The Embalmed Beef Scandal of 1899
Secretary of War General Alger resigned at President McKinley's request, following the shameful management of food supply in the Spanish-American War
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During the Spanish-American War common citizens became aware of the horrible meat quality fed to their family, friends, and fellow Americans in the dedicated and hard-working troops, and thus a general feeling of indignation swept across the country in the form of political tensions and public demonstrations.
"Newspaper and magazine articles about the scandal stirred up so much public outrage that the Secretary of War resigned at President McKinley’s request. Although no other disciplinary actions were taken, some historians say that the “Embalmed Beef Scandal” contributed in part to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 which prohibits the manufacture, sale, and distribution of adulterated food products" -Suzy Evans |
Satirical cartoon on meat quality
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"Companies took advantage of Alger's
...favorable attitude to the industry (as well as the Army's immediate need for
large amounts of cheap beef)...by further... reducing quality
on the (already heavily adulterated) product they shipped...As a result, most of the meat arriving in Cuba was
found to be so poorly preserved, chemically adulterated and spoiled that it
was toxic...to consume."
(Cook) |
American Soldiers at Dinner
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“It was later reported, and with no
exaggeration, that more American men had been killed off by meat packers than
by Spanish bullets” (Cook)
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President McKinley became deeply concerned about the welfare of the public, and expressed values much of the Food and Medical Industries ignored:
"I do not prize the word 'cheap.' It is not a badge of honor. It is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country." |
President McKinley
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