The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-05
TUESDAY, JUNE 5. 1908.
SPEAKER AND BEEF TRUST.

Apparently there can be but one ex- planation of Speaker Cannon's position on the Beveridge meat inspection bill, and that is a very scrdid one. That , bill is aimed at the meat trusts and will be a severe blow to them If it Is en- acted and enforced. and the only way to account for Cannon's opposition is by assuming that he stands in with the trust To show the sweeping charac- following summary as prepared by a contemporary:
 It provides for rigid post-mortem in spection of all cattle. swine, sheep and goats killed for human consumption in any State, territory or any place under the Jurisdiction of the United States according to the rules of the asricul- healthfui shall be tagged. and all meat found unhealthful shall be destroyed.
 It provides for re-inspection when in- spectors think any meat product has even if 1t has been passed once.
 All slaughterers and packers and all others engaged in preparation of meat prsducts must admit inspectors to all parts of their establishments.
 All canning. rendering, salting and packing products are included, and any products treated with dyes or deleter- ious chemicals or preservatives shall be condemned.
 All establishments must be maintain ed in a sanitary manner, according to rules and regulations prescribed by the secretary of agriculture.
 No animals shall be allowed to en- ter any killing or packing establish rnents unless they have been inspected and passed. and none but healthful animals shall be used.
 After Jan. l, 1907, no railroad or any other common carrier can transport any meat product not inspected cr pass ed, and no ship with such articles on hoard shall be given clearance papers, nor can any common carrier transport any meat product that Is not prepared in an establishment where specified sanitary conditions dc not prevail.
 All canned, potted or canvased meat products shall be labeled as inspected and passed, and shall not be offered for sale until so labeled . forging labels. N.A night and aaX. but there shall be no slAughtering In the night time except in cases of emergency.
 Fees for inspection are fixed.
 Packers and dealers in meat products are forbidden to affer for sale any esh-sAIted, canned or otherwise pack cd meat products that have not been properly Inspected and passed.
 Penalties are provided for attempts to brtDe inspectors,
 Animals slaughtered by farmers nh farms are exempt.
 This seems to cover the entire sub feet like a blanket, and while It may In some respects be too drastic or too far-reaching, it can be corrected or amended so as toSbe both practicable and eficacious.
 It is remembered by most readers. we have no doubt, what a great uproar there was all over the country over the charge that our soldiers during the Spanish war were being fed on poison ous canned beef. Investigations were begun but were suppressed largely through the use of money and by the Influence of Secretary Russell A. Alger and other prominent Republicans. How true 1t is, we do not know, but IL is said that the beef trust put up mil lion dollars to stop the Investigation besides paying a chemist S7O,OOO for d "certificate of character" and also sub scribing fifty thousand dollars to the Republican campaign fund.
 It is to suppress or abolish such frauds that the Beveridge measure is designed. They are frauds of such dangerous and revolting character that a correspondent of The New York W orld recently declared that if even one-fourth the charges are true the only punishment for the guilty parties is lynch law. They ought. every one of them" he declares, be taken out and hanged by the neck to the nearest lamp-post until they are dead"
 It will not be necessary to resort to such drastic measure if proper law is enacted and enforced. Such Is the Beveridge measure. and MT. Cannon Is standing in the way of it's passage. Mir. Cannon Is from Illinois. Chicago is headquarters of the beef trust and that organization has powerful political in- f1uence. Is that the secret of the Can non 0ppositioR9