The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-06-14
AGAIN TELLS OF
PACKERS FILTH
COMMISSIONER NELL REITER.
ATEs CHARGES AGAINST
BEEF PACKERS.
TRUST SOl0NS ARE UNFAIR
NELL TREATED LIKE A Gull
PRIT-ossEoUIous TO PACK.
ERS' AGENT.

Washington, June $50 persistent
and hostile were the attacks made on
Commissioner of Labor Neill yester-
day by members of the committee on
agriculture because of his charges
against the beef packers that Repre-
sentative Bowie of Alabama protested
against the in which he was
being treated.
Mr.. Bowie said the beef trusts rep
res~entative, Thomas E. Wilson, a
been treated with great courtesy by
the committee Wednesday, and that
he objected~to Mr.. Neill, the represen-
tative of the government, being SUBJ
jected to a cross-eXamination and be-
ing put in the position Of a cuiprit
about 10 be prosecuted.
Unfair, Says NeiII.
ct think myself" Commissioner
Neill said, that the attitude of certain
members of the committee toward the
witness who yesterday declared we
had reported things we had not seen,
and the attitude of certain members
toward me is strikingly different.
81 do not want to be discourteous to
the committee, but | think the ques-
tions being asked and the way in
which they are asked is not fair to me,
compared with the way Mr.. Wilson
was treated yesterday"
what the gentleman says is en-
tirely correct" Representative Lamb
of Virginia, a Democratic member of
the committee, said. Il agree with
him and l am personally responsible
here or anywhere else"
Davis Also Protests.
Same here" shouted Representa-
tive Davis of Minnesota, who was sit
ting across the table from where Rep
resentative Lamb was seated. ut is
outrageous"
Members of the committee were be-
ginning to move uneasily about in
their seats when Commissioner Neill
quieted things down by saying:
Some of the questions asked me and
the attempts made to lead me into
making statements which I plainly do
not near, and the fact that was pre-
vented from expressing my ideas in
my own words, was no fair
Beef 2 Cents a Pound?
1t has been predicted that if the
agitation continues much longer and
the foreign demand continues to de-
crease, cattle will Don be down to 2
cents a pound on the hoof, instead OF
from 5 to 6 cents as at present. The
representatives who have cattle-rais-
ing constituents are urging the com
mittee to finish its work and stop the
agitation.
Statements made in the Neill-Rey-
nolds report were made the text of an
mated questioning of the commission
err yesterday, and charges that revolt
ing conditions were almost general in
the big plants We're reiterated by Mr..
Neill. who was continually placed on
the defensive by the b~elligerent atti-
tude of his examiners.
Drastic Provisions.
The expectation is that the hearing
will be completed to-day, and that the
committee on Monday will report the
completed agricultural appropriation
bill, with practically as drastic provis-
ions as were contained in the bill as
it passed the senate.
The only important differences Of
opinion seems to be over the question
whether the government or the pack
ers shall pay the cost of inspection,
but it seems probable that the out
come will result in the packers footing
the bill.
Representative Adams of Wisconsin
summed up the objections Mr.. Wilson
had made to the Beveridge amend
ment, and Mr.. Wilson asscnted to
each in turn.
Summary of Objections.
The first was the objection to plac-
ing the cost of inspection on the
packers; the second. requiring dates
on labels; third, the sanitary require
ment which leaves discretion to COM
mon carriers to reject shipments if it
regards the packing houses from
which they come as unsanitary;
fourth, the use of %adjectives describ-
ing meat unfit for food; fifth, the re-
striction on personalities in such
form thar any inspector might put his
own Interpretation on what was in
furious; and, sixth, the requirement
that the contents of canned product
shall be set forth on the label.