File No. 821/26–30.
Ambassador Francis
to the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
Vienna, November 14,
1907.
No. 373.]
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your No. 157, dated October 25, 1907, inclosing the letter
from Messrs. Armour & Co., Chicago, dated October 19, 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.
Your instructions to take this matter up at once with the Austrian
Government, and to urge acceptance of importation of American salted
meats, accompanied by official certificates of inspection, have been
carefully noted and obeyed. I inclose copy of a note upon the subject
addressed by me to-day to Baron von Aehrenthal, imperial and royal
minister of foreign affairs; and, in this connection, I beg also to
inclose copies of three previous notes addressed by me to him, which
were supplemented, I might add, by several personal visits by me to the
foreign office. Up to the present time no response has been received
from the imperial government.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
Ambassador Francis to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs.
American Embassy,
Vienna, November 14,
1907.
F. O. No. 129.]
Your Excellency: I have the honor to call
your attention to notes No. 31, of November 6, 1906; No. 62, of
February 16, 1907; and No. 76, of April 10, 1907, addressed by me to
your excellency, relative to the importation into Austria of
American meats duly inspected, before exportation, by government
officials of the United States, and accompanied in each instance by
certificates of inspection issued by the Department of
Agriculture.
In order to show that all previous objections to entry raised by the
Austrian Government have been met and effectively overcome by the
American law (which became operative October 1, 1906) prohibiting
the exportation of any meats to Europe which have not been duly
inspected by officials of the United States Government, I inclosed
in one of my notes for your excellency’s perusal copies of various
official publications containing the regulations governing such meat
inspection, the examination and relabeling of meats and meat-food
products on hand, and the transportation of meats in interstate and
foreign commerce.
[Page 67]
In view of the changed conditions of inspection, transportation,
etc., I strenuously renew the request contained in my note to your
excellency of April 10, 1907, which I had before respectfully and
earnestly made, that, through your excellency’s kind mediation, the
Austrian Government should promptly admit within its borders
American meats accompanied by government official certificates of
their purity.
The condition at present required by the Austrian Government that all
shipments of American pork meats are denied entry unless accompanied
by a United States certificate of microscopic inspection, is
equivalent to prohibition of entry. The Department of Agriculture,
deeming, them unnecessary, has discontinued the issuance of such
certificates of microscopic inspection. It has been clearly shown
that the usual methods of curing salted pork are sufficient to
destroy any trichinae, and I am authorized to assure the Austrian
Government, through your excellency, that the present system of
official inspection of meats in the United States intended for
export is thorough, scientific, and stringent, and the certificate
of such inspection issued by the Department of Agriculture should be
accepted by Austria as a guaranty of the purity and wholesomeness of
the products covered by it.
In expressing the hope that your excellency will be able at an early
date to assure me that such guaranty issued by American government
officials in the form of certificates of inspection, accompanying
each shipment of pork meats, will be recognized by the Austrian
Government.
I embrace, etc.,
