Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1906-08-18
MEAT BILL is DEFECTIVE
Joker Has Been Discovered in
the inspection Law.
DECEPTION CAN BE PRACTlCEr
Meat Killed Locally Not Subject
to Inspection BY yernment
Buyers Not Protected.

Buyers MOI PROJECTED.
Washington. d. g., Aug. l6 "A
Joker has been discovered in the
meat inspection law which. according
to the authorities. may admit OF the
sale OF a considerable quantity OF
meat that. in ordinary circumstances.
wonld not pass inspection.
A general impression exists that all
meat which enters into interstate
commerce must be inspected before
it is offered for sale. This develops
not to be the case. A provision Of
the law enables farmers to send to
market such carcasses as Ire may him
self prepare for sale. Unless these
caroasses are inspected at the noint Of
their destination. they are sold TO the
consumers without any inspection
at all. 1t matt rs not whether the
meat thus offered for sale enters into
interstate commerce. A farmer in
West Virginia. Tor instance. could
slaughter steer and send the carcass
into the District of Columbia under
tile law. Unless the health authori-
ties of the city of Washington should
happen to inspect the meat, there
would be no inspection OF 1t. The
United States would not inspect it,
although the meat may have beeh
shipped by rail to Washington.
In such circumstances, a farmer
might kill a steer which was suffering
from tuberculosis The evidence OF
the disease. in its iucipient state.
would be found in the sub naxillary
gland From ignorance or worse, the
farmer would ship the carcass. Hav-
ing removed the head of the animal
before shipment, the farmer could
not be held as a violater Of the law
by the butcher receiving the meat,
unless it could be shown absolutely
that the farmer knew the animnl
was diseased. Manifestly, it would
be exceedingly difficult to obtain
proof of such prior knowledge, even
# evidence of the disease susequent-
" were discoyered-a very unlikely
contingency.
The chances are that the retail
butchers are not going to look very
CLOSELY at the meat thew buy. Over
their counters they will offer to Gus.
toners roasts. steaks, chops legs OF
lamb. etc. Even if the meat has been
slaughtered in packing.house in.
spected by the government, the gov
ernment label Will ror be borne on
each piece of meat. AS matter of
concrete fact, therefore,. the ordinary
consumer will have no better assnr'
ance of the healthfulness of the meat
he buvs than he has now, except that.
in general way, he knows that all
meat killed in certain great packing
houses must have been inspected be-
fore it was accepted by the railroads
for shipment.
The Law does not apply, however, to
meat slaughtered in the locality
where it is offered for sale and the
bulk of the meat consumed is local
killed. Secretary Wilson. who is
giving night and day to the enforce
mant of the meat inspection law, says
il would be impossible for the govern
ment to inspect all of the meat offered
for sale in the United States Thus
far. of the nearly one thousand pack
ing houses doing a greater or less in
terstate commerce business in th,s
ountry. less than two hundred have
applied for government inspection
OF course, the humber which has
appiied constitute those which do the
great bulk of the slaughterirg in the
country, but the possibilities OF the
shipment of bad meat from the Others
are not pleasant TO contemplate,
The penalties of the law attaching
70 the railroads for the carrying
from one state to another of meat not
inspected by the government are so
severe that few chances will be taken
by the railroads themselves; but the
other loouholes which the law offers
are so larae that it is practical GER
taintv that meat unfit for human con-
sumption vet will get to the markets.
CANpTNrc ATT RTUFR