The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-05-24
MEAT INVESTIGATION
pr. Melvin Discusses Charges Of Mrs
Caroline B. Crane


DR.. A. D. Melvin, chief of the Bur
eau of Animal Industry at Washing
ton. who is at the head of the gov
eminent meat inspection service,
states that the bureau has nothing to
fear from a fair and thorough inyes-
tigation of the inspection.
The resolution introduced in Con-
gress by Representative Nelson"
says Dr. Melvin, contains number
of false assumptions based on ignor-
ance or misrepresentation OF the
facts. 1t appears that the charges
are inspired by professional agitators
aided by disgruntled and discredited
ex-employees who have been dismiss
ed from the service Most of these
charges were made two and half
years ago by Mrs. Caroline Bartlett
Crane before the American Public
Health association, and she was un-
able TO sustain them to the satisfac-
ton of the executive committee of
that association. The charges are
also partly based on statements
made by DR.. Albert Lefiingwell in
a book on American Meat, published
by him in England in 1910, a book
Astounding in misrepresentation and
distorted quotations from official
publications
aside from the attack on the in
tegrity of the officials administering
the service, the main question at is
sue is simply whether the inspection
should be based on principles deter
mined by eminent scientists the
world over who have thoroughly stu
died the subject, or on the sentiment
| tai notions OF faddists. In 1907 the
regulations were carefully gone over
by a commission of distinguished
scientific experts outside of the De
partment OF Agriculture, who report
ed that If there be any general error
in the regulation this is in favor OF
the public rather than in favor of the
butchers and packers The present
regulations conform TO the views oil
that commission except that they are
even more strict in some respects
| than the commission thought neces
sary
Perhaps the most striking eyi
dence that the meat inspection has
not deteriorated is the fact that the
percentage of condemnations under
the new law has been more than III
~ per cent greater than under the
| old law. Ii is evident from the state
ments so far made by Mrs. Crane
before the committee that she doe.
not understand many things about
the inspection system and the regula
tons, and anything that she does moi
understand she suspects OF being
crooked. She has gone out OF hel
way TO place a sinister construction
upon perfectly innocent things. st
far she has advanced nothing that
cannot be made perfectly plain by
the bureau when the time comes "a
present its side of the case.
The so-caled secret instructions
to bureau employees were issued as
a confidential publication only dur
ing 1907 and 1908. For three years
and half these announcements have
been furnished not only to the pack
ers but TO state officials. stockmen
and the press. The object Of issuing
confidential instructions during the
period that these announcements
were regarded as confidential was
not to nullify the law and regulations
in the interests OF the packers, but
rather to keep the packers from
knowing Of the steps that were be
ing taken to maintain surveillance
over their operations"