Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1906-06-08
Neill-Reynolds Report on
Meat Horrors.
The President Sends with It a Mes.
sage Urging the Passage of a
Drastic Inspection Law.

Mr.. James Bronson Reynolds and |
Commissioner Charles p. Neill, the |
special committee whom l appointed |
to investigate into the conditions in |
the stock yards of Chicago and re- |
port thereon to me. This report Is OF
"a preliminary nature. submit 1t
to you now because 1t shows the ur-
gent need of immediate action by the |
congress in the direction of providing
"a drastic and thoroughgoing inspec-
ton by the federal government Of all
stock yards and packing houses and
of their products, so far as the latter
ENTER into interstate or foreign COM
merce. The conditions shown by
even this short inspection to exist in
the Chicago stock yards are revolving.
1t is imperatively necessary in the
Interest of health and of decency that
they should be radically changed.
Under the existing law 1t is wholly
Impossible to secure satisfactory re-
'sults.
When my attention was first direct
ed to this matter an Investigation was
made under the bureau of animal in
fdustry of the department of agricul-
7ture. When the preliminary state
VI lulS luNtollbdtioh WCiS
brought to my attention they showed
ssuch defects in the law and such
wholly unexpected conditions that |
deemed it best to have further i'm
mediate investigation by men not
connected with the bureau. and ac-
.cordingly appointed Messrs. Reynolds
and Neill. 1t was impossible under
the existing law that satisfactory
work should be done by the. bureau of
-animal industry I am now, however,
examining the way in which the work
actually was done.
Before had received the report of
Messrs. Reynolds and Neill l had
directed that labels placed upon any
package of meat food products should
sstate only that the carcass of the ami
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 the
Legislation recommended l shall feel
-compelled to order that inspection
Habels and certificates on canned pro-
ducts 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 prepar-
ing food products is uncleanly and
dangerous to health. Under existing
law the national government has no
power 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 agri-
culture is not even able to place in
spectors in all establishments desir-
ang them. The present law prohibits
the shipment of uninspected meat to
foreign countries, but there is no pro-
vision forbidding the shipment of un-
suspected meats in interstate com
merce, and thus the avenues of inter
Estate commerce are left open to traffic
lin diseased or spoiled meats. If, as
has been alleged on seemingly good
authority further evils exist, such as
the improper use of chemicals and
dyes, the government lacks power to
remedy them. A law is needed which
will enable the inspectors of the gen
eral government to inspect and super
wise from the hoof to the can the pre-
The evil seems to be much less In the
ssale of dressed carcasses than in the
ssale of canned and other prepared
Yproducts.
In my judgment the expense of the
inspection should be paid by a fee
Aevied on each animal slaughtered. II
this.is rot done, the whole purpose OF
1the law can at any time be defeated
Through an insufficient appropriation
and whenever there was no particular
public interest in the subject it would
ibe not only easy but natural thus to
make the appropriation insufficient
If 1t were not for this consideration
should favor the government paying
for 1t.
| call special attention to the fac
tthat this report is preliminary, ant
that the investigation is still un
finished. 1t is not yet possible to re
'iport ON the alleged abuses in the us'
of deleterious chemical compounds IL
connection with canning and preserv
ling meat products. nor on the allege,
.doctoring In this fashion of tainte,
meat and of products returned to tn
packers as having grown unstable o
riinusable from age or from other rea
.sons. Grave allegations are made II
reference to abuses OF this nature.
Let me repeat that under the pres
lent law there is practically no metho
of stopping these abuses II the
should be discovered to exist. Legis
.iation is needed In order to preven
the possibility of all abuses in tn
future. II no legislation is passed
then the excellent results accom-
plished by the work of this specis
committee will endure only so lon
as the memory of the committee
work is fresh, and recrudescence c
the abuses Is absolutely certain.
l urge the immediate enactment In
to law of provisions which will Ell
able the department of agricultur
adequately to inspect the meat an
meat-food products entering into ir