Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1906-10-05
THE REPORT.


Attorney General Fitts's report was
submitted to Gov. Bell under date of
Sept. IL. In his opening paragraph he
recalls the fact that in his preliminary
report Of Aug. 20 he stated that the COM
plainants in regard to the sale of dis
eased meat for food purposes, and all
witnesses of which the state had any
knowledge, had been summoned to appear
before the grand jury of Chituenden
county au Burlington on Sept. q; that
an investigation before the grand jury
had been going on since that date,
and that this report to Gov. Bell was
based on the developments in that in
vestigation.
Mr.. Fits first calls attention to the
provisions of the Vermont law govern
ing the condemnation and sale of tuber-
culous cattle. The original law pro-
vided that all cattle showing any re-
Spouse to the tuberculin test should be
condemned by the commission and
slaughtered, and that a post mortem
examination should be made, and II the
animal was found to be affected with
tuberculosis, the carcass was to be de-
stroyed, and the owner paid one-half the
appraised value. If not diseased 1t was
to be returned to the owner, who should
receive the full amount of the appraised
value. In 1902 the requirement was made
that the carcasses should be buried.
Act No. 146 of 1904 repeats this provision
and provides that the condemned animal
shall be disposed OF as ordered by the
commissioner in charge 4" The cattle
commission have construed the law of
1904 as giving them authority to dispose
of the condemned animal, either alive or
dead, to whomsoever they saw fit, with
the understanding in each case that The
animal was to be slaughtered and a post
norton examination made, and the dis
position of the carcass TO be governed by
the result of the post norton. But Mr..
Fits doubts whether the commission
have been justified in such an interpreta-
ton of the law.
It appears that the cattle commission
did nou strictly follow the law Of 1902.
which required the carcasses Of con-
demneI animals to be buried. but in
several cases such animals were sold to
the Burlington Rendering company at
Burlington. To what extent this was
done the records do not show.
The Sale Of Cattle to a somervIIIe,
Mass, Concern.
when the law Of 1904 took effect. the
cattle commission, constituting the law as
above indicated, at once made arrange
ments for the disposition of condemned
animals, that is, such as responded to
the tuberculin test, as follows:
I'm most instances, especially where
only a small number were condemned out
of particular herd, the owner was given
the option of having the cattle slaugh-
tered at home; in such case the expense
of the slaughter was charged TO the
owner, as provided in section of the
act Of 1902. In case of a considerable
number being condemned, or II the owner
didn't choose to have the slaughtering
done at home, the commission arranged
to have the condemned animals shipped
by some drover to the plant of the New
England Dressed Meat & Wool company
at Somerville. Mass, and there slaugh-
tered and disposed of by that company,
everybody else. The New England
Dressed Meat & Wool company is a
slaughtering and commission house. Its
business largely is taking animals on
consignment slaugbtering them. and dis
posing Of the carcasses and hides, taking
for its own ray the oftal. and paying the
consignor the net amount received for
the carcass and hide. This slaughter
house is under United States government
inspection, and II is supposed that the
disposition OF every animal slaughtered
there. that is, whether iU be sold for
food purposes or put into fertilizer, is
determined by the United States gov
eminent inspector, under the regulation
above cited. The evidence shows that the
condemned cattle OF the state of YER
mont which have been shipped to that
plant, have been handled In the same
individuals. Several drovers about the
state have handled the condemned cattle
for the state in this way The con-
demned animals have been mixed with
shipments Of the drovers In many In
stances. The commissioners have under
stood this and have consented to 1t, one
of the commissioners putting 1t in his
testimony that II was better for the state
to have IT done in this way. The con-
signments to the New England company
at Somerville have always been In the
name OF the drover, and returns made
direct to the drover. The state has paid
the drover So per head commission for
shipping the cattle and looking after and
turning over remittances, the drover pay
ing the freight IL has netted the drover
from 25 cents to a dollar a head profit,
and in some instances a little more tnan
a dollar The drover has incurred no risk
in the deal, and the only service he
has performed has been to load the con-
demned cattle with his own shipments,
and receive and turn over the remittance
"There has been no system OF reguia-
ton as to marking the cattle for idenu-
fication. AS a rule there has been an
'cX' clipped in the hair on the nip OF
each condemned animal Sometimes the
animals are numbered by clip IN the
hair; the condemned snimals from each
herd being numbered separately. The
Identification has not been certain, the
chance for mistake large, and the catue
commissioners have had no supervision or
oversight OF the animals from the ume
they have been turned over to the droVer:
In two or three instances some one OF
the commission have visited the plant at
Somerville, but never to exercise any
control or supervision over the handing
of the condemned animals from Vermont
The commission have turned the whole
matter over to the drovers and 10 the
officiaIs OF Massachusetts and the United
States government They have 50 placed
It that the safeguard against the unlaw-
full disposition Of the carcasses Is not
the care nor supervision Of the officers
of the staue Of Vermont, but the integ-
rity of the drovers and the supervision
and care Of the Massachusetts and United
States officials exercised in another COM
monwealth.
mo attempt has been made by our
cattle commission to keep record OF
the different herds, or where they were
disposed Of, or Of what returns were
received for them. 1t is not possible TO
trace any animal or herd from any rec
ords which the cattle commission have,
to know whether the animals were sold