The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-10-11
DANGER INrMEAT.
sIN bto1-q Aer
Entertaining Paper Read
Before the State Veter-
mary Medical Assoc
citation Yesterday.
HEALTH BOARDS cENsURED
DR.. Gerth Urges More Effective
Supervision Of Abattoirs and
Butchers Diseased Meat.
HEALTH BOARDS cENSURED
,snec;n, to the Jerseu City Ne,os.

NEWARK. Oct. IL, 1S95.-At the an
nual meeting of the State Veterinary
Medical Association of New Jersey nela
at Si2 Broad street, this city, yesterday. III
julius Gerth. Jr.. of this city. reao an
interesting paper in which he alluded
TO the health authorities of this city Ia
q not over-complimentary manner.
..Fnom a sanitary standpoint the sub
ject of meat inspection and SUPERVISION
of abattoirs is one OF great Importance
TO public health. of late. owing to the
partial recogritios Of the dangers TO
which We are daily exposed by the oHef-
ing for sale of untinely Slaughtered anu
d seased animals, the question OF having
animals inspected by competent Velet-
iaarians before and during the process
of Strengthening is being largely dis
cussed.
.sThe newspapers have repeatedly pup
lished articles about the careless melnods
of our health authorities in supervising
an inspection of meat and IN the super
vision of private slaughter houses.
..The Newark Board of Health, arter
having been cognizant of all these facts,
and well knowing the dangers SO MANY
4 wears. are deserving of censure. In a
fav cit es qualified veterinarians have
been employed as inspectors Of meat;
also by the United States Department
of Agriculture to inspect meat INTENDED
for export. All this is a movement IN
1he RIGHT direction, but how about our
home consumption?
uNSCRUPULOUS BUTCHERS.
"Being aware of the dangers anu
knowing that we have various contag-
Gus and infectious diseases eAlstins
among our domeSticated animals, Veler-
mary supervision becomes an actual ne
cessity, because so many OF me odS.
eases are transmittapIe 10 man fact
the meat. 1t is also an ADMITTED lacl
that diseased meat is oftentlmeS ofiereo
for sale by unscrupulous butcners.
politicians have ordinarily mauaSeu
to secure the appointment OF 'heeiers 70
act as inspectors of meat, regardless OF
their QUALIFICATIONS, as a reward for elee-
ed veterinary appointments. Sucn pfac-
tees continued at the expense OF the
public health are viAainous.
s'Scientinc meat inspection, if thor
, oughly performed by competent officers,
would aal6 not not only MY 4 enge9 a a5se 5 sa,e o bis dlSv
interesting and profitable to the medical
and veterinary prGfsss ions as nrd numerous b,I US
traced to he Sfon~sursption OF diseased
saThe Injurious qualities of meat are
dependent upon diseases of our domes-
tic animals. Therefore this subject prop
erly fans into the p]Eoyinse of yeteriasIy
meat inspection was so long neglected.
SALE PROHIBITED.
Views concerning the injurious quar-
tiles of diseased meat varied like the
fashions, In olden times it was only
known that animals would become sick
and die, and it was generally believed
that the meat of al diseased animals
was unfit for food. In the middle Of the
eased or fallen animals was prohibited
by the Christian Church.
Later on the civil authorities pur-
sued this course very energetically, and
from the middle of the sixteenth Cen.
fury ordinances prohibiting the sale Of
aise "a ea. meat rss,,ts eeeame 50 anit fhat ' at about
the close of the Eighteenth Century the
use of meat of diseased animals was
prohibited by heavy penalties in all civ
During the time of empiricism, when
veterinary science was beginning to de-
yelop. society had gradually formed a
contrast of opinions. Empiricism was
enabled to mention numerous cases n
been eaten without injurious results.
Experiences, unfortunately, We're IN
l aorat e cit ss;af e5Rse il ghs in pd food at IT tn nat
time. and on account of the speculative
application of its scarcity, IT nnaily re-
suited that nearly all the meat from the
Having establishment reached the mar
kef. dhis fact gave the first impulse
to the erection of public abattoars IN
am FALSE REASONING.
.such examples finally led TO the ace
centation of the theory that all meat OF
SEX animals vas harmless: and by way
of explanation 1t was added that the IN
furious properties were partly oestToyeu
by cooking and partly by digestion. Even
fhe feeders on carrion were drawn INTO
Tequisition to prove such statements,
hogs and ducks We're 10 furnish Inc
properties existed in diseased meat that
could produce any disturbance in their
ssft ;s hardlv necessary to remark that
such reasoning. has been attended with
an is13 Fodene of Paris wrote a book
~ pubic Hygiene, in which he made
So statement that diseased meat was
not detrimental to health, and SO It came
century and at the beginning OF the nlne-
teenfh century the various Individual Oh,
seryatfons regarding the use Of diseased
animals were partly douo-so anu III
manv cases totally ignored.
NEGLECTED CONTROL.
'The control over the ea meat die and 5he Was
-,;rta7auv only in behalf of market and
not in behalf of sanitary regulations.
This popular indifIeren es. s IN r masf CON-
times today, Notwithstanding that evil
cnnseouences frequently follow its uses,
and butchers make good use OF TINS
nonular Indifference, as they see various
cbsnnels in which they can make large
nrofits where they are not strictly
ssConsiderable hesitancy is manifested
IN looking aTser them SO str CITY as or
substances demand they should be. me
tent than the dangers. Even thousands
If cases of illness of most palnful
trfchinosis have not been able to snake
t .hhsi bower e. indifference in custom;
Now. as formerly, raw pork is eaten,
Tn a few cases protecting measures We're
tasen. but not everywhere where Danger
ri trich nosis has manifested itself;
.eThe use of meat OF diseased ANIMALS
cannot be entirely permitted nor can IL
he entirely prohibited. Science, then,
has two tasks to perform-frst, to estap,
1iissh the quality of wholesomeness, and
secondly. the EMBELLISHMENTS of meat
for food. .u,a
not be withdrawn from the market with,
ont due hesitation, if we are convlnced
of its harmlessness. 1t Is the duty OF
Veterinary science to protect the health
of man and yet allow all diseased meats
known to be harmless to be offered for
sale. Upon this principle all sanitary
regulations should be founded
PAPER ON
A paper read by DR.. Werner Runge,
Of this city, on the combating of an
fhrax by lymph injections, excited con-
siderable discussion.
The doctors present Gid not seem to
believe that anthrax had visited New
Jersey at all. DR.. James w. Hawk of
this city, president of the association
said it was all a scare, and he did not
believe there was q single case of the
disease to be found last summer, The
State Board of Health and the newly