Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-01-09

Reading Matter on Every Page.
WASHINGTON CITY:
TIL RSDAT January ., 1873.
Shall We Have Good Meat ?

During his connection with the board Of health.
Mr.. GatchCl, to who m entrusted the inspec-
ton Of i've stock. uncaTthrd many abuses in
connection with the sale az animals for slaughter,
which deserve TO be brought 10 the attention Of
the Public. II is fact, perhaps not generally
brown, that the White House and several Of our
principal hotels have for wears past been supplied
with beef from Baltimore, the impression being
that the cattle slaughtered in that city are supc-
riDT in condition and quality to those offered for
sale in the District of Columbia. This NAV be a
deiusioD. but we care only to mention the fact.
II is universally conceded that fat cattle make
the best beef, but desiring scientific opinion on
tbs point, Mr. c. submitted two pieces of beef
one piece good, AMI the other inferior I'm quality
t. the chemist Of the board of health for analysis
The result Of the ANALYSIS was of course greatly
IN FAVOR of the good meat, and the chemist in
reporting his Investigations stated that the
relative nutritiye quality of fat or good beef
might be expressed by I5S, and that of lean OF
inferior meat of the same Kind at 100, thus show
ing that the first is virtually fifty per cent better
than the last To insure better quality of meat
IN our markets Mr.. Gatchel recommends in his
Ierett the enactment of n law prohibiting the
slaughter OF any animal for food that does not
dress at least fifty pounds to the one hundred
only benefit the public generally. but many of
the butchers themselves. who suffer from the
exposure and sale of inferior meats. Mr.. A. for
instance, who pridcs himself on selling meat of a
superior quality for, say twenty-five cents per
pound. can look over any day at the stall of his
neighbcr, Mr.. B., and see him sell a pound of
inferior meat at twenty cents per pound; and
forthwith the public withdraw their custom
''becau-e he charges five cents apound more for
beef than Mr.. b. forgetting that in reality the
meat they buy from Mr.. b. is not worth more
than half what they paw for IT,
That much meat is fevered and thus rendered
nnwholesome through the transportation, over
long lines of railway, of cattle literally crammed
into the cars and deprived of food and water for
days together, there is no doubt whatever
Medical men do not hesitate to express the
opinion that the flesh of such animals is utterly
unfit for food, and can give the most conclusive
demonstrations of the correctness of their views
Attempts have heretofore been made, but have
failed, to secure the passage of a general law
regulating the transportation Of cattle, but at
present the prospect looks more favorable. Such
bill has recently passed the Senate, and it is
believed will pass the House this session. Its
enactment is demanded for sanitary as well as
for humane reasons.
But there is another abuse to which Mr. c.
calls attention IN his report AMI we leave him to
describe ii in his own words:
lone two DAYS before the animals are
offered in the ward for sale they are starved
being allowed neither food nor water. The night
before the day OF sale they fed on hay and
com Nhlch has been saturated with salt water
M water being allowed them. On the morning
Of the day OF sale they nearly maddened
With thirst. and in this condition are permitted
L. drink all the water they can hold-when they
are offered for sale. To determine the quantity
OF water which these animals drink, nine ami
rais were purchased and weighed about twelve
o'clock in the day - before they had been
UateTe,i. Afterwards they were allowed to drink
a much water a. they wanted, and at two
O'Clock they wtre again weighed when il was
found they had increased in weight over sixty
pounds each. On account of this practice from
ten To twenty pounds are thrown off by the
dealer. leaving forty or fifty pounds of water to
he paid for by the purchaser
81 Blown meat has been driven out of our
markets by the vigorous and determined action
OF the board of health. Let them continue in
the work of reform, and under the authority
given them by Congress ito prevent the sale of
unwholesome food" break up this pernicious
practice of 'brining stock" Let them order
the prompt condemnation of every animal
offered for sale which il unnt tor slaughter from
any cause, and they will be sustained by the
butchers and the people generally, who are the
sufferers unless this is done.