, 1876-07-30
The Fertilizing Establishments Response"
bic for the Greater Part OF
ti1c Od0rs.
a Hasty Glance at the South Branch
aud the Healey Slough
Packing-Houses Which Are Clean and
Packing-Houses Which Are
Offensive.


are allowed tO run, even i'll its ;ery heart lie
TRIBUNE has had commissioner out during the
past week Investigating stcnches and their
orleiu, aul he thinks be has discovered the
eourre OF the evil, and how it may be cured.
At best, slaughtcr-houses should not be toll
Grated in the midst of any thickly-settlcd town
ot city. No matter how clesnly they arc kept
and how pure the surroundings are, they Will
prove nuisance to the ucigkborhood; and
they have dcmor:4lizng effect upon the youth
Of the vicinity. who, AS rule, flock there in
,rcat numbers, hear the profanc words used BY
the butchers, sec tho animals slaughtered, and
from daily contact become e1se-lardencd, as It
we're not hcsitatnr themselves, at the least
proyocation, to use the knife and pistol upon
their own companions.
Then again: Wherever there is slaughter
house (uud no matter how clcanly it is kept,
tIlorc must Of necessity be auiulA matter aud
blood leaking through the floors and into tue
wards. These substances will also be carried
around the buildings everywhere by the teet ot
tie employees. thus forming rotting mass
wllrl, will send its sickening spores into the ar
rs soon as decomposition sets in- - This, said
wc1i-known physician to THE TRIBUNE re-
porter, g is i great source of meningitis, ma,
faria, fever, bilious fcyers, and other kindred
diseases. throughout the city. This thing IS con-
fined to no one locality alone, but is waited all
over the city By the cyeT-changing winds, aud
n,auy disease wl1icl, has batlled the PHYSICIANS
skill could, no doubt. be ultimately traced to
this sourcc-'' ....-...
These things will be again alluded to further
on, the commissioner prcfcring first to give the
condition in which he found 6laugilter-houses
and fcr:ilizing establishments. Ihc scribe was
accompanied by special agent OF the Citizens
Association, and all the evidence gathered may
BE- substantiated in the future when the stink
factories shall be prosecuted and driven away
from the city. And here it should be stated
that the business Of hog-killing can be carried
OH without smell, but that it is not done be-
cause the packers are not compelled to put in
tho latest improved machinery, such as may be
found in one or two plares III this city, and be-
.uuse they do not exercise sufficient care to
keep their places smelling sweet and pure. As
to the fcrtiiiziug factories, they are curse to
CITY; their places mean death to infant life; they
accelerate consumption; they are productive Of
the most malignant nlalarial diseases, and the
sooner they arc driven from OUT midst the better
will it be for the great, growing, and beautiful
City Of Chicago
The two investigators first called at the cstab-
Iahmcnt Of
ToBEY BOOTH,
corner Of Eighteenth and Grove streets. upon
tile outskirts Of the classical region Of Bridge
port The locality is By no means an attractive
:ailroad traelS cutting the packiug-house off
from the retail market.
The reporter introduced himself to one OF the
gentlemen Of the firm, "Enclc Tobcy" being
away. The commissioner was kindly received,
and when he made his errand known the firm
expressed willingness to show him through
It should be stated that there is no stenrl here
whatever, aud that the place is rs well and
rlea1ily kept as any wcll:rcgulated kitchen. Fer
hog being disposed OF in the establishment ex
rpt bristles. Sam Davis, the superintendent
Of the place, took the reporter through.
The ofial comes from tanks to the cellar,
where it is put into vat and rendered into lard
oil. It is drawn,
FRESH AND HOT,
up an inclined plane to the press. whence it
tones through q heater clean and pure As sand.
The cheese is taliel. up OIL to PLATFORM whence
zones out pasty and damp. 1t is put into pans
MD into 3 drying-oyer, and when sufficiently
;lry is placed in i pilc in the dry-housc. There
is all tlis time not particle OF offensive smell,
crease being disrcrnible The blood is also dis
:,srd of in similar manner aud cooked, being
uliuc into frst~elass fertilizer.
now THE STINK IS DISPOSED OF.
The noxious yapors are condensed from the
tanks through the means Of trap. and brought
under the builcrs, and the gas is thus destroyed.
Mr.. Davis took the reporter to the trap, when,
through Il little valve, he turned q little Of the
,ure eSsvnvc Ut stink into his hand and gave the
:cls1rtcr whit. It Immediately sickcncd him.
under perfect control, and there is no complaint
HhutcVcr made OF the house.
THE DE1STLE3
are carted away daily, and arc sold to curlcl-
iair manufacturers, who make from them
'pure horsehar-lllci1' - mattresses and pillows.
They arc ulso put into sofas and other articles
Df covered furniture, where the 11nculturcd eye
will not dctect the deception. These bristlrs
are taken out e'id spread upon the prairie to
dry, and therefore emit nc smell, but they
would stink if allowed to lie several days in the
house.. HoS-ki1lng is donc i'll summer only in
The morning. About $50 are disposed Of here
daily
After having gone through this establishment
the stencil from some places bct:Llle terribly
apparent. SO much SO, that both the scarclers
a;yr truth were nauseatcd. The trip was taken
around Wentworth avenue, out Archer aTcnuc,
nllcre the stink WAS traced, then out Ha1stcd
street., to
THE srocE-rARDs.
The yards arc kept clean, aud, barring the
smell of cattle in the pens, which is not un-
wholesome, there was nothing to complain Of
there. Some forty teams arc engagcd all the
time in cart:ng away manure to L pile just wcst
n{ Dexter Park, which is known Us 'Shermans
private pox.' It lies i'll piece Of prairie, which
is so fenced in and guarded night and day that
hone but the yard teams can enter or leave it.
The streets through the yards arc clean, though
somewhat muddy in places, but the entire space
shows that care Is exercised III keeping the yards
in such condition that they cannot prove a nui-
s:ncc either to the Town Of Lake or the City Of
Chicago. Just cast and west Of the yards arc
1hs PLACES whcre all the trouble is encountered
To bc sure, III the daytime the fertilizing estab-
1ishmcnts shuw at their best, they being mainly
run at night
MEssRs. FOWLER BROTHERS
rim one Of tue largest packing-louses IN the
T,wn of Lake, northwest Of the yards They
}!a'e III immense capacity for hog killing, a1lI
during the summer turn from !, ,350to /, $50 hogs
Gay into pork, bacon, and fertilizers. Their
place is only tolerab1y clean, though not dirty.
Tscv have no such arrangement as Tobey d
booth for the disposal Of their smell. they
have condcllsing pipes which run through water
tanks and under their boilers aud
j:llo the sewers, carrying, in part, the
stinks under ground. However, around
the establishment the smell is but too plainly
1e1rtptible. In the buildings the tanks Though
only one or two we're running when the reporter
was therc) sent up horrid smell. But the
foreman explained, Or tried to explain, ''that
it didn't amount to anything,'' whereas it was
io;l, sickeuing anu disgusting to the reporter.
The foreman stated blandly, when the reporter
tuld him what he felt and saw, ''tf,e place will
stink i little anyhow one Of the best ar..u-
1nents in the world for compelling these people
t. nut in the stink-absorbing machinery, which
it is possible to do, though it would cost little
money. ..
OTHER PEsTn0LEs.
Leaving there, the fact WAS noted that around
,.ycry place were pools Ut green, nasty, stagnant
water, sending up their share Of the enanations