Show talk Itly y BEEF TRUST RIDER a ar r Provision Inspecting American feats Tacked on Agricultural Bill GUY EL ELLIOTT i TT MITCHELL Senator Beveridge Be presented n a radical rad rad- I k Jc ical l amendment to the agricultural appropriation ap ap- pr bill the tLe oth other r day which was passed promptly Back of the ease and celerity with which this action action ac nc- ac- ac tion was accomplished is a n story ItIs It ItIs Is an Interesting one too for it shows how hoto the President for once at least was able to hold the big stick over o the Senate and the great grent packing Interests Interests Interests Inter Inter- ests and forced the amendment with which he was In accord The rider that was tacked on to the appropriation bill in the thet t Senate at the last moment without discussion provides for the same sort of an inspection of meats for home consumption that Is provided for those which are sent abroad It will cost the great packing house industry sev- sev cr cral 11 l million dollars each year for forth th they y will have hn to pay for the inspection tion When the question came up before before before be be- fore Congress as 16 to who should assume assume assume as as- sume the expense of this work the packing house lobby objected strenuously strenuously to putting up any money for it notwithstanding the fact that some months ago when there was an In- In InIC IC f tl I r r THE ORIGINAL SWIFT PACKING MEAT PLANT CHIC CHICAGO GO sufficient appropriation for foreign inspection Inspection In In- a number of large packing packinghouse packinghouse house concerns voluntarily offered to toT defray the cost Involved ed T I y CO CONSUMER IER PAYS COST ANYWAY It Is stated that of course the packing pack pack- ing house people otherwise th the beef c r i. trust will pass the cost of the inspection tion along to the consumer consumer- b but t as It I will only amount to about 5 6 or G cents a n head hea ou ott each eat eael l al CIS t the hh cl e k will not be appreciable in the In Individual Individual ual beef steal steak at least it ought not to tobe be but the combination of packers dealers wholesalers retailers etc will doubtless make an excuse for putting putting put put- ting tang up meat at least a cent a pound and thus make malc an investment of many hundred per cent off the amount which they pay for the Government Inspection HOW THE TROUBLE BEGAN Some time ago ngo Upton Sinclair published published published pub pub- The Jungle It was a novel and horrible It showed that the inspection Inspection Inspection In In- service ser at the Chicago packing pack- pack packIng packing ing houses was wholly Ina inadequate equate It r was proved that the Government Inspectors Inspectors int In In- the conditions of t passed on 4 the carcasses when the animals were killed but after that there were no noI I Inspections and the conditions were Incredibly revolting Presle nt at Roosevelt Roosevelt Roose Roose- velt read the book and is stated to have been outraged at the statements made Were they true or were they exaggerated lIe He made some inquiries s and found that the statements were allwell all allwell allwell well founded Then tile he was genuinely angry Secretary Wilson ilson sent a commission commission commission com com- mission out to look into the condition of affairs but the President was apI apparently ap ap- ap- ap 1 not satisfied with the Government Govern Go I Y ment meat commission so he lie sent his close personal friend Mr 11 J. J B. B I Reynolds aa a a prominent social worker and a man of ot t means and Mr Sir Charles P. P Neill Nelli the United States Commissioner of Labor on a n purely personal Inspection tour The expenses of or the two investigators In were paid by the time Government but the themen themen themen men received no salaries and the inquiry inquiry Inquiry in In- was In a way unofficial There has never yet been any written written written writ writ- ten report made public from these two investigators likely there will not b be but the President knows all they found out and the packers know It too Both noth the President ent and the packers were horrified the reasons were different The story around the Capitol regarding this investigation runs something like hire this The packers said If IOU this sort of a story gets out it will ruin our business abroad The President remarked In effect If IOU 1 that I know gets out it will ruin your business at home too I Now said the packers make any sort of an Inspection law you rou want l pass it and md we will stand for It and promise to be good In n the time future but bat do not make a public scandal of this this- matter FOR A STRICT INSPECTION T. T TAW t W The President is I A 1 to li harp hT r Intimated t that at he be ne and 1111 t the e Inspection law will be passed with with- out scandal if it can be but with scandal If it must He recognized that there were many mans Innocent interests which would be severely damaged by the publication of this report What he was after principally was results for the future There is another peculiar feature which Is having ha some weight In the ease case with which the Inspection law gets past what would ordinarily be bo an almost Insurmountable barrier It seems that Mr Sinclair is writing another another another an an- other book It will be more damaging than titan the Jungle It is to be an expose of the whole packing business from the report of the Embalmed Beef neef Commission down to the present time and and the combination of official documents documents docu docu- ments meats and anti statements of or eye witnesses wit nesses flosses When this book appears the packers are very anxious e be he able to say that the practices alluded to therein are a thing tiling of ot the past and that no such conditions can exist tinder under under un un- der the present Government tion The new act provides an Inspection that does not stop at the gate of ot the I 1 I packing house but follows the animal through all departments until it reaches readies the can or the cooler There Is some antagonism presented to tho the bill I In iii 1 the tho House on the grounds of and other excuses but if any actual opposition should develop it will mean a thorough thorough thorough thor thor- ough hearing in committee on both sides of the question and It Is prel pre- pre l th that t this ls Is' s about the the packers actually desire Seldom if ever has the public been more aroused over any public question F BEEF BEET AND r MUTTON COOLING 1 v 1 ROOMS AT CHICAGO PACKING PACKING- t a i 1 HOUSES 1 1 J 11 r 1 1 X to the iThe he fact that the tho meat consumption entered vitally into every home heme coupled couple with wi h the terrible charges ma made e not only In the Jungle but through many other er credible sources has aroused a state of public sentiment sentiment sentiment senti senti- ment which is akin to revolutionary On the whole In the face of an Intensely In Intensely intensely In in- tensely suspicious public an aroused Congress and amI a determine President the beef trust Is now up against the fight of its life lite While the President Intended ed to use his private report as a club to force legislation and to withhold withhold withhold with with- hold Its publication unless It was found necessary to bring the packers packer to terms terms the overwhelming current i j I 1 ft ii ft b u Y AT KANSAS CITY MISSOURI l I V ST STOCK CK YARDS L of aroused public Indignation will likely force its publication Indeed j the amount of damaine damn fine mind lC ing details wM h ro heis made e ei i known 1 t 1 i aft f M- M t 1 fn rn the dally daily I ew 1 f. f m f i given Iven by c f olle who are I in a iH to know the facts would seem to I that but little additional da dal age to anybody could be accomplish through the publication of the GOVERNMENT HOLDS TRUMP CARDS v l Commenting on the question of tl tb constitutionality of the amendment I It should become a law In that It li h with state rights a Government official remarked that I 1 any event the packers could be force to terms They are very anxious OV their great foreign meat trade anthis an anthis anthis this is largely dependent upon Cover ment inspection of carcasses l the Government Inspection tag is looked upon as a guarantee J and without without without with with- out it foreign meat trade would suffer Inestimably Should the time packers refuse refuse refuse re re- re- re fuse to allow the Government to in ici- inspect food for l home ome consumption the Government could In its turn refuse to inspect meats for export |