Middletown transcript., 1907-06-08


Allies on Pekin in 1900.
~.
A small but most exacting monopoly
has been broken in the Department. of
Agriculture. At least the government
thinks it has been broken and that about
$500, 900 year will be saved to the govern
ment and incidentally to the public. The
Department has for number of years
been buying special patented label to
mark the meat intended for export.
This label was the design Of Washing
ton man and consisted of little square
Of mosquito net filed with gelatine on
which was printed the words "U. s. In
spected and Passed" It was rather a
clever device, for it could be stuck on the
meat that had been passed by the in
spectors and though the gelatine would
be worn off in a little while, the indelible
ink that was in the label sunk into the
meat and stayed indefinitely. The govern
ment paid only 60 cents per 1000 for the
tags, bus there was handsome profit in
it for the company that made them, and
so long as DIR. Salmon, who was the.
Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry
and large stakeholder in the company,
remained in the Department there could
be nothing found to take the place Of the
gelatine label. There came near being a
bad graft scandal over this little monop-#
oily, but the discussion died down and
DR.. Salmon resigned and went to South
America to take charge of the Bureau of
Animal Industry that was being estab.
lished by the government of Argentina.
Since his departure, one Of the men in the.
bureau has devised little rubber stamp
that does the work just as well and that
even with the vastly increased work re-
quired under the new meat inspection
law, will cost the government only about
$40, 900 year. Il is, of course, little
curious that no device Of this sort could
ever be found to do the work while DR..
Salmon was in charge Of the bureau, but
then you know inventive genius works
by fits and starts.
Much discussion has been caused in the
War Department by the charges Of Rev.
w. P, F. Ferguson, representative of
the Prohibition Party, that the Canal
Zone is reeking with graft and sink Of
immortality. The reverend gentleman is
enjoying the sensation that his charges
have caused, and is breaking out into
special articles for the newspapers that
much more than pay all the expenses Of
bis trip to Panama. He says in brief that
all of the departments on the Isthmus are
rich picking for the superintendents who
iun them. Especially be says the COM
nissary department. is public Office that
is private snap. He directly charges
that one of the biggest storehousee ia the
zone was burned down by the officials to
G Jver an enormous deficit. But bis chief
complaint is that there are saloons in the
Zone and that women are imported there
for immoral purposes. The officers Of
the War Department and Of the Canal
Commission ebaracterize bis report BY a
word that the President says is both
short and ugly. They say that the
women who have been imported to the
Zone we're either bona fide wives Of the
workmen already there. or women who
were coming to marry men to whom
they were already engaged. AS to the
charge that any Of the warehouses we're
burned to cover deficit. they say that it
|is malicious fabrication.