Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-26
A STORY OF 4 RIDER
That Was Placed on the Agri-
cultural Appropriation Bill.
THE BEvERIDGE AMENDMENT
Providing for the Inspection of Meats
fer Home Sale.
PRESIDENT HELD BIG STICK
Investigation Of Packing Houses
Made by Commissioner Neill and
MT. Reynolds, Personal Friend.
PRESIDENT HELD BIG STICK

Back of the ease and CELEBRITY with which
| the Beveridge amendment to the agricultu-
| raj appropriation bill was passed Yesterday
there is a story. 1t is rather an Interesting
story, too. for 1t shows how the President
for once was able to hold the big stick over
the Senate and the packing interests and
force the Beveridge amendment
The rider that was clapped onto the
$',soo,0o0 appropria ton bill at the last mo-
ment and passed without discussion or di-
vision provides for the same sort of in
spection of meats for home sale that is
provided for meats to be sent abroad. 1t
will cost the packing houses several mil
lion dollars each year, and they will have
to pay for the inspection. OF course they
Will pass the cost of the inspection along
to the consumer. but as it will only amount
to about 8 or cents a head on each car
cass the burden will not be appreciable in
the individual beefsteak-that is it ought
not to be, but the dealers, packers whole
salers and retailers probably will make 1t
an excuse for putting all meat up a cent
pound and thus reap harvest off the
legislation.
There is another interesting thing about
the matter, and that is that the Beveridge
amendment is not going to be fought any
in the House. 1t will GO through there Just
as smoothly as 1t did through the Senate,
for the President happens to have all the
cards in his hand, and the packing interests
are not in position to object.
When the Trouble Started.
The trouble started quite a distance back
with the publication of Sinclair's book The
jungle. This was novel, and it was hor-
rible enough 1t showed that the inspection
Service at the Chicago packing houses was
wholly inadequate. 1t was true that the
government inspectors passed on the health
fulness OF the carcasses when they were
killed, but after that there was no inspec-
ton. and the conditions were incredibly re-
voting. The President rsad the book and
was more or less outra ged at the statements
made. Then he made some inquiries found
that the statements were all apparently true
ana he was more. outraged than ever. Sew
eraf magazine articles were prepared on
the subject by responsible writer's who knew
what they were writing about, and the
President was SO much Interested that he
read these stories in proof before they were
printed. Secretary Wilson sent a commits
sion out to look into the state of affairs,
but the President was not satisfied with a
government commission, so he sent his close
personal friend j. B. Reynolds, Il prominent
social worker and man of means in COM
pany with Chas. 2. Nell, the commissioner
of labor, on purely personal inspection
tour. The expenses of the two investigators
were paid by the government but they re-
ceived no salary and the investigation was
entirely outside the line of a government
commission. There has never been any
written report from these two Investigators
possibly there will not be, but the President
knows all they found out and SO do the
packers. The packers were Mortified, but,
for reasons entirely different from the Pres
ident's.
1t seems that the conditions disclosed
in the packing houses We're a little too
disgusting to print The packers said, IF
this sort of story gets out it will ruin
ha odI Iad
in effect, IF all 1 know gets printed it
VIII ruin your business at home, too"
Therefore, said the packers, make any
sort of an inspection law you want, pass
1t and we will stand for it, but don't make
public scandal of the matter"
Inspection Law Must Be Passed
The President replied that he was willing,
and the inspection law would be passed
without scandal If it could be, but with
scandal if it must. Meantime another thing
that was throwing cold chills into the pack
ers was that Sinclair was engaged on an
other book. He had been working on 1t for
some time, and it was not novel, either.
1t was expose of the whole packing
business from the report of the embalmed
beef commission of fragrant memory
down to the present time. 1t was a compi-
lation from official documents and the
statements of eye witnesses, such as has
DecOHe popular III magazine literature IdIG-
ly. Whether this book will be printed or
whether it will be considered like the Book
of Mother Maturin, better worth sup
pressing" has. not yet been determined.
But the packers were anxious to be able
to say If the matter did come out that the
practices alluded to were a thing of the
past and that no such conditions existed
under the present government inspection.
Hence they were about as anxious for the
passage of an inspection law as was the
administration.
So the law has gone through the Senate
without a murmur, and it will pass the
House in the same way. 1t provides an in
spection that does not stop at the gate of
the packing house. but follows the animal
through all departments till 1t reaches the
can the cooler. The consumer will paw
the freight but the cost of the inspection
will nominally be borne by the packer The
necessity for this change in the law was an
parent some years ago. and was doubly i'm
pressed on the packers recently when the
new German tariff was about to go into ef-
feet. Up to this time the inspectors have
always been paid by the government and
the force, actually large, was small com
pared to the extent of the meat industry
The inspectors were distributed by the bu-
could. principally among the houses that
did big export business. For most of the
foreign governments have meat inspection
laws of their own. and no Americana killed
government label.
Foreign Orders Lost.
When the new German tariff was about
to go into effect, German importers placed
orders In this country for $50 600, 900 worth
OF meat, principally pork, SO as to beat the
law as Tar as possible. but It was found
that the force of inspectors could not pos
sibly cope with the work. and the Depart
ment of Agriculture not only had no more
money with which to pay for additional
men. but could not get any from Congress
hH Lar IN, H.
lowed TO hire inspectors and pay them
themselves. hut the department could mol
allow this and large part OF the foreign
orders were lost for this reason.
Now that the packers are to pay for the
Inspection as many men can be hired fRSs
is necessary and the force can be increassa
future The inspection viii be- mada -