The Mena weekly star., 1906-06-07
PACKING HOUGREP0R1M IN
President Roosevelt Transmits to Congress the Findings of Neill
 and Reynolds.
RECOMMENDS DRASTIC INSPECTION LAW

Report Declares Conditions at 1hicaso
 stockyards are Revolting ana caii TUT
 Immediate Action by Congress-Ao- .u
 stract of the Document SubmitteuN
 Regard for Cleanliness.
 Washington, June 5.-Presioent Roosevelt Monday transmitted to con- gress the report of Messrs, Nell ana Reynolds of their investigation or the Chicago Stockyards and packing houses. The report and message trans mitting same are in part as follows:
 q transmit herewith the report or MT James Bronson Reynolds and Com missioner Charles P. Neill, the speclai commission whom I appointed to ln- yestigate into the conditions Of the .tockyards of Chicago, and report thereon to me. This report IS or d preliminary nature I submit It 10 you now because it shows the urgent need or immediate action by the congress m the direction of providing drastic and thoroughgoing inspection by the fed- eral government of all stockyards ana packing houses and of their products so far as the latter enter into interstate or foreign commerce. The conditions shown by even this short inspection to exist in the Chicago stockyards are revolting. It is imperatively necessary in the interest of decency that they should be radically changed. Under the existing law 1t is wholly impos- sible to secure satisfactory results. When my attention was first dl- rected to this matter an investigation was made under the bureau of animal industry of the department of agri- culture. When the preliminary state ments of this investigation were brought to my attention they showed such defects in the law and such wholly unexpected conditions that l deemed it best to have further im- mediate investigation by men not con- nected with the bureau, and accord ingly appointed Messrs. Reynolds and Veill. It was impossible under the existing law that satisfactory work should be done by the bureau Of ani- nal industry. am now, however, examining the way in which the work actually was done.
 Before I had received the report of Messrs, Reynolds and Neill l had directed that labels placed upon any package of meat food products should Ox>lx hoS ha of hn nj nal from which the meat was taken | had been inspected at the time of slaughter. If inspection of meat food products at all stages of preparation is not secured by the passage of legis- lation recommended, l shall feel com piled to order that inspection labels and certificates on canned products shall not be used hereafter.
 The report shows that the stock yards and packing houses are not kept even reasonably clean and that the method of handling and preparing | food products is uncleanly and dan gerous to health. Under existing law the national government has no pow CT to enforce inspection of the many forms of prepared meat food products that are daily going from the packing houses into interstate commerce. Owing to an inadequate appropriation the department of agriculture Is not even able to place inspectors in all establishments desiring them. The present law prohibits the shipment of uninspected meat to foreign coun- tries, but there is no provision for bidding the shipment of uninspected meats in interstate commerce, and thus the avenues of interstate com merce are left open to traffic in dis eased or spoiled meats If, as has been alleged on seemingly good author ity, further evils exist, such as the improper use of chemicals and dyes dy them. A law is needed which will enable the inspectors of the general government to inspect and supervise from the hoof to the can the prepara- ton of the meat food products. The evil seems to be much less in the sale of dressed carcasses than in the sale of canned and other prepared pro- ducts.
 Tn my judgment the expenses of the inspection should be paid by fee levied on each animal slaughtered If this is not done, the whole pur- pose of the law can at any time be defeated through an insufficient ap- propriation; and whenever there was no particular public interest in the subject it would be not only easy but natural thus to make the appropria- tion insufficient. If it were not for this consideration l should favor the government paying for it.
 The alarm expressed in certain quar- ters concerning this feature should be allayed by realization of the fact that in no case, under such law. will the cost of inspection exceed eight cents per head.