The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1906-06-15
President Accompanies
II With a Special
Message.
ROOSEVELT SAYS HEALTH
OF COUNTRY AT STAKE
The Report Was Prepared BY
Charles p. NeilI, Commits
sioner of Labor, and James
B. Reynolds, of New York.

Washington, June 4.-The president,
on Monday, transmitted to congress
the report of the Neill-McReynolds
commission accompanied by a special
message.
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
THE Senate and House of Repre-.
s~entatives: l transmit herewith the re-
port of Mr.. James Bronson Reynolds
and Commissioner Charles P. Neill,
the special committee whom appoint
ed to investigate into the conditions
in the stock yards of Chicago and re-
port thereon to me. This report is of
a preliminary nature. l submit it to
you now because it shows the urgent
need of imme diate action by the con-
gress in the direction of providing u
drastic and thoroughgoing inspection
by the federal government Of all stock
yards and packing houses and of thei
products, so far as the latter enter in
to interstate or foreign commerce.
The conditions shown by even this
short inspection to exist in the Chi.
cago 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 it is wholly impossible
to secure satisfactory results.
when my attention was first d.
rected to this matter an investigation
was made under the bureau of animal
industry of the department of agricul-
ture. When the preliminary state
ments of this investigation were
brought to my attention they showed
such defects in the law and such Who'll
ly unexpected conditions that I
deemed it best to have a further i'm
mediate investigation by men not con.
nected with the bureau, and according
ly appointed Messrs. Reynolds and
Neill. 1t was impossible under exist
ing law that satisfactory work should
be done by the bureau of animal in
dustry. / am now, however, examining
the way in which the work actually
was done.
Before l had received the report
of Messrs. Reynolds and Neill l had
directed that labels placed lpon any
package of meat food products should
state 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 / shall feel
compelled to order that inspection la.
bells and certificates on canned prod
ucts shall not be used hereafter.
Not Even Reasonably Clean.
"The report shows that the stock
yards and packing houses are not kept
! ever reasonably clean. and that the
method of handling and preparing food
products is uncleanly and dangerous to
health. Under existing laws The ma
tional government has no power to en-
force inspection of the many forms Of
prepared meat food products that are
daily going from the packing houses
into interstate mmerce Owing to an
inadequate appropriation the depart
ment of agriculture is not even able to
place inspectors in all establishments
ueSirinS lHeIn. Inc present law pro-
hibits the shipment of ~uninspected
meat to foreign countries, but there IS
no provision forbidding the shipment
Of u~ninspected meats in interstate
commerce, and thus the of in
terstate commerce are left open to
traffic in diseased OF 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 prep
aration Of the meat food product. The
evil seems to be much less in the sale
of dressed than in the sale
of canned and other prepared products,
and very much less as regards prod.
ucts sent aboard than as regards those
used at home.
in my judgment the expense of the
Inspection should be paid by q fee