The San Francisco call., 1896-02-15
Inspector Ben Davis Commences
a Crusade Against
Filth.
TOUR OF CLAY STREET MADE.
The Cheapest Places Were Discovered
to Be in Need of a General
Cleaning Up.

Ben Davis, the man to whom, as chief
market inspector and special policeman,
the Citv's Health Department has given
the work of finding out the sellers of unfit
meats, and one of whose duties is to visit
the culinary ends of restaurants and in
vestigate as to cleanliness and sanitation,
made a tour of number of eating places
yesterday and shook things up little.
AS Mr.. Davis explained, it is the begin
ming OF crusade against such places of re-
treshment as do not observe the natural
laws of health.
The first day s work in this direction was
not bad. He visited about a score of places
and waded through kitchens and CROPPED
around in cellars. Whenever he ran up
against bad smell ne usually traced it to
its source and ordered the proprietor to
have the cause either removed or RENE
died forthwith. He gave the proprietor
the cholce OF either doing so or having his
place then and there condemned and
closed up. AS general rule the sugges-
tions made by Mr.. Davis were complied
| with
Mr.. Davis thought he would begin by
taking look at the cheap eating houses
| on Clay street in the 900 block. These are
all either 5-cent or 10-cent places where
can be found at any hour OF the day until
late at night dividing their choice between
either coffee and doughnuts or q big plate
OF stew with it's incidental accompani-
| ments OF soup, bread, potatoes and tea,
coffee, milk or doubtful wine.
These cheap restaurants were not such
as Mr.. Davis might have desired, but as
one man remarked he had been in the
business for ten years and such thing as
an ofhclal inspection of places where peo-
| pie get their food was novelty to him.
Usually the cheap JOINTS" as the vuI-
gar call them, were not clean. The Gus
tom is to have them swept up once or twice
day and occasionally scrubbed but it is
| no easy ma tier to keep them scrupulously
clean. A proprietor of one place said he
led 1900 people every day. From 500 to
1000 is the usual percentage for day OF
any OF them.
A CALL representative made a tour OF
some OF the resta urants later in the day
and found that where the inspector had
ordered general cleaning up it had been
done. The same was done with the swiil bar
reis. These receptacles for the inevitable
Stops had either been removed 10 more
suitable locations or changed as desired.
Mr.. Davis insists upon such receptacles be-
ing OF galvanized iron, covered and out of
the way.
In one place he found dishwasher with
a sore hand, and on the advice of Mr..
Davis the man was made to take off his
apron and give place to stalwart fellow
who did not manifest any taint of blood.
The better class of restaurants on Mont
gomery street and in the 500 block on
Clay street, where a meal can be had for
70 cents, were found satisfactory in condi-
tion and their sanity equipments were pro-
nounced good by Mr.. Davis. He had moth
ing but praise for the lunchrooms which
he went through on Pine street, between
Sansome and Battery.
Henry Sass was loud in his praise of
the new move by the health authorities,
and said he for one would cooperate with
them every time and all the time.