Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1897
Mr. Sherman to Mr. Porter.
Washington, July 15, 1897.
Sir: I inclose for your information a copy of a letter of the 12th instant from the Secretary of Agriculture, inviting the attention of the Department to certain facts relative to the French prohibition of the importation of American cattle and meats. I also inclose, as bearing upon the subject, a copy of the Department’s instruction No. 2,1 of the 5th ultimo, to Mr. Bellamy Storer, the minister of the United States at Brussels, relative to the similar questions which are pending between this country and Belgium.
These papers so fully set forth the case of the United States, and the demonstrated facts so clearly entitle this Government to ask and expect that American pork products shall be treated fairly and without injurious discrimination in France, that it seems unnecessary to especially enlarge thereon in the present instruction.
Respectfully, yours,
Mr. Wilson to Mr. Sherman.
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, July 12, 1897.
Sir: I have the honor to invite your attention to certain facts in relation to the French prohibition of American cattle and meats, which may be useful as a basis for the representations which you have instructed the American ambassador to make concerning this subject.
Beginning with the year 1877 a large export trade was established by our merchants in bacon and hams, the exports to France being in that year over 23,000,000 pounds. By activity in the introduction of these excellent meat products the trade had increased in 1881 to over 68,000,000 pounds. Then came the French decree prohibiting the further importation of American pork. This decree was made without any evidence to show that any inhabitant of France had been injuriously affected by eating American pork, or any evidence to show that the trichinae which this pork was alleged to contain were alive in the cured meat, which alone was shipped to that country. As a result of this prohibition the large trade which had been established at much expense; was at once utterly destroyed.
After many protests and the establishment of a microscopic inspection in this country of pork for export, the prohibition was removed, to take effect January 1, 1892. It was supposed by this Government that the withdrawal of the prohibition would give our exporters an opportunity to again enter the French markets and regain the trade which had been ruined eleven years before by the action of the French Government. Unfortunately, the decree withdrawing the prohibition established regulations which were scarcely less oppressive to the trade than the prohibitory decree. In its correspondence with the Department [Page 148] of State, this Department protested against these regulations in the following language:
After a thorough inspection has been made by the Government of the United States, it is unjust and unreasonable to require our shippers to pay the expense of another inspection at the French ports. This tariff and these inspection charges will result in a prohibition as absolute as the decree which has just been revoked.
Again, under date of February 10, 1892, a further protest was made by this Department as follows:
U. S. Department of
Agriculture,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, D. C, February 10,
1892.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your information a translation of the instructions of the French Government to the veterinary inspectors who are charged with the sanitary inspection of salt pork from the United States. The paragraphing and numbering of the paragraphs have been done in this Department for convenience of reference, but otherwise the translation is a literal one.
An examination of these regulations shows that they are unnecessarily burdensome to our shippers, and that the trade in pork products can not be expected to prosper if they are enforced. In the first place, no pork is admitted unless thoroughly used. The standard for thoroughly cured meats must be an arbitrary one, and under this provision any or all of our meats may be rejected or the trade may be harassed and rained by a few unfriendly inspectors. The only object in requiring such meat to be thoroughly cured is to guard against the danger from trichinae, but this Government has established an expensive system of microscopic inspection to remove this danger, and it was in consideration of this inspection that the prohibition was removed. Our inspected pork should, therefore, be admitted without regard to the degree of salting if it is undamaged and free from taint.
The extreme injustice of these regulations is seen more particularly by reference to paragraph 6. Notwithstanding the fact that all insufficiently cured meat is refused entrance, there is here a provision that all meat which the inspector may consider to be insufficiently cured shall be submitted to a microscopic examination. Why should our shippers be put to the expense and delay caused by a microscopic inspection of pork which under no circumstances will be admitted into France? If the meat is refused entrance that should end the matter and the shipper should be allowed to forward his consignment at once to more friendly markets. But to hold the meat which has already been refused entrance for a microscopic examination, to destroy such of this as the inspectors believe to be infected with trichinae, and then to reject all that is not found affected, is a wanton outrage which should not be submitted to by this Government.
