Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1907, (In two parts), Part I

File No. 821/24.

The Secretary of State to Ambassador Francis.

Department of State,
Washington, October 25, 1907.

No. 157.]

Sir: The department incloses herewith copy of letter from Messrs. Armour & Co., of Chicago, dated the 19th instant, complaining of the refusal of the Austrian Government to accept shipments of American pork meats unless accompanied by a United States certificate of microscopic inspection.

You are instructed to take this matter up at once with the Austrian Government, and to urge acceptance of importations of American salted meats upon production of the official certificate of inspection contemplated by the United States meat-inspection law of June 30, 1906. You may assure the Austrian authorities that the new system of official inspection of meats intended for export in this country is thorough, scientific, and stringent, and the certificate of inspection issued by the Department of Agriculture should be accepted by Austria-Hungary as a guaranty of the purity and wholesomeness of the products covered by it.

The microscopic inspection of salted pork for export to determine the presence or absence of trichinae has been discontinued by the Department of Agriculture. It has been quite clearly shown that the usual methods of curing salted pork are sufficient to destroy any trichinae which might be present. Under such conditions any trichinae, if present, may be considered innocuous and the meat wholesome. The universal custom in the United States of cooking meat before eating, during which process trichinae are easily destroyed, is another reason for the abandonment of microscopic inspection of pork.

I am, etc.,

Elihu Root.

[Inclosure.]

Armour & Co. to the Secretary of State.

Chicago, October 19, 1907.

Dear Sir: The Austrian Government declines to accept shipments of Ameri-con pork meats without the microscopic inspection certificate. As you are aware, microscopic inspection was discontinued by the Department of Agriculture when the meat-inspection law of June 30, 1906, was enacted.

We could do a good business at the present time with Austria if our interstate certificates were accepted. The French Government has agreed to honor them, and we can see no good reason why the Austrian Government should not do likewise.

Perhaps this matter has been brought to your attention and steps taken by our ambassador at Vienna to persuade the Austrian officials to accept our certificates. If so, we should be grateful if you would advise us what position the negotiations are now in; if not, we should be grateful if you would kindly send such instructions to our ambassador at Vienna as will put him in a position to put the matter fully before the Austro-Hungarian Government. Any assistance that we can render the ambassador through out agents is entirely at his and your service.

Thanking you in anticipation, we are, dear sir,

Yours, very truly,

Armour & Company.

M. E. Evans.