the Hepburn bill
preparatory to substituting for it bill
prepared by the National food Manu-
facturers' Association. Now nation
al pure food law has been long aud
urgently needed Il touches every
man, woman and child In the country.
especially the children and 1t is law
that no honest manufacturer has any
thing to fear from. 1t has been urged
by all state food authorities and by all
of the agricultural colleges of the coun.
try. The Hepburn bill was drawn un
der expert advice to I'll this particular
iced and it put the execution of the
law into the hands OF the Department
of Agriculture where it would be en-
forced. 1t also made the Department
of Commerce and Labor. the Treasury
Department and the Department OF
Justice parties to its administration.
| 1t was not measure that any manu-
facturer of impure food liked, and az
they did not care to fight it in the
open, they have prepared substitute
which will be so placed that it is likely
to die Of inaction. The substitute
measure while on the face of it more
drastic even than the Hepburn bill,
leaves beautiful outlet for every re
tail dealer in misbranded and adulter.
ated foods by requiring that the liable
and the name of the shipper shall ap
pear only On the box or crate in which
the goods are shipped and not On the
packages sold to the customer. One
Can easily see how parentally protec
tive law of this sort would be. II
also provides against publishing the
names of firms misbranding and adul
terated foods and thus rObs the law OF
the greatest of all safeguards, namely
publicity. The measure has not yet
come to vote. But there is bound
to be lively fight, and the manufac.
turers have a strong lobby engaged in
| trying to push their measure through.
Shippers Of live cattle who would
gladly make an extra penny out Of the
sufferings of their dumb victims, have
encountered strong obstacle in the
House in the shape of the Humane So
cieties which are trying to block what
would be disgracefully inhuman law.
Cattle shippers are limited by statute
to 20 hours as the longest haul to which
they can subject stock without rest,
feed or water. This law was for years
dead latter. But it has been enforced
by Secrs tary Wilson for two years past
and the shippers are feeling the pinch
of it. They are now trying 10 get the
time extended so that they can haul
cattle So hours without rest, food or
water, claiming blaDdly that the cat
tie suffer less in this way than through
the additional handling to which they
would be subjected were more fire.
quent stops made. This is pure sophis
try and Is designed to make the run
just as long as it can be made without
actually losing on the weight Of the
beasts shipped. Their sufferings are
vanthirn 10 rn0roIu af
making the greatest possible profit out
of them Ii the decent minded men
and women who are urging reduction
instead of an extension in the feeding
time have their way, it will result eth
er in the shippers being forced to put
on cattle cars with feeding and water
ing attachments or better still in NOV
ing the slaughter houses from Omaha
and Chicago nearer to the cattle rails
Ing centres. The Beef Trust is large
ly Indifferent to the outcome of the
fight. 1t does not have to pay for
shipping the cattle and if the extra ex-
pense to the seller forces the trust to
pay trlfe more for beef, it will come
out of the customers pocket anyhow.
OF course should the slaughter houses
have to be moved, 1t would entail some
additional expense that would have to
be made up out of the seller and the
consumer combined. But the ques
tion of the humanity or the inhuman.
ity involved is mere detail that would
never have received though had not
this fight been forced by the Humane
Societies in the committe of the
House.
Representative Sulzer OF New York