The San Francisco call., 1906-06-07

WASHINGTON, June 6-The House
committee on agriculture today decided
TO comply with the request of the Chi
cago packers to be heard on the Neill
reynolds report regarding conditions in
the Chicago packing houses. The re-
quest was made by Thomas Wilson,
manager for the Nelson Marris Com
pany, but in this instance authorized to
speak for all the Chicago packers. Be
fore hearing Mr.. Wilson the committee
notified the Department of Agriculture,
and Mr.. Neill, Secretary Wilson and DIR.
A. ID. Melvin at once came to the Cap
itol and the hearing began shortly be-
fore noon.
Mr.. Wilson made {, general denial of
the existence of conditions in the pack
lighthouses as set forth in the Neill-
Reynolds report. He began by inviting
the committee to come to Chicago and
spend week in personal investigation
Of conditions. That, he said, would be
the only way for members to gain a
proper idea of what the conditions
really were. Some suggestions made in
the report. he said. had already been
complied with by the packers, such as
additional sanitary facilities.
To the charge that canned meats
were boiled in water to ''freshen them
up" Wilson said there was absolutely
nothing in this Canned meat, he said.
was as good five years after it had been
put up as it was five minutes afterward
providing no air had got to it,
He denied absoluteIy that any dis
eased cattle or hogs were butchered for
food. In every carload of cattle or hogs
he said some were likely to be dead and
some diseased. The dead or diseased
hogs and cattle were sent to the Stand
ard Rendering Company which was a
very different institution from the
Standard Slaughtering Company, al
though the two were likely to be con-
fused in the mind. The rendering com
pany turned the dead and diseased meat
into grease, which was a co-product il
kthe manufacture of soap.
OBJECTS TO LABEL DATES.
Wilson described in detail the opera
ticn of preparing canned meats. and
when asked by Representative Scott OF
Kansas, member of the committee
How about the rope and other foreig!
matter found with the scraps on the
f1oor?" Wilson explained that what wa
probably seen in this instance was the
string on the knucklc end of what haC
been dried beef.
Representative Haskins asked abou
the dry floors
scrubbed every night as clean as wooC
can be scrubbed They are as clean a:
any Kitchen
Taking up the recommendation OF
Neill and Reynolds looking to the i'm
provement of conditions. Wilson sale
the packers did not object TO Govern.
ment regulation of sanitary conditions
but they did object to the Secretary O
Agriculture being made the judge o.
what is sanitary.
Supervision of every branch of the
packing business was not objected to
by the packers, said Wilson. The Gov.
ernment may put on as many inspectors
as it desires. SO long as the packers d.
not have to pay for them. He said tn,
packing business would be benefited b,
the inspection of the different branches
from "the hoof to the can" Good in
spection is what the packers want, h.
declared.
In addition to the question of wh
shall be the judge of sanitation, Wilsol
said that the only other suggestion
made by the Neill- Reynolds report
which the packers would have any oh
lection is the requirement that tn
date of canning be placed on all canned
articles. He said that would serve n.
purpose, except to injure the canned
meat business.
Naturally a buyer will choose thc
article with the freshest appearin,
label" said Mr.. Wilson, when, as
matter of fact the canned meat doe
not deteriorate with age"
SAYS ROOMS ARE WASHED.
Dr. Melvin, chief of the bureau OF
animal industry. was asked numbe
of questions concerning ante-morten
examinations of cattle bought by pack
ing-h houses. He explained that thes
examinations were all conducted in thr
Il ell I,