The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-21
THE PACKERS ARE DENOUNCED Proctor, Beveridge and
 Lodge Speak. HOUSE BILL NOT SATISFACTORY Manufacturers Should Pay Cost of
 Inspection. Also, They Declare, It Is Unwise to Eliminate the Provision for the
 Dating of the Canned
 Products.
HOUSE BILL NOT SATISFACTORY

washington, June 2o.--Senator Proc tor today called up in the senate 'ns arricultural appropriation bill anu made the usual motion for agreement to the request for a conference
 He then made statement concern ing thA House substitute for the meat inspection provision, saying that theIe were two essential points of dinerthSe between the two houses one or these he said was the omission by the House of the Senate provision requiring that the date of inspection be placed on cans containing meat and the otnei the transfer of the cost of inspection from the packers to the national treas ury.
 Speaking of the latter change he said that it was radical, and in his opin- ion. unwise. and advised that the House amendment on that point be not ac- cepted The packers could. he declar- ed, afford the expense as an advertise ment for. looked at in that light, the government certificate would be Of immense benefit.
 MT Proctor also charged that the numerous protests which have been coming to the Senate on this subject have common origin in Chicago and in support of his statement read a number of protests to show the lam guage to be practically the same wherever they may be dated.
 Beyeridge With Proctor.
 Senator Fey sridge agreed with MT. Proctor ss to the unwisdom of the House changes in the matters of date of labels and cost of inspection, but expressed gratification that the provi- sion for night surveillance had been retained. The two essential changes he considered as most important, 6e- clearing that if the date is not to be used, it will be possible to pass off as fresh meat that which may have been inspected i've years ago. Why, he asked should tie people pay for the packers inspection ana not the packers themselves. and, agreeing with Mr. Proctor, said the government stamp would be worth eight or ten millions for advertising purposes. Looking at tho matter in that light, the cost of inspection would not be a burden be- cause the inspection would bc q great epafits
 The cost would at the most be in- finitesimal, eight cents per head for cattle and five cents for swine. It would be impossible for packers to in crease the price of meat or decrease that of stock on account of this slight charge; hence the alarm on this act was groundles5. The charge should be paid out of the profits of the pack CTS themselves and neither by the gov ernment, the stock growers of the con- sun.ers. If. he said. the plan is to be changed, there will be a vast drain on the treasury and predicted that s10,- 100000 a year would soon be required for meat inspection also.
 Packers Alone Responsible.
 He said the packers alone are re- sponsible for the agitation that has been aroused, but predicted that in the l IL kfa.4 of confidence and therefore beneficial. He credited the prospective success of the measure to the President, who had stood firmly from the beginning for tine most complete meat inspection bills on the statute books Of any country.
 Senator Lodge also spoke tor the Senate provision, although he said 1t might be considered saudacious to do so in view of the announcement that the House had perfected the measure and the President had accepted it." He pleaded especially for the dating of labels, because the public has the right to know what 1t is buying. "If canned meat is just as good five years after canning as 1t Is five months af- terward. 1t can't hurt these tender crea- lures. the packers. to have the public know about the age of the article" he said.
 It would be saie. of course that there is a prejudice. and he would admit that such Is probably the case. More over he considered the prejudice to De justified.
 He did not agree that the producers and the consumers would not feel the effect of the tax, for. judging the fu- ture by the past, the packers would find in a tax of a few mills an excuse for an increase of several cents pound on the meat they sell and sim far decrease on the stock they buy. Nevertheless. he thought the packers should pay the cost. He charged the Chicago packers with trying to defeat ehe legislation.
 The Attack from Europe.
 The attack from Europe did not alarm Mir. Lodge very much. for he said that practices in foreign countries are no whit better than our own. He read newspaper extracts to show that in England rotten eggs are used in mak- ing pastry and fevered cattle are butchS cred for beef. and also quoted an ar ticle from an English review to show that morals in that country are not all they should be.
 He brought these matters in only to show that while English methods are different from ours, the English are not better than we are. They cover up of- lenses while we exhibit them to the world.
 He believed the Americans to be  honest and this was the reason he felt so keenly the exceptional conduct of the Chicago packers They had under taken to cover up their offenses and to prevent congressional action. He de- tended the inspection report of Messrs Neill and Reynolds, saying that their charges had been justified by the or ders given yesterday by the Chicago city government for greater cleanli- ness.
 Mir. Lodge declared that the condi- ttons described by Neill and Reynolds were true at the time they were writ ten and Mir Hansbrough read a teIe- gram which said the writer had visit ed one of the big packing houses In Chicago and had found the walls Of the killing room covered with damp kali somine showing that an attempt had been made recently to clean up.
 Discussing the group of men in con trol of the packing industry, MT. Lodge said their history has been of utter de- nance Of law and public opinion. He