University of South Carolina Libraries
Some of the Sickening Dis= closures Made by the Agents of the President who Investigated Conditions in Chicago Packing Houses. Extracts from report sent to Congress tins week by President Roosevelt: The investigators say that this report is only n partial one, and one must shod tier when one thinks that there is any possibility ot worse to come. At the very outset the yards are condemned as being commonly unclean. Pavements and othor portions are of brick or wood, so worn as to collect and retain harmful dirt and dise ise breedingstulT. The buildinus are ill lighted and ventilation is not thought of. Work tables upon which meat is handled and floor carts on which it is carried about, tubs and receptacles into which it is thrown, are generally of wood. These are water soaktd, only half cleaned, with meat scraps and grease adhering to their sides and collecting dirt This is characteristic of meat racks and conveyors of every sort, which are inadequately cleansed, meat and grease scraps adhering to them alter pretended washings. Toilet accomodations for work ingmen are wholly inadequate. What there are of them, the ventilation goes into the work rooms. Owing to lack of accommodations and distances from work rooms men relievo themselves on the floors and the tomes swell the nauseating odors arising from dirty, blood-soaked rotting floors, fruitful culture beds for disease germs both for men and animals. Even whore new buildings have been erected the defects of the old ones have not heen remedied. TREATMENT OF MEAT ANI) PREPARED FOOD PRODUCTS. An absence of cleanliness was also tound everywhere in the handling of meat being prepared for the various meat too l produets. Alter killing, carcasses are well washed, and up to the time they reach the cooling room are handled in a fairly sanitary and cleanly manner. The part* that leave the cooling room lor treatment in bulk are also handled with regard to cloanli ness, but the par's that are sent from the cooling room to those department* of the packing houses in which various forms ot meat products are prepared are handled with no repaid i whatever f < ?r cleanliness. In some of the largest establish-1 merits sides that are sent to what is known as the honing room are thrown in a heap upon! the or. The workers climb; over ill - i li ! ps >f meat, select the pi-c vs th".v wish, ami Ire(liien'iv to row t i i < 111 down Upon the oil toy lloo. beside their working '-eneh. I vet. in oil timr the me it upon the beneh. -tie W"|\ i.- usually le Id pressed again i flier apron.-, and these apron* were, a- a rule, indescribably i r iu.r ml bore long ar<umubil<n i I . I .. . i ' gr?* JiMl uii i , AII niii^y n it-\\ j places were suitable oilcloth aprons worn. Moreover, men were seen t? climb from the Hour and stand, with shoes diny with the rein o o' the floors, on the tables up ?n which the m *;?t was h i mi 1 >d. Th \v were seen t the lunch hour sitting on the tables on the spot on which the meat product was handled, and all this under the very eye of the superintendent of the room, showing that this was the com raon practice. Meal scraps were also lound being shoveled into receptacles from dirty floors where they were left to lie until again shoveled into barrels or into machines lor chopping. These floors, it miiKl bo noted, were in most cases damp and foggy, in dark, ill-ventilated rooms, and the employees in utter ignorance of cleanliness or danger to health expectorated at will upon them. In a word, we saw meat shovel ed from tilthy wooden floors, pilot! on tables rarely washed, [lushed from room to room in rotten box carts, in all of which processes it was in the way of gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the expectoration ol tuberculous and other diseased workers. Where comment was made to floor superintendents about these matters, it was always the reply that this meat would afterwards be cooked, and that this sterilization would prevent. any danger from its URe. Even this, it may be pointed out in passing, is not wholly true. A very considerable portion of the meat so handled is sont, out as smoked products and in the form of sausages, which are prepared to be eaten without being cooked. A particularly glar'ng instance of uncieanliness was found in a room where the Lost grade of sausage was being prepared for export. It was made from carefully selected meats, and was being prepared to bo eaten uncooked In tbis case tlie employee carted the chcpped up meat across a room in a barrow, the handles ol which were filthy with grease. The meat was then thrown out upon tables, and the employee climbed upon the fable, handled the meat with his unwashed hauls, knel with his dirty apron and trousers in contact with the meat he was spreading out, and, after lie had finished his operation, again took hold of the wlnelharrow, went hack for another load, and repeated this process indefinitely. Inquiring d veloped the fact that there was no water in this room at all, and the only method the mail adopted for cleaning his hands was to rub them airainst his dirty apron or on his still filthier trousers. As an extreme example of the entire on the pari of inplovers of ;111\ not inn of cII'a11i 11m iia>i'l. 111ur diossed meat, we ^;nv i? ho<r that ]iiicl j ii ~ l been k i i I ? I, cleaned, washed iiii'l si ;i I* I I'll oil Us ny t> I he <"?> i iu' room la ' liom 'lie slid i ii lo dirty wooden floor 11-.i j, ill \v i \ into a lilt hy ;ii*s privy. 11 wng picked lip by two oinj love?*n, placed upon a trurli. c irrir I ui'o the cooling room nd .11111op with other car m , no effort being made o c can it In another establishment | ! of sausages and dry moldy can ' meat*, admittedly several y< | o d, were lound, which the s ! eiintend nt stated to us wc !