New-York tribune., 1906-06-19
AGREE ON a MEAT BILL
PRESIDENT SATISFIED.
House Committees Measure RemOd-
eIled to Meet His pieIcS.
IFrom The Tribune Bureau.I

agreement was reached to-day becomes law tne
people Of the United States viii be entirely pro-
tected from unhealthful meat products and foods
prepared under unsanitary conditions dlther'o
federal inspection has been practised IN 40 out
of 151 packing houses in the United States
Hereafter every packing house in the country
will have to be conducted under rigid federal IN
spection unless It refrains entirely from putting
its products into interstate commerce. The Pres
ident's course throughout the investigation and
the agitation preceding this legislation has been
completely vindicated by the action of the House
Committee on Agriculture. which now acknowl-
edges that his course judicious and efrec-
tive. The committee has prepared a bill which
meets the entire approval of the Executive and
his expert advisers in the Department OF Asri-
culture
Representative wadsworth returned to Wash
ington from New York this morning. and irlTns-
diately called at the White House and assured
the President that he was prepared to accept
the views Of the Executive with regard TO the
pending law. he also assured the President
that he could speak for the committee OF which
he is chairman. OF course the conference which
the President held with the Speaker last night
paved the way for Mr.. Wadsworth's change os
attitude.
As soon as the House met Mr.. Wadsworth. an
chairman Of the Committee on Agriculture. asked
unanimous consent that the committee be per-
mitted to withdraw the meat inspection anend.
uent which it had previously reported, with
view to remodellins its provisions. Permission
having been granted. the committee assembled
and proceeded so TO alter the WadSworth bill as
to make It conform to the recommendations os
the President The measure will be placed on the
statutes at early date. when thorough and
adequate inspection will Immediately be en-
forced. and the public will be amply protected
from the abuses which the Presidents investi.
cation Of the packing industry disclosed.
The packers and their friends ara now ex.
tremey anxious to have the bill become law. aa
they have come to appreciate not only the futiI-
fly. but the unwisdom. of their course in at
tempting to thwart the President in an under
taking in which he was heartily and unani-
mously supported by the people
Representative Wadsworth will seek TO have
the new amendment adopted by the House to-
morrow so that It may be sent Immediately
to conference, practically without debate. Tia
House will proceed under suspension OF the rules
tomorrow, and there is some opposition to spar
ing the brief time necessary 10 adopt the meat
amendment, but in any event 1t viii be adopted
not later than Wednesday,.
Before Congress adjourns the Pure Food btu
will. 1t Is declared. become law. and the strids
taken by Congress at this session TO protect con-
sumers from impure. adulterated and unsani.
tary food products will have been phenomenal
and historic.
CHANGES MADE IN THE Bill.
The changes made in the new bill from that
originally reported by the committee are briefly
follows:
The paragraph relating 10 inspection Is 80
amended as TO make it clear that inspectors shall
be admitted to the packing houses at all times
Of the day or night. whether they are IN opera
The entire provision for court review Is
eliminated. The words ain the Judgment OF tia
Secretary OF Agriculture viii not be inserted.
The clause exempting inspectors from appoint
ment under Civil Service regulations IS stricken
out
annually instead OF S1OO0O00 semi-annuaI1y.
There IS to be date on the labels OF meat
food products.
In its essentials the bill, as now agreed on Is
so different from that frstsreported that the re-
lationship Is hardly recognizable. Every one OF
the provisions retained has been indorssd BY
the President as essential TO the. effective op-
Grafton OF the law. In his letters 10 Chair
man Wadsworth when the latter asked for
an expression of his views. and IN his conver-
sations with members OF tho comrn1ttee, the
President has insisted that these features
stronger IN the new amendment than In that
which passed the Senate. were OF vital irnpor-
tance as affecting the scope and effectiveness
OF the proposed law.
The President originally recommended that
the cost OF inspection be betrayed by fees paid
by the packers. and he also favored the feature
Of the Beveridge amendment providing for dat
ing canned products. but. finding serious oppo-
sition to these two propositions. the President
declared his willingness to accept the bill as now
framed by the committee.
The action Of the committee IN making ths
appropriation for inspection 100000 IS esDe-
cially satisfactory, as Secretary Wilson declares
this to be a sufficient amount to carry the law
into effect and 1t is eInphatically asserted thar
there will be no difficulty in getting adequate
appropriations to continue the work when It's
usefulness Is proved
The decision OF the Committee Agriculture
to-day TO report new bill reached after
extended conferences by House leaders and
members of the committee among themselves
and with the President. The visit OF Speaker
Cannon 10 the White House last night. when hs
discussed the meat inspection situation with the
President. had an important bearing on the ac-
ton OF the committee to-day There were sew
eraI conferences the subject at the White
House again to-day IN which the President ex-
pressed In emphatic terms his objections TO the
committees bill and gave the members OF the
committee his views in concrete form, so that
they might know just what features he regarded
as Indispensable in the meat inspection law
The legal officers OF the Department OF Agri-
culture prepared q bin which they submitted TO
the President. and It's provisions were shown to
members OF the committee who asked for them.
The agreement reached by the committee pre-
sages prompt action on the part Of the House in
considering the bill That it will bs aDDroved