Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-15
FRUIT AT ANY PRICE.
Startling Statements With Regard to
the Disposition of
DECAYED AND OVER-RIPE PRODUCE
A Baker Who Bought Rotting Apples to
Manufacture Into Pies.
STUFF SOLD THAT Is UNFIT FOR FOOD

tion is matter for consideration in con-
nection with the mortality record which is
startlingly touched upon in interviews with
dealers. Fruit reported by the dealers as
unstable, or condemned by the health al-
thorities yet is sold to a certain class of
vendors or householders, and, it is said, is
sometimes made up into pies.
A carload of bananas, 200 punches, for $50,
equal to 25 cents per bunch-such sale
was made yesterday. Thomas MCGOWAN,
the Liberty street commission merchant,
who made this statement, said that the
bananas were all right at the time, but were
fully ripe and owing to the hot weather
would have to be disposed of at once, or
they would become unfit for food in very
short time
This fact was mentioned later to another
business man of Liberty street in the vicin-
ity of the commission stores, and who is in
of the Allegheny poisoning case, published
in The DISPATCH Friday, and the danger
of eating food in bad state of preserva-
tion, he said:
ovER-RIPE FRUIT FOR SALE.
''In view of the superabundance of fruit of
all kinds, and of the extremely hot weather,
it behooves the proper authorities to keep
close watch on the disposition of over-ripe
and decayed fruit and vegetables. Within
the last few days 1 have noticed large
amount of stuff utterly unfit for food being
disposed of at fruit stands and by
hucksters and street vendors The
ridiculously low prices at which they
offer this stuff, which costs them
little or nothing, insures them a lively
patronage, and among the very class in
which the death rate is already very high.
Now look at those boys he continued,
pointing to mob of urchins who had struck
a very mushy condition that had been
thrown into an alleyway, ''that is enough
to kill anything but a boy"
In an extended tour among the commission
men and produce dealers. quite variety of
opinions were elected in regard to the dis
position made of decaying fruit. A few
dealers declared that the bulk of it was
condemned by the Vegetable Inspector and
dumped into the river or taken to the
garbage furnace. Others stated that they
were very rarely visited by the Inspector,
and that large quantities of over ripe fruit
and vegetables were sold and consumed
every day.
TOO GOOD TO BE DESTROYED.
Mr. Myers, of Myers & Tate, said: s'There
certainly is a lot of fruit sold that is not
quite up to the mark, but which at the same
time is too good to be destroyed. This is
sold to small dealers and street venders at
greatly reduced rates. They pick out the
the lot and sell the rest at good profit Of
course, they may sell it as it is, without as
sorting it, but we know nothing of that"
Mr. Rea, of Rea K Co., said that there
was plenty of over ripe fruit sold that would
come under the head of damaged or over
ripe, but he did not think it a matter of any
importance, as people would not eat fruit or
vegetables when so badly decayed as to be
injurious.
Many were of the opinion that it was
blessing for the poor that all produce was
not condemned when little off color, as
they were thus enabled to buy great deal
of fairly good stuff at very low prices. Mr.
Schmit, of Koenig & Schmit, thought that
this was the case He said that when a
large shipment was received that was in
very bad order they notified the inspector
to officially condemn it. Then they had the
documents to show their shipper if he was
disposed to demonstrate.
Sometimes, though" he continued,
"while the bulk of shipment may be
slightly damaged, there is considerable
portion of it that is fairly good. In case of
this kind the lot is often taken off our hands
by dealers at a price sufficiently low to
allow them fair profit on the deal even
after they have thrown away half or quarter
of their purchase as too badly damaged to
SELL"
A WASTE OF EATING MATERIAL.
Many others when questioned stated that
they had no hesitancy in selling fruit that
had passed its prime, claiming that it was
criminal waste of food to destroy large guam
titles of stuff when people were willing and
anxious to buy it. AT one place it was
stated that no fruit was sold that was not
up to the requirements of the Health Bu-
reau. Even while this statement was being
made O man was seen negotiating for a
barrel of apples which were absolutely
rotten. The bargain was closed at price
which would just about pay for the barrel,
and the apples were placed in wagon by
the purchaser, who from the appearance Of
his clothes was supposed to be baker.
This was found to be the case When asked
if he intended to make apple pies out of his
purchase, he denied it was so. 1t was as
certained later that that was exactly what
he did with those apples and many more
in the same stage of decay. The process of
of these pies was witnessed by
the reporter. The girl in the bake shop |
stated, however, that they were called |
"dried apple pies and sold to boarding
in Allegheny.
AT another Liberty street store IL large |
baskets of peaches were set aside to be |
hauled away. Every one of the peaches was |
at least half rotten. A man came along and |
offered 81 so for the lot He got them.
LITTLE FRUIT BEING CONDEMNED.
A call was made at the Office of Vegetable |
Inspector Kilgore, but he was not in. |
Chief Clerk McKelvey, of the Bureau of |
Health, said that he understood from Cap |
tain Kilgore that there was less fruit and |
vegetables being condemned this year than |
last. This statement, coupled with the |
of this kind is being received as during last
wear. would tend to corroborate the statement |
that an immense amount of stuff totally unfit |
for food was being offered for sale, and
bought, and consumed in the two cities.
Earlier in the season many carloads of |
Georgia watermelons were condemned be-
cause they were left in the railroad cars and
Yards, the freight on them being in excess
Of the value of the melons, at unprecedent-
edly low prices. But once the goods get to
The commission houses they are rapidly dis
posed Of
Several physicians were interviewed
on this subject. The consensus of
opinion was that while not SO injurious to
health, or fraught with so much danger to
ife as were animal poisons, such as were
ound sometimes in canned meats and fish,
It'll much sickness could be traced directly
@ decayed and over-ripe fruit and vege-
ables.