Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-27
ARMOUR PLEADS
FOR FAIR PLAY
HOLD MALICIOUS INF0RMANTS
RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPOSE
Declares San Francisco Disaster Suf-
ferers Would Have Starved If
Canned Meats Were Not
at Hand
By A associated Press.

by Associated Press.
NEW YORK, June 26-J. Ogden
Armour, head of one of the largest of
Chlcago's packing houses, accompanied
by his wife and daughter Lolita, who
has been under the care of Prof. Lorenz
of Vienna, arrived here today on the
Kron Prinz Wilhelm.
Mr.. Armour tonight made public the
following statement regarding the re-
cent packing house exposures
"On summing up what has been said
about the packers and what has been
done to the packing industry one nat
urally inquiries: What has become of
our boasted American fair play?'
'One of the largest American indus
tries has been attacked and attacked
without reason in a way that has dis
credited American goods of all kinds
abroad All over Europe there is open
agitation for boycott on American
products.
THE entire export trade of this coun-
try has been badly damaged. To esti-
mate the total loss now would be
merely guess work. 1t may run into
the hundreds of millions When
American industries are slandered by
persons who pretend to speak as
Americans it is to be expected that
foreign competitors will take advan-
tage of it.
iHuuStTy VIII SURVIVE
but the American meat Industry
cannot be destroyed by Socialist agita-
tors, political revolutionists, stump
speeches or sensational journalism
running amuck
1T has existed for forty years. It's
products have made their way into
every quarter of the earth on merit.
They speak for themselves. They are
as good today as they were yesterday.
If they can be improved they will be
better tomorrow.
ISLANDER may retard, but cannot stop
good merchandise from finding a
market.
1.-The public has been ignorant, or
maliciously informed on important
phases of the whole question, namely:
The inspection now in force in all
the larger packing houses makes the
sale of diseased meat from such
houses impossible. The government,
which is responsible for the inspection.
has failed to state the facts about 1T.
THE larger packers believe in gov
ernment inspection. They asked for it
in the first place. They want it contin-
ued and improved, if it can be i'm
proved.
"I believe all of the large packers are
heartily in favor of the purposes which
the pending bill is intended to accom-
plish, namely: Thorough inspection of
all animals before slaughter; thorough
inspection of all animals after slaugl-
ter; thorough inspection of the sanitary
condition of the packing houses; thor
ough inspection of the products that go
to the consumer in other than in bulk.
81 have seen it stated that the scam
dalous attacks upon the American meat
industry was precipitated by the op-
position of the packers to proposed
Legislation. That is not true and could
not be true
my information is, and the news
paper files will bear me out, that the
flood of slander was well started before
a suggestion of Legislation was heard.
We never heard of the so-called BeV-
eridge amendment bill until it was in
troduced Everything provided for in
the proposed Legislation could have
been accomplished without any of the
damaging sensationalism we have had,
if the cooperation of the packers had
been desired and had been accepted
when preferred.
XIII First; Then Reform
"As the report to the National AS
sociation of Manufacturers which
have just read well puts it, the purpose
of the reformerS' seems to have been
to kill the industry first and then re-
form 1t.
IHeTe Is SOME SdISIdcllOn IN lHe
way users of the Chicago meats, and
particularly canned meats, are now tes-
tifying to their quality in the face of
what has been said
''San Francisco would have starved
to death after the earthquake and fire
If Chicago canned meat was not at
hand and the health department says
that period was the healthlest in the
history of the. city. English army Off
GERS and inspectors are giving similar
testimony. 1t is gratifying that devel-
opments are proving the unfair char
acter Of the Neill-Reynolds report"