Mr. Blaine to Mr. Romero.
Washington, May 13, 1889.
Sir: I have the honor to apprise yon, in connection with previous correspondence, and especially your note of January 23, 1888, promising information touching the live-stock sanitary regulations of Mexico, of the receipt of a letter from the Honorable J. M. Rusk, Secretary of Agriculture, dated April 18, 1889, submitting for my consideration a copy of a letter from Mr. H. M. Taylor, secretary of the Beef Producers’ and Butchers’ National Association, saying that the “Republic of Mexico is without any live-stock sanitary laws—of which the public have any knowledge—and that cattle are admitted into Mexico without restriction and without investigation as to whether they are diseased or have been exposed to disease.”
“The pastoral interests of Mexico,” continues Mr. Taylor, “are being very rapidly developed, and in consequence the demand for thoroughbred cattle with which to improve their herds is constantly increasing, and unless steps are taken by the Mexican authorities to protect the herds of that country from the introduction of contagious bovine diseases, it will only be a question of time when pleuro-pneumonia and other plagues gain a foothold in that country.”
Mr. Taylor also refers to the vast extent of the open border between the United States and Mexico, and to the circumstance that without any barriers to prevent the cattle of Mexico from crossing the boundary line and intermingling with the cattle of the United States, any introduction of contagious pleuro-pneumonia among the cattle on the open ranges of northern Mexico would cause that dread disease to spread among the cattle of the United States on the border.
The Department at once realized the importance of the subject and [Page 637] the necessity of inviting the Government of Mexico to put in force such live stock sanitary regulations as would protect the herds of that country, and afford ample security for our own cattle.
However, before addressing you upon the subject, it was thought advisable to refer Mr. Rusk to the previous correspondence between the Commissioner of Agriculture and this Department concerning the complaint of the Mexican Government in regard to the cattle quarantine of Arizona Territory, and your declaration that “Mexican cattle have not hitherto been infected with any contagious disease,” and to invite an expression of the views of Mr. Rusk on the general question in the light of that correspondence.
His reply bears date the 4th instant, and states that the Department of Agriculture, after fully investigating the facts alleged by the Territorial authorities of Arizona for such protection, made a report to the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with section 4 of the act of Congress, approved May 29, 1884, establishing the Bureau of Animal Industry, and advised certain restrictions upon the importation of cattle from Mexico to the United States, which restrictions were subsequently ordered by the Treasury Department.
The conclusions reached by Mr. Colman were as follows:
- First. That the Republic of Mexico has no laws or regulations for the prevention or suppression of contagious diseases of cattle, nor any facilities for the inspection of the cattle within its domain to ascertain the existence or non-existence of disease.
- Second. That it has no laws or regulations respecting the importation of cattle from foreign countries that are known to have contagious diseases among their cattle.
- Third. That there are being imported into Mexico from foreign countries where contagious cattle diseases exist pure breeds of cattle for the purpose of improving the native stock, and that this class of cattle are quarantined against by the United States when imported directly into this country.
- Fourth. That the topographical and climatic conditions of the coast regions of Sonora, one of the States of the Republic of Mexico bordering on the Territory of Arizona, and exporting into Arizona large numbers of cattle, are in every way similar to those of Lower California, and as the cattle from the latter country when driven north impart to northern cattle splenic fever, there is every reason to believe that Sonora cattle when driven north will impart this disease to the cattle of Arizona.
- Fifth. That the cattle herds of Sonora have occasional outbreaks of disease that carry off large numbers of their cattle, but owing to the absence of veterinary inspection the nature of these diseases are not definitely known, but from the description of the same it is believed to be anthrax.
- Sixth. That the live stock interest of Arizona is one of the leading industries of that Territory, and the estimated number of cattle in the Territory is said to be 600,000. That these cattle are maintained on open ranges, the various herds commingling with each other, so that should any contagious disease be introduced among them it would spread rapidly and be impossible of suppression.
In view of the foregoing facts it was thought necessary that some protection should be given to the cattlemen of Arizona against the possibility of the introduction of any contagious disease among their herds by cattle from foreign countries, and especially as the Territory, being protected from the introduction of disease from any of the States and Territories of the United States, should have the same protection from Mexico.
It was therefore recommended that section 2497 of the Revised Statutes of the United States prohibiting the importation of cattle be enforced as to cattle imported from the Republic of Mexico into the Territory of Arizona:
Provided, however. That cattle may be imported at the ports of Nogales and Yuma, after the same have been inspected by the Territorial veterinarian of Arizona, and found to be free of contagious diseases.
The views of Mr. Colman, says Mr. Rusk, are still the views of the Department of Agriculture, which has, at the present time, succeeded [Page 638] in eradicating contagious pleuro-pneumonia from among cattle throughout the United States, with the exception of a small infected area on Long Island, New York, and hopes within a few months to be able to announce that the area in question has also been cleared of the disease.
On account of the great expense which the Government of the United States has incurred in eradicating the disease from among its domestic animals and of the immense value of the cattle industry of this country, it is absolutely necessary that every precaution should be taken against the possibility of another introduction of this dreaded and insidious disease.
Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that contagious pleura-pneumonia is now prevalent in Europe and the colonies of New Zealand and Australia, it seems especially necessary that the Government of Mexico should, as a measure of safety to its own extensive cattle industry, immediately establish quarantine regulations against the unrestricted importation of cattle from those countries. Unless this is done, there would appear to be great danger that the importations of cattle into Mexico which are being made for the purpose of improving their breed of cattle, as stated in your note of January 9, 1888, will introduce this disease among the cattle of Mexico; and, if unrestricted importation is allowed into the United States, will be the means of spreading the disease in this country.
These observations are made in a spirit of perfect frankness and cordiality, having regard only to the protection of one of the largest industries in this country, as well as in Mexico; and I entertain no doubt they will be so understood, because the cattle interests of your country will no doubt be promoted by the enforcement of such protective measures as experience has demonstrated are necessary to prevent the introduction and spread of contagious bovine diseases.
In the hope, therefore, that you will make such communication of these views to your Government as you may deem advisable, and apprise me of any measures it may have adopted or proposes to adopt, relative to a system of sanitary inspection for domestic animals as well as imported cattle, I renew, etc.,