The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-04-26
TUBERCULAR
HOGS SOLD
INSPE CTOR ExLINE SAYS
TWELVE PER CENT ARE Az
FLIcTED WITH DISEASE.
Emphasizes Inspection of All Places
Where Strengthening Is Done
People Have Little Idea.

The somewhat startling announce
ment that fully II per cent of the hogs
sold to local butchers are infected
with tuberculosis germs, rendering them
unfit for food consumption, is made by
Dr. J. c: EXline, United States govern
ment inspector of the plant of the
Walla Walla Meat &. Cold Storage
company. DR.. Exline says the per-
centage of tubercular infected hogs is
large, and emphasizes the necessity OF
proper inspection of all places where
Strengthening is done.
People of Walla Walla have little
idea of the amount of tubercularly in
fected meat which is sOld,' said Dr.
Exline yesterday. Probably so per
cent of the meat sold in Walla Walla
is uninspected by government inspec-
tors, and with the laXity which nearly
always prevails among those butchers
who slaughter and sell without govern
ment supervision, a large amount of
unsanitary meat undoubtedly is put Oh
sale and eaten by Walla Walla people,
IF people only realized the danger
they ale subjected to, when they buy
meats not properly inspected and
handled in sanitary manner, they
would see that every Slaughter house in
the state of Washington was properly
regulated and the meats inspected by
competent veterinary surgeons.
CAS- it is now, the laws are weak In
this state as far as they apply to the
inspection of meats, and it is only
when any firm does an Interstate bus
mess, that the meats are assured of be-
ing sanatarily inspected and con-
sequently free from disease germs, for
then the United States government re-
uuires that a government Inspector
pass on the meats
while the percentage of tubercular
cattle is not over ten per cent, if that.
in this section, the number of hogs Of
fered for sale at the different packing
and Strengthening houses of this section
which are tubercularly infected is sur
priscingly large 1 believe the percent
age of diseased hogs is larger in this
part of the west than in the east.
"In the work l and the two govern
ment assistants do here, We find that
from - to Is and even twenty per cent
of the hogs killed are infected with
The animal may have
the disease either localized as we term
it. or generalzed, that is to say in the
former case the disease may be con-
fined to only certain portions of the
carcass while in the latter case the
germs are found throughout
the animals entire system. When the
disease is localized the affected por-
lions of the animal can be removed
and the healthy portions used. In case
of generalized tuberculosis, all that
can be done is to condemn the carcass
as unfit for food purposes. While in
cattle tuberculosis can be more easily
detected it is almost necessary to Kill
he hog before it can be found to be
infected or otherwise. Apparently
healthy hogs when killed and examined
reveal the signs of tuberculosis in the
worst stages.
For example" and here the doctor
showed the reporter the carcass of
hog that had been condemned, which
the average and inexperienced OBJ
server would have pronounced to be
fine specimen of Walla Walla county
porker. "this hog was found to be
AFFLICTED with tuberculosis in the most
advanced stage and had it not been
killed would have undoubtedly died
within less than two months from the
disease. 1t requires the most careful
and minute examination in many cases
TO detect evidences of the disease. The
average butcher will say, why We are
thoroughly sanitary, and so he may
believe himself to be, but if he is with
out competent inspector to examine
the animals he kills for market pur-
poses, he Is sure to dispose of infected
meats in more or less degree. The sole
safe guard to the public if it would
free itself from danger Of eating in
fected meats, is to see that the state
passes adequate inspection laws. The
present laws are totally insufficient"