Again, in paragraph 8 it is provided that meats in brine shall be considered insufficiently cured, and shall be rejected if the brine is not of a certain arbitrary degree of density. This also is an unjust and unreasonable requirement. If the meat is free from taint or damage, it is perfectly wholesome; and to reject it because the brine does not reach an arbitrary standard of density is a discrimination against this country which can not be justified on sanitary or other grounds.
In this connection I beg to call the attention of your Department to the condition of trade between France and the United States. In 1878 the balance of trade was, in round numbers, $12,000,000 in our favor; in 1879 it was $39,000,000 in our favor; in 1880 it was $31,000,000 in our favor; in 1881 it was $24,000,000 in our favor. In 1882 came the prohibition of our pork products and a more pronounced attitude against our trade, and we find the balance of trade reversed, and instead of being in our favor, it suddenly turns nearly $39,000,000 against us. From 1882 to the present the balance of trade has been steadily unfavorable, varying from $10,000,000 to nearly $40,000,000 a year. In 1891 it was $17,000,000 against us.
These facts show how much more favorable our laws and regulations have been for the maintenance of French trade than those of France have been for the encouragement of American trade.
As our exports to France consist chiefly of agricultural products, I feel free to say that in my opinion this condition of the trade should be taken into account, and a determined effort should be made to secure such modifications of the French regulations as will develop our exports to that country and make them equal to the imports. If the French Government is unwilling to meet such a demand and remove its unreasonable and unjust discriminations against our shippers, then this Government owes it to our people to enforce the remedy which Congress has already provided for such cases.
I have, etc.,
J. M. Rusk,
Secretary.
The Secretary of State.
In March, 1892, Messrs. Armour & Co., of Chicago, stated in a letter to this Department that while “in Germany the trade is going on well, as far as France is concerned, we, as well as many others, have abandoned the business entirely.”
The harsh and injurious regulations referred to in this correspondence were continued, and our exporters were subjected to so many annoying decisions that they have practically abandoned the field, and this country has never regained, and there is no prospect of its regaining, the trade which was destroyed by the prohibitory decree of 1881. The following table shows the exports of hog products to France for the years from 1875 to 1882, inclusive, and from 1891 to 1897, inclusive:
Exports of hog products to France—Comparative periods.
| Fiscal years. | Bacon and hams. | Pickled pork. | Fiscal years. | Bacon and hams. | Pickled pork. |
| Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Pounds. | ||
| 1875 | 3,916,811 | 724,075 | 1879 | 53,593,720 | 2,168,614 |
| 1876 | 3,484,772 | 221,199 | 1880 | 66,357,041 | 1,608,545 |
| 1877 | 23,167,236 | 179,500 | 1881 | 68,105,887 | 1,896,969 |
| 1878 | 55,280,429 | 599,696 | 1882 | 5,350,311 | 257,574 |
[February 18, 1881, decree of prohibition.]
| 1891 | 65,275 | 184,400 | 1895 | 9,842,048 | 236,600 |
| 1892 | 1,823,426 | 316,780 | 1896 | 4,221,228 | 180,200 |
| 1893 | 112,547 | 8,000 | 1897 (10 months) | 2,284,712 | 120,600 |
| 1894 | 792,491 | 150,250 |
I respectfully request you to inquire if the French regulations of 1892 are still in force, this Department having received no information to the contrary, and in case they are still maintained that a protest be entered against restrictions limiting the trade to thoroughly cured pork, against any inspection fees being imposed, against the arbitrary rejection of meat on account of lack of density in the brine when the meat is in good condition, and against the destruction of shipments of meat which are refused admission.
In the year ending June 30, 1894, American exporters inaugurated the shipment of live cattle to France, as there appeared to be an opportunity of establishing a large trade. In that year 5,184 head were shipped. In the next year this trade had continued to grow and 10,538 head had been exported to that country up to February, 1895, when the traffic was prohibited. Protests have been made against this prohibition without avail. It has been shown that there are no contagious diseases of cattle in this country liable to injure the domesticated animals of France, but even if that were not the case, it is customary for nations which are disposed to be friendly toward the trade of other countries to at least allow animals to be brought to the frontier ports or seaport towns for immediate slaughter. The importation of cattle for this purpose can be guarded so that there is no possible danger of the spread of any contagion, and the proof of this is the fact that from 300,000 to 400,000 head of cattle are annually sent to Great Britain and slaughtered in this manner without the introduction of disease.
