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Show 'POISONED MEAT' CHARGES DENIED U. S. Inspection Officers, Refute I. W. W. War Plot Testimony , j ! WASHINGTON Nov. 11. The "poisoned "poi-soned meat." allegations recently Injected In-jected Into on Industrial Workers' of the World trial at Sacramento. Cal ." aroused a dissenting echo today in the department of agriculture. In n formal Statement the dep.-irt- i merit declared that government in- i spectlon of canned goods turned out J by packing houses during the war was so rigid that it would have been lm- 1 possible for condemned stock In any j quantity to ha- reached the men on the battle front in France FIGURES DISPROVED The statement was directed at the testimony slen by W. K. lownsend. I during the Sacramento trial, alleging ' that in one of the big packing bona- I es m hlcago. 300 or 400 Industrial! Workers were employed during the .war and In testing canned goods boron bo-ron shipment the passed condemned 1 cans because they wanted to cripple tho packers and to poison the soldi. 1-' overseas "The inference might be drawn t hn r these wre Inspectors of the meat in- ! spectlon service ol tip- i "nii States department t agriculture." said the denial "At no lime during the war v. re there stationed in ajly one establishment estab-lishment in Chicago as runny men ms v. er s.tl'l to bave been employed The department had only that number of I Inspectors rot the entire 70 establishments establish-ments in Chicago. LOYALTY TESTED Furthermore, during the war, the operations of the meat packing houses in Chicago .md everywnere else were under rigid Inspection and as meat Inspection In-spection c:irn' und-r several Inspectors of the department It would have been Impossible for spoil 1 i In to have I passed inspection of all those inspec-s inspec-s unless they all conspired to earn ; at such a scheme n the contrary uowevcr, all government Inspectors. before being employed, are rcqnlr. d io pass a strict civil service examination, examina-tion, requiring a high personal i nai-acter nai-acter In addition to other qualifications. qualifica-tions. Their loyalty to the government govern-ment was also looked into very carefully care-fully throughout the period of the war." |