The Penn's Grove record., 1906-06-08
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
ON BEEF REPORT
Says Revolving Conditions Exist
in Chicago Plants.
ASKED TO ACT
Packing Houses Not Kept Reason
ably CIean--- Minute Inspection
Needed - Product Should Be
Supervised From "Hoof to Can"

ably CIean---M Minute Inspection
Needed - Product Should Be
Supervised From "Hoof to Can
Washington, D. C.-The President
sent to Congress the report Of Messrs.
Reynolds and Neill on conditions in
the Chicago Stock Yards, accompanied
by a message recommending immediate
legislation to provide a drastic inspec-
ton of the yards and packing houses
by the Federal Government. The
Presidents message is as follows:
''The Senate and House of Representa-
tives:
81 transmit herewith the report Of
Mr.. James Branson Reynolds and Com
missioner Charles P. Neill, the special
committee whom l appointed to inyes-
tigate into the conditions Of the stock
yards Of Chicago and report thereon to
me. This report is of a preliminary ma
ture.
81 submit it to you now because it
shows the urgent need of immediate
action by the Congress in the direction
of providing a drastic and thorough
going inspection by the Federal Gov
eminent Of all stock yards and packing
houses and Of their products SO far
as the latter enter into interstate or
foreign commerce.
"The conditions shown by even this
short inspection to exist in the Chicago
Stock Yards are revolving. 1t is i'm
peratively necessary in the interest Of
health and Of decency that they should
be radically changed. Under the exist
ing law it is wholly impossible to Sc
cure satisfactory results.
"When my attention was first direct
ed to this matter an investigation was
made under the Bureau of Animal In
dustry of the Department of AgricuI
ture. When the preliminary state
ments Of this investigation were
brought to my attention they showed
such defects in the law and such
wholly unexpected conditions that 1
deemed it best to have a further i'm
mediate investigation by men not con-
nected with the bureau, and accord
ingly appointed Messrs. Reynolds and
Neill.
at was impossible under the exist
ing law that satisfactory work should
be done by the Bureau of Animal In
dustry. 1 am now, however, examining
the way in which the work actually
was done.
Before 1 had received the report of
Messrs. Reynolds and Neill 1 had di-
rected that labels placed upon 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.
eff inspection of meat food products
at all stages of preparation is not Sc
cured by the passage of the legislation
recommended 1 shall be compelled to
order that inspection labels and certifi-
Gates on canned products 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 preparing food
products is uncleanly and dangerous to
health. Under existing law the Ma
tional Government has no power to n
force 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 De-
partment of Agriculture is not even
able to place inspectors in all estab-
lishments desiring them.
The present law prohibits the ship
ment Of uninspected meat to foreign
countries, but there is no provision for
bidding the shipment of uninspected
meats in interstate commerce, and thus
the of interstate commerce are
left open to traffic in 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.
ga law is needed which will enable
the inspectors of the general Govern
ment to inspect and supervise from the
hoof to the can the preparation of the
meat product. The evil seems to be
much less in the sale Of dressed car
casses than in the sale of canned and
other prepared products; and very
much less as regards products sent
abroad than as regards those used at
home.
"In my judgment the expense of the
inspection should be paid by a fee
levied on each animal slaughtered. If
this is not done the whole purpose of
the law can at any time be defeated
through an insufficient appropriation,
and whenever there was no particular
public interest in the subject it would
be not only easy but natural thus to
make the appropriation insufficient.
If it were not for this consideration l
should favor the Government paying
for the inspection.
"The alarm expressed in certain
quarters concerning this feature should
be allayed by a realization of the fact
that in no case, under such n law, will
the cost of inspection exceed eight
cents per head.
Il call special attention to the fact
that this report is preliminary and that
the investigation is still unfinished. 1t
is not yet possible to report on the al
legged abuses in the use Of deleterious
cOmnOundS in connection with