The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-06-05
PRESIDENT SCORES
PACKERS METHODS
No Law Under Which DiscoT.
cred Evils Can Be Cor.
rected.
PESENT BUREAU WORK
ENTIRELY INADEQUATE
Report of Special Commission.
erS Exposes Terrible Pack
ing-House Conditions.

| WASHINGTON, D. c., June 4-Presi-
dent Roosevelt today sent TO the Senate
a special message on the packers nyesti-
| cations, and at the same time transmitted
| the report of the special commissioners
! conducting the investigation. Both mes
sage and report are printed in FULL
Presidents Message
The Senate and House of Representa-
| tives; I transmit herewith the report
of AIr. James Bronson Reynolds and Com
missioner Charles P. NELL the special
committee whom l appointed to investi-
gate into the conditions in the stock
yards OF Chicago. and report thereon TO
me. This report Is OF preliminary ma
| ture. l submit It to you now because
| Ii shows the urgent need OF immediate
| action BY tho Congress In the direction OF
providing Il drastic and thorough going
| inspection by the Federal Government OF
\ all stock yards and packing houses and
| OF their products far rs the latter
| entor into interstate or foreign commerce.
The conditions shown by even this short
| inspection 10 exist I'm the Chicago stock
yards are revolving. 1t is imperatlvey
| necessary. in tho interest of society and
decency. that they should be radically
changed. Under the existing law it is
wholly impossible 10 secure satisfactory
| results.
Bureau Insufficient.
| When my attention was FIRST directed
| 10 this matter an investigation WAS made
| under the bureau OF animal industry
! OF the Department OF Agriculture
| Nhen the preliminary statements of this
| Investigation were brought to my atten-
ton they showed such defects in the law
! and such wholly unexpected conditions
that l deemed ie best TO hive a further
| Immediate investigation by men not con-
\ nected with the bureau. and accordingly
! appointed Messrs. Reynolds and Nell.
II was impossible under the existing
| law that satisfactory work should be done
| oy the bureau OF animal industry, | am
now, however. examining the way in
which the work actually was done,
Discard Labels.
Before I had received the report of
| Messrs. Reynolds and Nell l had di-
rected that labels placed upon any
| packages Of meat food products should
state only that the carcass OF the animal
Irom which the meat was taken had
! been inspected at the timo OF slaughter.
| II inspection OF meat food products at
All stages OF preparation is not secured
by the paSSsaSe ,, OF ssIiS9 LEGISLATION recon
that inspection labels and certificates on
canned products shall not be used here
| after
LACKS 10
Tho report Shows that the stockyards
| ard packing houses are not kept even
| re Gsouably clean, and that the method
| OF handling and preparing tood products
| Is uncleanly and dangerous TO health.
| Under the existing law the National Gov
| Crnment has no power TO enforce lnSpec-
| ton OF the many forms Of prepared meat
food products that arc daily going from
| The packing houses into interstate COM
| merce, Owing to an inadequate appropri-
alton the Department OF Agriculture is
| rot even able TO place inspectors in all
| establishments desiring them. Present
| law prohibits the shipment or uninspected
meat to foreign countries. but there Is TO
| provision foroiddnS the shipment OF un-
| Inspected meats in interstate commerce,
| and thus the avenues OF interstate COM
merce are left open 10 traffic In diseased
| on seemingly good authority further
OWLS exist. such as the Improper use OF
chemicals and dyes; the Government
| Teeded which Will enable the inspectors
| Of the General Government to Inspect and
! supervise from the hoot 10 the can the
| 5reDaTation OF meat food products. The
| cvll seems 20 be much less in the sale OF
! dressed carCasscs than in the sale or
| csnned and other prepared products.
Evasion Made Easy.
In my Judgment tho expenses Of the
Inspection should be paid by a fec levied
! on each animal Slaughtered II this is
| not done the whole purpose of the Law
| can a. any tIme be defeated through an
| there was no particular interest on the
| subject II would not be only easy, but
natural 5hus 20 make the @ ePprG6PIriaGn app t6I. dnn
sideration should favor tho Government
paving for 1t.
concerning this feature should be allayed
by realization OF the act that in no
case, unde.' such a law, Will the cost OF
inspection exceed cents per head.
Returned CaTcasses.
Nhis report Is preliminary, and that the
| inves. igation is still unfinished 1t is not
vet possible to report on the alleged
abuses In tho use OF dcleterious chemical
compounds in connection with canning
and preserving meat products. nor on
tainted meat and of products returned TO
the packers as having grown unsalcaole
or unuseable from age or from other rea-
sons. Gays allegations are made In ref
crence To abuses of this nature.
Legislation Necessary.
Let NE repeat that under the present
law there pra stcally is no method of
stopping those abuses " Trey should oe
discovered u exist. Legislation is needed
In order to prevent the possibility OF all
abuses in the future Ii no Legislation is
passed then the excellent results accom-
ppIiShed by the work OF this special COM
mlttee will endure only sc long as the
memory of tho committee work is fresh
and rccrudesccncc or the abuses is apSo-
lutely certain.
1 urge the immediate enactment into
law Of provisions which VIII enable the
Dcportmeut of Agriculture adequately TO
inspect tho meat and food products enter
ing into interstate CONNIE; ce and to su-
pervise the methods of preparing the
same, and 20 prescribe the sanitary con
dItIons under which the work shall be
performed l therefore commend TO your
favorable consideration and urge the en-
actment OF substantially the provisions
known rs Senate amendment No. p to
the act making ayprcpriaticns for the De
partr,cnt Of Agriculture for the fiscal
year ending June So 1907. rs passed by
The Senate, this amendment being corn.