I would request that you instruct the American ambassador to protest against the prohibition of live animals from this country, and to ask that either such animals he admitted freely to France, or that in case there is any fear from a sanitary point of view, that at the very least our cattle and sheep for slaughter should be allowed to land at [Page 150] the principal ports for slaughter within a reasonable period, say at any time within two weeks from the date of landing.
In October, 1896, a special concession was made by the French Government with the purpose of allowing the transportation of American cattle across the French territory destined for Basel, Switzerland. This concession, which at first appeared to have been made with the intention of assisting American shippers, although in reality there was no market for American cattle in Switzerland, was afterwards found to be hedged in by such restrictions that even if there had been a market in Switzerland and our shippers had been ever so desirous of reaching it, they could not have shipped by the route indicated. The regulations mentioned require, first, that there shall be a certificate delivered by the proper authorities attesting that the animals do not come from States in which Texas fever is prevalent; secondly, that the certificate shall also state that there has been no contagious disease for six months prior to their shipment in the place from which they have come; thirdly, that the cattle have been held in a Government quarantine station for at least forty-five days before shipment; and fourthly, that they shall have been put to the tuberculin test before shipment.
Notwithstanding these certificates and this quarantine and this tuberculin test, it is required that a French veterinarian shall accompany the animals in their trip across the Atlantic, and during their transit across French territory until they reach the Swiss border, the said veterinarian to be compensated by the owners of the cattle, and finally, these export cattle shall not be allowed to be placed in any train having cars of French cattle. The impossibility of shipping cattle under such regulations is apparent at a glance.
The fact is, that since 1881 the exporters of American animals and meats have been practically shut out of the French markets. These are among the largest items of our export trade, and they are the ones which it would be of the most benefit to our agricultural population to have exploited. During these years there have been no prohibitions against French produce, and no unjust sanitary regulations have been enforced. There have been no discriminations against French trade, so far as I am aware, but her merchants have been given the same favorable consideration that has been extended to the merchants of other countries. It would be unjust to our own people to continue very much longer to give these facilities to French trade while such important branches of American trade are unjustly prohibited.
I have the honor to request, therefore, that you will instruct the American ambassador to place this matter fully before the French Government, and to urge that the injurious regulations and prohibitions referred to shall be favorably modified at an early day. The friendly relations which have so long existed between France and the United States should insure an immediate settlement of this question upon a satisfactory basis.
Very respectfully,
Secretary.
Decree of December 4, 1891.
The President of the French Republic, on the report of the minister of agriculture, in view of the decrees of the 18th February, 1881, and of the 28th December, 1883, by which American pork was excluded; in view of the sanitary inspection now provided by the Government of the United States for pork intended for export; [Page 151] in view of the opinions expressed by the ministers of foreign affairs, of finance, of the interior, and of commerce and industry, decrees as follows:
Article 1. Salted pork meats from the United States can he imported into France at points to be fixed by subsequent decree.
Article 2. Before discharge of cargo the importers must produce for each shipment a certificate from the inspector of the Department of Agriculture designated by the Government of the United States for the inspection of the slaughterhouses certifying that the meats are from healthy animals and suitable for human food.
The boxes must bear the official stamp of this inspector. No shipment can be admitted which does not comply with these requirements.
Article 3. After their discharge these meats shall be examined by sanitary inspectors appointed by the minister of agriculture and instructed to make sure of their healthy condition and of their being properly salted.
All meat found unwholesome shall be destroyed in the presence of these inspectors.
Article 4. The custom-house shall permit the meats mentioned in article 1 to enter the territory of the republic only after seeing the certificate of the inspectors provided for by article 3, certifying that the meats have been found to be healthy and suitable for public consumption.
Article 5. The expenses of the inspection prescribed by article 3 shall be paid by the importers, according to a tax fixed by a decree issued on the proposal of the minister of agriculture on the advice of the consultation committee on epizootics. This tax shall be paid to the custom-house collectors.
