Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-06-23
CATTLE THE STREETS.

city are sorely taxed by the driving Vi
cattle through their streets.
Sunday morning is a favorite time for
transferring some of these droves from
the depots to the sales pens. Then.
when the sidewalks are filled with women
and children on their way 10 church
or to Sunday school. the droves appear.
And 1t often happens that some OF the
beeves are unruly and betake themselves
TO the sidewalks. causing people to hy
for their lives. And at this season OIL
the year occasionally hogs drop in their
tracks i'm the streets, there TO die
These are all great annoyances. Some
of them cannot be wholly removed until
a union stock-yard is established mere
but others may be removed, or at least
mitigated. at once
Most of the droves seem to have too
few men with them to properly regulate
the movements OF the animals. The Cry
Council, therefore, ought TO insist that
each drove shall be under the care or
enough men to exercise rigid supervision
over IL. The Council should also make
Il unlawful to drive herds of beeves and
droves of hogs through the streets on
Sunday during those hours when II Is
well known that our streets Will be
thronged with women and children.
Again. the city should require each
drover to remove his dead animals with
out the delay of so much as an hour.
Heretofore dead animals have been al
lowed TO lie in the streets an unreaeon-
ably long time. 1t is by no means
pleasant thing to have a dead hog, sheep,
or COW lying in front of ones pre-
misses for hours and hours during
swetering summers day. We think
none of these requirements would be un-
reasonable. We do not wish to punish
the cattle brokers and butchers because
there is no union stock-yard here. NO,
indeed. but 1t seems but fair that they
should be required so to conduct their
business as that it shall be as little
Objectionable as possible to the commu-
nifty.
If the city generally were subjected to
| the nuisances in question, such pres
sure would be brought upon the City
| Council as would compel II TO act vigo-
rously, and at once, but unfortunately
for the victims of the present method,
only few streets are used by the
| drovers. Nor are these streets the
abodes of fashionable people; neverthe-
less, they have as much right to be pro-
tected as any other streets.
The establishment of an abattoir here
has been postponed from year to year.
Apparently the prospect of its early
naturalization is not yet good. Yet an
! abattolr and general sales yards, would
be a great convenience TO the railway
companies and to most of those who buy
and sell cattle. Furthermore. they
would be advantageous TO the public
| health, for there We could install a cat
tie and meat-inspector, and have him
exercise supervision over the whole bust
ness.
Whoever will take the pains to glance
at the droves passing through our streets
during the summer months will be SURE
to find that not few Of the animals are
so very weak 1t Is all they can do u
stagger along. This weakness may
|
proceed from their having been confined
in a standing position in box-cars ei
route to Richmond, or ii may come from
disease but in either event, careful In
spection by sworn officer is desirable
This inspection would hardly be practi
cable under our present system, bu
would be easy enough If there were al
abattoir here.
We take occasion, however, to sa!
now. what we have often said before
that we believe most OF our butcher
may be safely trusted not to Kill sicl
, cattle; but there may be others who ar
less conscientious Certainly, inspectio
| is deemed indispensable in many or tn
, large cities of this country, and why nc
/ here?
So there are many concurring reason
/ why an abattoir and union stock-yard
should be established here. and we kno
1 | of no reason against them, except tha
: unity Of action on the part of the raj
way companies and others interested ma
r not been obtainable up to date. III
> that we shall have such an establish
1 ment here after awhile, we cannot doub
D Mean while, the City Council ought
Mace the driving of cattle through OF
5 streets under such regulations and RI
J. strictions as will mitigate the inevitao
d evil as much as possible.