The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-10
CATTLE MEN ARE ALARMED Quick Action by Con-
 gross DesiIed. RAIsERs ARE LOSING MONEY Public Sentiment Aroused Against
 Consumption of Beet. Meat Packing Business Now in state of Uncertainty and Relief is De-
 manded--Upton Sinclair
 will Not be Heard.
RA1sERs ARE LOSING MONEY

washin gtcn. June s.-The beef dn- spection hearing before the, House Com- rnittee on Agriculture was begun today by listening to Representative Garner (Texas), who made a plea for speedy action.
 Since this matter came up," he said. sthe people whs had contraeted to take our Texas steers have become alarmed and say they don't know whether or nor they are going to take our cattle and the result is we are in state of uncertainty I want to suggest that the Committee get through with the matter as soon as possible. Every day this thing is continued the stock men are losing money.
 s'Is not the packer entirely responsi- ble for this condttion?" asked Repre- sentative Haugen aa.). and continuing he said:
 T believe he is. Last week in my ofiice I SAW number of telegrams from stock yards banks to banks in my sec ton of the country asking them to telegraph immediately allof their mem bers of Congress. I believe they are responsible for the agitation"
 Representative Davis tMinn ), read a telegram from the South St. Paul Live ksock Exchange and Live Stock Board expense placed on packers because 1t would inevitably come out of the stock raisers. Mr. Wilson. representing the pack frs. corrobcrated this conclusion.
 Cosvan of Fort Worth.
 S. H. Cowan of Fort Worth, Texas, attorney for the Texas Cattle Raisers Association. was next heard He de tailed the extent of the Texas Cattle Industry MT Cowan said while the raisers had their differences with the packers and had not got the best of them yet. fin this question the interest of the raisers and packers was iden- teal If there was an additional ex- pense some one would have to pay 1t and the many who can name the price of things he sells. can put the addi- tionaI expense where he pleases The stock man believe the packers could put this expense on the stock reisers- tie, president of the Cattle Raisers Association of. Texas. whieh read
 Present agitation has seriously de- pressed cattle business Universal ina- pressfon that cattle values will suffer from s4 to se per head declineas
 Another iron, M. Q. Mckenzie, mana ger ofsthe second largest cattle ranch .sln America. in Colorado, estimated by wire that By fall the price would be s1 per 100 pounds less. Asked by Representative Adams twis) If the packers did not fix the price paid for cattle. Mir. cowan said this was an irnpossibility under ordi- cattle raisers by combination fix the price The reason was that when cat tie get into condition they must be sold
 Representative Haugen. (Iowa-) asked MT. cowan If he had read the Presidents message which estimated the cost of inspection at Sc a head.
 He had. he said. but we do not want to pay it-that is our reason" replied Mir. Cowan But rather than do without the law we would be glad to levy the cost on the cattle" he con- tinued.
 Cost of Inspection.
 MT Haugen said every member of the committee so far as he knew was in favor of the government paying the cost This cost has been estimated from sso0o,o0o to s2o.ooo,0oo annually and Congress, he said, at most would probably not appropriate more than s2 900 900 Tn view of this he beltev- ed It might be better to assess the cost on the packers.
 MT Cowan took issue with the posi- ton of Representative Cdumpacker that the federal government had no right to interfere with the police pow CTS of the states by making sanitary resrIations MT. Cowan would have the law provide that no meat shall be allowed to enter into interstate com unerce unless 1t bears the label Of Tn spectlon and this label shall not pc given unless the product is put up Tn acoordance with sanitary regulations prescribed by the secretary of agricul- ture
 Several members of the Committee at once assented that suen provision vouid be good law.
 Mr cowan made the suggestion as to fees that an appropriation be made gay s20o0 900. with the further pro- vision that if the amount should prove tnsufieient the Secretary of, Agricul- ture should prescribe fee Tor lnspec- ton to make up the difference This would each year bring pressure on Congress for the appropriation.
 Mrs. Isabel worrell Ball, formerly of Kansas gave the Committee her expe- rience with canned goods to develop the fact that canned goods did not de- terioTate with age.
 Qutek Action Wanted.
 PP Johnston, Secretary of the Col orado Horse and Stock Raisers' Asso- eiation. urged the Committee to expe- dite the legislation for inspection. He n,inable racket" The beef men. he said, were bearing all the cost. The nubiic did not seem able to apply any of the Jungle" stories to mutton.
 "onlv the other day in a restaurant" hc continued, "a waiter suggested to
 
 the customer I have been reading about this beef inauiry-bring me nut ton chops.
 He said the raisers wanted the gov ernment to pay the cost, but If there was to be trouble about 1t. I've will nav any cost" He said for several years the industry had been working hard to build up the export demand. This matter has set us right back where we were at the beginning"
 The price of beef to the producer. he said. had dropped from 75c to $1 hun dred pounds during the past few weeks. Any bill. he said. that did not suit the President would not revlleve the public mind.
 Dr. A D. Melvin, chief of the bu- reau of animal industry of the depart ment of agriculture. was next heard He fret read a statement showing the increased vigilance of rie inspection at Chicago. Moral suasion and the with