Article 6. The decrees of the 18th February, 1881, and of the 28th December, 1893, are repealed, as well as all other regulating (regulations?) which may be in conflict with the present decree.
Article 7. The minister of agriculture, the minister of the interior, the minister of commerce, industries, and the colonies, and the minister of finance are intrusted with the execution of the present decree, which will go into effect on the 1st January, 1892.
Made at Paris, December 4, 1891.
Carnot.
By the President of the Republic:
Jules Develle,
Minister of Agriculture.
Jules Roche,
Minister of Commerce, Industry, and the
Colonies.
Rouvier,
Minister of Finance.
The President of the French Republic, on the report of the minister of agriculture, in view of the decree of this day authorizing the importation into France of meats of American origin and especially of article 1 of said decree; in view of the opinions expressed by the ministers of foreign affairs, of finance, of the interior, of commerce, industry, and the colonies, decrees as follows:
- Article 1. The importation of salted pork meats from the United States of America shall only take place by the ports of Dunkirk, Havre, Bordeaux, and Marseille.
- Article 2. The minister of agriculture, the minister of commerce, industry, and the colonies, and the minister of finance are intrusted with the execution of the present decree.
By the President of the Republic:
- Jules Develle,
Minister of Agriculture. - Jules Roche,
Minister of Commerce, Industry, and the Colonies. - Rouvier,
Minister of Finance.
Instructions directed to veterinary inspectors intrusted with the sanitary inspection of salt pork meats coming from the United States of America.
Sir: 1. Only thoroughly cured and undamaged pork shall be admitted.
- 2.
- Every package will be opened, and each piece successively examined.
- 3.
- The appearance, consistency, and odor especially revealed by the use of the tryer will furnish the general indication.
- 4.
- An incision shall he carefully made in every piece suspected of being damaged or of being incompletely cured in such a manner as not to endanger the sale in case of being found, of good quality.
- 5.
- Every piece recognized as damaged will be seized and destroyed.
- 6.
- Every piece recognized to be insufficiently cured shall be submitted to microscopic examination. If it contains trichinae, it is to be seized and destroyed. In the contrary case, its admission must be simply refused.
- The inspection of barrels containing brine will be made as follows:
- 7.
- A small quantity of brine will be collected, smelled, tasted, and weighed with an aneometer.
- 8.
- Any damaged brine (to smell or taste) will cause the seizure and destruction of the entire contents of the barrels.
All brine weighing less than 18 of the aneometer (pèse saumure) will be considered as having given to the meat but an imperfect cure, and it shall cause the rejection of the entire barrel.
A record will be kept concerning the operations performed by the inspection service.
Implements, apparatuses, reagents, indispensable for your service, together with inspection seals, will be sent to you through my administration, and you shall forward me an official statement of your taking charge of them.
The requisite persons for the unlading and lading again must be furnished by the importers, whom you must require to do so.
You are respectfully requested to enforce these rules most severely and rigidly. I
pray you, sir, to communicate this note to Mr.____, and it shall remain in the records of the service.
Agree, and so on, etc.
The Minister of Agriculture.
Ministerial order of February 24, 1895, prohibiting the importation of cattle from the United States.
The Minister of Agriculture: Pursuant to the law of July 21, 1881, on the sanitary police regulations regarding animals, and the decree of June 22, 1882, relating to the regulations for the public administration for the observance of the same; in view that there are many contagious diseases which do not exist in France but prevail among the cattle in the United States of America, cases having been found among animals imported from that country into Europe, it is only reasonable that measures be taken to prevent the introduction of these diseases into our territory, and having the opinion of the consultative committee on epizootics, and on the report of the counselor of state, director of agriculture, Resolved:
Article 1. The importation into France and the transit of cattle coming from the United States of America, over our land and sea frontiers, is interdicted until otherwise ordered.
However, cattle sent from the United States before February 24, 1895, shall be admitted, providing they be landed under the conditions prescribed by law for the admission of foreign cattle.
Article 2. Prefects of departments are charged, each as it concerns him, with the execution of this decision.