The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-30
BIG FEES FOUGHT
BY PACKING men
IF Bill Is Left to Government to
Pay Inspection Will Be
Crippled.
Beveridge Has Placed Bright
Feather in His Cap by His
Plan.
BY w. w. Jermane.

BY w. w. Jermane.
Washington, May Ex-senator Bev.
eridge Of Indiana is likely to come out
Of this session of congress with moro
of personal credit than any other MEM
Der Of either house, provided, as now
seems likely, congress accepts his bill
houses and the official labelling of their
products. This is true because to Mr..
Beveridge alone belongs credit for in
itlating this legislation. Several men
worked together on the rate bill, and
on all the other important acts of the
session, and no one man, therefore, can
claim credit for any one of them. Mr..
of the question, in the light of all he
could learn regarding home conditions
and what Is done in Europe in the way
of inspection. Then he went to In
diana for week, during which time he
Previously, Mr.. Beveridge had talked
clair's book, "The JUNGLE and the
president had said that Sinclair was
muckraker.' Previous to this, the,
bureau of animal industry of the de-
partment Of agriculture had examined
ths 6em p@bog ph b and
however, was not convincing. The Sim
clair book was also discredited. The
administration, however, had become
sufficiently interested as the result Of
these disclosures to have report made
under the president personal direc--
ton, and Labor Commissioner Neill and
James B. Reynolds of New York went
duced to writing in it's entirety, has
been made varbally to the president,
and it bears out both 'sThe Jungleo
and the bureau of animal industry.
President Cried, Good
Concurrently with these movements,
Mr.: Beverage was preparing his bill,
which he wrote, and rewrote perhaps q
score Of times before he introduced it.
and cried, ROOD! Introduce e it tat at
once" This was done, and the bill
was pending before the senate commit
tee on agriculture when the verbal re-
ports of Neill and Reynolds were made
at the White House regarding packing
house conditions.
Then the president prepared red
hot message, in which he summarized
the verbal reports, and he had intended
to send it to congress this week.: Such
an act would have forever killed the
European market for American meats
and meat products. Jealous packers IN
book translated and distributed by the
hundreds Of thousands of copies over
England, France, Germany, the Neither
lands, Belgium, Scandinavia, Denmark
and Austria. The reply Of the Ameri-
can packers to this book has been that
sation-monger. Obviously, however, If .
message of the president to congress had
repeated the substantial facts OF the
| book, it is easy to understand what the
! effect would be in Europe. And If that
message should lead to a congressional
| investigation, in which all the disgust
| ing truth should be laid bare in minute
detail, what would become Of the pack
er s export BUSINESS
This was the situation when the SEN
ate last week, without debate, attached
the Beverage bill as 'rider" to the
agricultural appropriation bill and
usual performance, and hardly equalled
in senate procedure for generation.
| Nearly all of Sunday and for num-
Der of hours Monday, there were con-
ferences between the president and va
of the beef trust were also in town, do.
ing what they could to see If tie bill
couldn It be headed off in the house.
From the best available reports, the
president stood pat, demanding that
substantially the Beveridge "rider'' be
retained on the agricultural appropriar
ton bill
Packers Make Demand.
Finally, it is said, the agents for tho
packers demanded that the cost Of in.
spection be paid by the government and
not by the trust. To this the president
also is understood to have objected. It
cots $4,000 a year to furnish the pres
ent inadequate inspection of packing
Beveridge act in good faith would re-
quire between 81 800, 900 and $4,000, 900,
and If this sum We're not set apart every
session of congress. the law would be
crippled It is a favorite plan in con.
gress to. nullify a statute by failure to
making the packers pay this cost, how
ever, the law would operate automatic-
Chairman Wadsworth, chairman Of
! the house committee on agriculture, to
which the bill as it passed the senate,
Beg Cd is dsspafrstsy opposed to the ta
shipper of cattle to the packing houses,
but insists that this fact does not bias
his Judgment. He would like to kill
the Beveridge proposal, and Monday
he spent several hours with the presi-
QenC, gong over the case, ana 1uSlSlIuS
that the Chicago packers are not guilty
as charged, but that they conduct sani-
tary establishments and use only high
grade meats. The president stood his
ground. Beveridge is standing his. II
made in the bill that will impair its eff.
cheney, it will have to answer to the
country for it. This is the first chance
the people have ever had to get thru
congress meat inspection law that will
really inspect. If that bill should fail,
the house Of representatives will be
wholly responsible. This is response.
bility which it is said the house will
not assume without great deliberation.
Sweeping Proposition.
The Beveridge bill is the most sweep
ing proposition of its kind ever seen
In the American congress. For several
years the country has had pretty good
Do