Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-07
MUST PAY THE BILLS.
Public the Loser While the Trusts
 Pile Up the Profits.

Washington, June 7.-One thing the American public should under stand by this time, and if 1t does not. it will some day for 1t is receiving one lesson after another, and that is, that-whatever 1t wants 1t can have but 1t will have to pay for 1t. This, it may be said, appears to be eminent ly proper. The latest lesson has come from the beef trust. When the clam or against the alleged combination of packers was at its height these same packers calmly informed the public that 1t would have to pay the bills so they did not care how much inspec- tion they got. Notwithstanding the muca-rakers, the packers did not ob- ject to the government inspection but merely to the form of paying for 1t. If the packers paid the inspection they would have to increase the price of their products and the people would have additional cause for com plaint. Therefore they. wished the cost placed on the government where the people would still pay but would not feel 1t so keenly and many of them might think the packers were paying. Their plan was successful and instead of paying an additional cent a pound or can for the inspection the consumer pays the cost through the tariff and internal revenue.
 But there was one place where the shoe pinched. The packers bought a lot of cattle and after they were kill ed certain carcasses would be con- demned by the inspectors. Although they were paid for at the price of good beer on the hoof they are then only good for the hides and tankage, SO their value shrinks to abou! sev- enty-five cents or dollar per hun dred weight. Casually surveying the situation the beef trust could see no good reason why they should bear the shrinkage in value after inspection so the members have announced that hereafter all cattle will be purchased subject to a post-mortem examina- tion. Tn other words if the inspec- tors condemn a carcass 1t Is oon- demned as the property-of the ship per and not of the packer. By this ingenious process the situation is now satisfactorily cleared up, as far as the beef trust is concerned. The public, out of it's treasury, pays for the in- spection and if the inspectors con- demn anything the loss falls on the shipper, and not on the trust. Nat urally enough the commission men and others who handle live cattle are up in arms. Inspection was all right as long as the loss fell on the pack CTS but when 1t falls on the producers or middle-men 1t is different. As a matter of fact the new regulation of the beef trust should result to the ad- vantage of the consumer for if the trust no longer loses on the con- demned carcasses it can we'll afford to reduce its prices on the finished product. However. as the trust has not been especially noted for kindly treatment of the public, a reduction in prices from this cause Is not re- garded as probable.
 If the reports are to be believed the loss will fall most heavily on the farmers. Only about one-fifth to one fourth of one per cent of cattle slaughtered at Fort Worth. Texas. are condemned after slaughteriRg. while the rate at northern and eastern mar kets frequently runs as high as four and five per cent. This is charged largely to tuberculosis among dairy cows. the presence Of which Is not detected until after death.
 The beef trust representatives be- iieve the new regulation will ulti- mately benefit stock raising by csus- ing breeders and feeders to take more interest In cattle diseases and the methods of preventing them. which is quite a philanthropie view. What will be of most interest to the con- sumer. however, is whether the say Ing effected by this departure will show h the decreased price of meat or will merely swell the profits of the nmrEo-z