Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1906-10-05
BRATTLEBoRo, FRIDAY, OCT, 8, 10
Dealers in Diseased Meat.

DtulcIS III biscuocu AhSos'
The state of Vermont has been a
dealer in diseased meat. When this
charge was made during the heat of
the recent political campaign the ma
chine spellbindcrs throughout the state
in chorus shouted Gratis, fddlesticks,
villifcation, political buncombe;" the
machine newspapers reiterated the
shouts of the spellbinders, and the at
torney-general, also member of the
machine, FASTENED to make a report be-
lifting the charge as much as possible
but promising a thorough investigation
after election. The attorney general s
report, published in full in this issue OF
the Reformer, has been made public by
the governor, and the revelations that
it contains prove beyond any shadow
of doubt the truth of the charges so
strenuously ridiculed but a few weeks
ago. The state cattle commissioners,
appointed to protect the people against
the dangers of infected meat, have
failed absolutely to fulfill their trust.
What is more, they have deliberately
assisted in selling diseased beef for
human food by disposing of condemned
cattle at prices so high that the ulti-
mate use of the animals must have
been apparent. Cattle condemned as
being infected with bovine tuberculosis
have been turned over by the commits
sioners to drovers who have shipped
them with other animals to slaughter
ing places in Massachusetts and sold
them for what they would bring. In
most instances the majority of the
tuberculous cattle were slaughtered for
beef. the drovers turning over to the
state the money received from the sale
of the diseased animals after deducting
a commission on the ncfarious transac-
tions. In number of cases diseased
cattle were sold outright to drOvers
who did what they pleased with them.
Many herds went to the slaughter pen
of the Burlington Rendering company,
there to be turned into beef after being
inspected (2) by member of the cat
tie commission itself No complete
records of these transactions have been
kept by the cattle commissioners, but
enough has been learned about them to
make it evident that the commission
ers have been criminally negligent of
their duty as officers of the state.
In statement accompanying the
attorney-general' S report Governor Bell
has made a feeble attempt to white
wash the commissioners actions by |
saying that they "acted in good |
faith" in the matter-that is, they |
thought they were fulfilling the spirit
of the law of 1904 regarding the dis
position of infected cattle when they |
sold them for the high dollar regard,
less of what became of the meat. Gov
ernor Bell, however, calls for the resig-
nation of one of the commission, DR..
Rich. because he was not always pres
ent in his capacity as inspector to ex-
anime the animals slaughtered at the
Burlington Rendering company plant.
Such perception as that which gives the
chief executive power to condemn one
of the commissioners and let the 9th
ers go free is withheld from the ordi-
nary mortal. But Governor Bell was
once a cattle commissioner himself and
perhaps is in better position to de-
eide of what "good faith" in that
office consists.
The cases of all the concerns and in
dividuals connected with the diseased
meat transactions, except the cattle
themselves, are now in
the hands of the grand jury of Chitten-
den county and will doubtless be dealt
with summarily. AS for the commits
sioners they should receive in fullest
measure the punishment which rightly
belongs to officials so grossly negligent
Oh UHe HOHOT OIL I1b sJdlt anu lut Wei
fare of its inhabitants. Act IS Of the
laws of 1902 provides that eff any
person shall sell or offer to sell any
cattle or other domestic animals known I
by him to be infected with bovine
or any other contagious
disease, or any disease dangerous to
public health, or shall sell or offer to
sell any part or parts of such cattle or
other domestic animals, except their
skins, he shall be fined not more than
5000 or be imprisoned not more than
,ne year, or both.'' Another section {
If the same act stipulates that all pros
scutions shall be begun within six +
months from the time of the violation i
md not after. Is it, to be supposed that
Ill the crimes of the Vermont cattle
occurred so long ago
hat they are to escape punishment
through this loop-hole in the law?
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The Bennington Banner says the n