The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-06-07

scribed as abominable beyond ali de-
scription in print
The garb Of the men and women IL
unbelievabty fithy. The aprons are of
cIinsing to them. In this garb men and
women sit on the cutting tables. al
ready hlthyeto eat their lunches or TO
rest moment. and then sausage pot
ted things, soup bones and other canned
products are scooped of the bloody.
shiny floors onto these same tables and
prepared for the Gamers or the sausage
suffers.
OF inspection the Committee says
The radical defect In the present
system of inspection Is that 10 does not
go far enough. II is confined at pres
emit by law TO passing on the healthful-
ness of animals at the time of killing;
but the meat that is used in sausage
and in the various forms of canned
products and other prepared meat foods
goes through many processes, In all of
which there is possibility of contarnina-
ton through insanitary handling, and
further danger through the use of
chemicals. During all these processes
of preparation there Is no Government
inspection and no assurance whatever
that these meat-food products are
wholesome and fit for food-despite the
fact that all these products when sent
out bear a label stating they have been
passed upon by Government inspectors"
Lying Labels.
Here is the lie that the Government
has been permitting packers TO put on
each can OF meat and timed meat prod
ucts that has been leaving those pack
ing houses since 1891:
"All of these canned products bear
labels of which the following is sam
pie:
"ABBATTOIR NO
"The coatents of this package have been
inspected according TO the act of
Congress of March 8. 1891"
SIN one well-known establishment We
came upon fresh meat being shoveisd
into barrels, and a regular proportion
being added of stale scraps that had
lain on dirty floor in the corner of
room for some days previous In an
other establishment, equally well known.
a long table was noted covered with
several hundred pounds OF cooked
scraps of beef and other meats. Some
of these meat scraps were dry, leath-
cry, and unfit TO be eaten and In the
heap were found pieces of pigskin.
and even some bits of rope strands and
other rubbish. Inquiry evoked the
frank admission from the man I'm
charge that this was TO be ground up
and used in making 'potted ham,
Old canned stuff with worn labels rs
brought back to the packinghouse, re-
heated in the cans cooled, re-iabeled
and sent out as fresh"
The Committee finds an absolute lack
OF regard for the employees. In Winter
the rooms in which the men and wo-
men work are freezing cold all the
time, in Summer steaming hot, always
reeking with hot steam or frosty fog,
all sinking. Shiny, filthy. The women
have to stand I'm boxes of sawdust TO
keep their feet off the Shiny ooze of the
floor. They all have sore eyes unmen-
tionable and incurable diseases, tuber-
culosis-when they expectorate on the
floor, the cutting tables, the meat, IL
seems to matter nothing. IL should be
remembered that the men who work
in these packing houses are simply anl-
mails with souls. Human beings with
hopes and aspirations could not live
week under those conditions. The at
mosphere is as immoral as could wei
be imagined.
And there you have as much OF this
report as a respectable family news
pane should print. 1t is understood
that a good many of the conditions are
unprintabIe and were not put In the re-
port OF the committee.