The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-16
PRESIDENT CALLS
SUBSTITUTE BAD
Sharp Correspondence Between
Wadsworth and the President
on the Meat Bill.
Journal Special Service.

journal Special Service.
/ Washington, June 16.-The house Of
representatives is fighting mad. Speaker
Cannon, who has had an offensive and
defensive alliance with the president,
has left the reservation. j. w. Wads-
worth, whose son the president g friends
made speaker Of the New York assem-
bly,, has sent tart answer to the presi-
dents @etter to him denouncing the
house substitute for the Beveridge meat
inspection bill.
Presidents Letter.
The president g letter to Mr.. Wads-
~ have gone over your bill very
| carefully, and not only obtained q, re-
port from Mr.. McCabe. as I told you 7
would, but also obtained a report from
Mr.. Reynolds, on it. / am sorry to say
the more closely ! Investigate your pro
Almost every change is one for the
worse; so that it hardly seems neces-
sary for me to enumerate them. Per-
haps the amendment as you have now
drafted it is not quite as bad as it was
when you submitted it to me in the
first instance, but 1t is very, very bad.
| There seems to be one point in which
~ 40 pOSS1Ulc tudI Lu6 du10uuucAG 10
even worse than the original amend
ment, if, as seems likely, there is no
| provision for making. plants accessible
| at all hours to the inspectors.
''In any event, am sorry to have to
say that this strikes me as an amend
ment which, no matter how uninten-
tionally, is framed SO as to minimize
the chance Of roofing out the evil in
| the packing business, Doubtless it suits
| no hn 10 ru
inspection, much better, than the senate
amendment, and I have no doubt that
not only the packers, but their allies
| in business and those stockgrowers4 who
are influenced by them, would prefer it.
.~. Blow to Stockraisers. u a'E@7$ :
| "But I am convinced it would, in
the long run, be a heavy blow to the
honest stockraisers and the honest pack.
the far better ones contained in the
senate amend ment, for, as com
pared with the senate amendment
this proposed amendment, which
you, tell me lis that Of the ma;
jority Of the house committee, would
hamper In the most grossly, improper
| fashion the secretary Of agriculture in
doing the. work which you have ap;
pointed him to do, and will prevent
done at all from being well and thoroly
done. ,-~..s-.
If the bill should go thru in. : the
form that the majority. Of your com
mittee proposes, it might be that !
should sign it as working. certain
slight improvement over the present
law; but, if So, should accompany it
how grave the defects were, and can
not even promise to sign it, because the
provisions (about the courts as well
as about other matters) are so bad that
in my opinion, if they had been de-
liberately designed to prevent the rem.
edying Of the evils complained Of, they
could not have been worse.
''It seems to me that the surest way
to keep our foreign trade, with US
likewise, in thoroly unsatisfactory
condition, and to prevent it's resuminP
the position which it formerly had
is to enact the law in the shape. pro
posed in the amendment submitted to
me by you.'
Wadsworth's Reply.
President Roosevelt received the fol
lowing reply from Mr.. Wadsworth:
my Dear Mr.. Presidents: I received
your letter last night. You are wrong
very, very wrong in your estimate
Of the committee 3 bill. It is as perfect
a. piece Of legislation to carry into
effect our own views on this question
as was ever prepared by a committee
Of congress Every member Of the com
mittee is absolutely honest and sincere
as yourself in his desire to secure tn.
passage Of a rigid meat inspection bill
They know the meaning Of the Englisl
language: 49,. - ~ YIN
FETo show you how unreliable tn
information Is upon which you bas
your opinion of the bill T call you
attention to the following language i,
your letter:
"'There is no provision for maxim,
the plants accessible at all hours t.
the Inspectors = -
Thinks It Is Plain.
eff you will turn to page o
the bill (copy inclosed), line 2, 20
will find the following words:
And for the purposes Of suca e.
animation and inspection said inspect
ors shall have access at all times t
every part Of the establishments.
"Can the English language be mad
any planners &
z..furn to page 6, line 10, an
you will find this language: :
-. =. The secretary Of agriculture sha
cause an examination and inspection {
all cattle, sheep, swine and goats, an
4 the food products thereof, slaughtere
4 ! and prepared in the establishment
hereinb described, for the pu
poses of interstate or foreign con
d MERGE, to be made during the nigl
4 time, as well as during the day tim
q when the Strengthening Of said cattl
q sheep, swine and goats, or the prepar
ton Of said food products is CO.
4 Quoted during the night time -.
Therefore, in at least one of the tv
criticisms you make Of the bill you mu
admit that you are absolutely wrong.
"You say: Doubtless it suits Il
packers, who object to a thorogoi1
inspection. .
q when I submitted the bill to you, til
i the packers insisted before our comm
4 passed. Their life depends upon
4 the statement that they placed no. obst
4 trary gave us many valuable sugg'
a of their business.
q " Court Review.
a 't:Your other actual criticism Of t
II t amendment refers to the court revie'
q clause. The worst that can be said
q this clause is thai. it is, perhaps unn'
q essarythat i Is already coveredsb by {
81 isting law. have been always taue
q to honor the Judiciary Of my country
q have always been taught respect t
= rights Of it's citizens and to respect t
A rights Of property, and ] cannot belle
that the mere renafition If a fnrovis 81