>< tanked and convoited grease. Tiie disposition to i made of this was wholly opt ul with the superintendents representatives of the pack as the government does concern itself with the disj tion ol meat8 after they h passed inspection on the kil floor. It might, all be treated \ chemicals, mixed with ot meats, turned out any form moat products desired, and the packages or receptacle! which it was to be shipped to the public would be mar with a label that their contc bad been "government insp eel. ii is 1101 aiiegeci nere i hiicIi 11*0 wh8 to be made of stuff. i he case is pointed oil one showing the glaring opj tunity for the misuse of a 1; bearing the name and the plied guaranty of the Un States government. Another instance of abus the use of the labels came to notice. In two different es lishments great stocks of canned goods were being through a washing process t( move the old labels. They v then subjected to sufficient 1 to "liven" the contents?to the phrase of the room supe tendent. After this, fresh lal with the government uami them, wore to be placed 11 the cans, and they were to be i out bearing all the evidence being a freshly put up prod In one ol these instances, by admission of the superintend the stock thus being relabi was over two years old. In other case the superintenc evaded a statement of how old goods were. Town Swept Away by Flc Ironton, ()., June 6?S Town, a village 20 miles nort Ironton, with a population of was washed away to-day. N house was left on its fonndat Mth. Say re and daughter v drowned, bridges were waf away and telephone lineH dow n. The disaster whh due to a 1! which whh canned by a he | rain lasting six hours. The t< is situated at the confluence the branches of the Indian Otiyan creeks. The valley at Scott Town is long and nar and the flood swept everytli before it. Men, women and < dren escaped to the hills in t j night clothes. Four persons v so injured that they cannot cover. The valley from Si Town to the river was aw clean. Four iron bridges v washod away and many ho 1 were drowned. The damagt crops cannot be estimated. Postmaster Dohbed <i v\ routa, i i? r a iin< In , nearly leal his life ami wan rol>l< .ill comfort, according to liia letter. v vs. "For "2i> yeara I l?ad ?-l?r?>ni' coin plaint, wliioh le I to sin-li a scvcri nf ) <iini: ieo llnit i'm-ij my linger nail* el yellow; when my dooler preao lilectrie Itinera; wInch cured mc ami pt infl well for n y aia." Sorr lor Itilionmean, N<ural;iu, 'Veakm >% il Mtoi'iacli. 1,1 vi r, Kidney ami Itli <1 rangciuenta A wonderful Tonic Funderlnirk l'liarinao < rawford I fro i \liu-key (Jo , I'rug a to re, GO oenta. Do voti take I lie *N?'ws? I II {HONII SAVMS I i': J ? FOR ? $ I Money Spenders | ? Our entire line of Shoes at old prices. We W ol I can sell you shoes at the same price they will I xf ? now cost us, and make money. Don't miss m V this opportunity. Just received $250 worth # i j new Laces and Embroidery to match at 2 1-2 f ^ it* $ to 5oc yard. Beautiful line white goods, # ect- ( Lawns, Piques, etc., from 5c to 35c the yard. 4 hat V Yard-wide Taffeta Silk, wear guaranteed, at ? this ? 98c, worth $1.25. Small lot Dress Shirts to ^ ^ t as J close at 50c on the dollar. Full line white J P<>r- ^ and colored soft Shirts at 23c to 98c. % ?bel ^ zt Just Received | e in I a solid case of men's and boys' Sample Hats. J our \ Your choice of boys' at 98c; men's $1.25? ^ tab- ^ worth double the money. Our stock of Neck- J oi?i I wear and Underwear is new and complete and m Pllt m as cheap as the cheapest. We have a few > re- B winter-weight suits to close at your price in ? vore ^ order to make room for spring goods. We ^ l,eat ^ want 500 men to get a pair of our 75c Over- ^ UBe ? alls at 50c. No charges for showing goods, ? inn- m )e's> J Yours respectfully, ? :*3 * Funderburk Comp'y. * ' ent, ? WAGONS ,od Wagons Wagons cott now ?^er largest and very beat selected lot ?l Wagons ^ ^ that baa ever been shipped into the state. Think of it?three solid c ?rs of Wagons?one ot them all 1 hor.-e, 45 in number. This is the first n.?r of 1-horse Wagons that was ever shipped to Lancaster H and doubtless into the state. The other two cars consist of 1, 2, 3 ion. Jimi J horse Wagons, witti any height of wheel or width ot tire, k'ere Think ot it?over 125 Wagons to select Irom. The qin stion arises, ihed as one ot our friends asked, "Why on the earth did you buy so are many? Did you think they had quit making tliein?" No, hut in order to get the price, we have bought for this place and all of our lood Other places over 2,000 vehicles. Bv doing this we have been .avv placed on the jobber's list, and all business men know that this * means 10 per cent, less tban any one, except a jobber, can buy. Buggies Buggies row Three solid cars of Buggies. One ol the celebrated Hackney. < >ne of the celebrated Columbia, l,e,r One ot the celebrated Hickory. fere Ami a number ol the Columbus ami Babcock. ?> re- Anv size or style Irom an 18 inch body to a nice carriage, cott - Harness Harness rses <i to Be'immber we manufacture our own Harness, and hence have no competition. All kinds on hand or made to order. W<. have shipped, all told, f>0 cars of Mules and Horses otl of | t'hirli I t'v,r and our Mr. Hood is now on the market buying more. Don't fail cns? | , \?f. i . . .. .. .. - .? fl>|, <> i-fiiin- in -it U-. it e u1 >:i i mop Mir summer I s jn-i sh llt'CPHMjiry to lijiv< ih 111 111 slimmer : s iii spiintr. W must have them IMV' for our I'linioroup ouH'onior . Some h ue. hi, perhaps, don't kuit 4 unci Ilium, a' (I ill0\ inuct l>e su tod. Any i<ii d y< u want, Irom a $25 uhlrr plu^r t<? mi extra driving horse. Ail shades and grades. Ooiiip r one, come all. i GREGORY-HOOD LIVE STOCK CO. 7