Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1906-03-10
Il Aims at the Lives, the Health and
the Pockets Of Chicago
Citizens.
Frightful Food Thrown Into This
City While the Government In.
spectors Sit Supinely BY.

HOrTlnlt COuultlOuS anu lIit-ui
abuses. said to exist with impunity ut
the Chicago stockyards, are the theme
of daring novel called The Jungle"
published by Doubleday. Page n Go.
The author. Upton Sinclair, lived for Il
time among the workingmen in Pack.
ingtown. and his book is meant to he
searching and comprehensive indict-
ment of the way things are done there.
The publishers say that before they
accepted the manuscript they had the
charges investigated by Il competent
lawyer, who confirmed the truth of the
authors startling statements.
The hero of the novel Is Lithua.
MAN immigrant named Jurgls. who
comes to this country with his family
TO find liberty and justice. and who
finds only slavery, injustice and death
in the stockyards slums. According to
Mr.. Sinclair. the corporation that EN-.
ployed Jurgis "was nothing but one 81
gantic lie from top to bottom" In the
course OF his story he charges that the
reckless abuses Of the packers are pro.
tected by the city government through
graft.
"The packers had secret mains" he
says, through which they stole bill.
lions Of gallons Of the city's water. The
papers We're full Of the scandal-once
there had even been an investigation
and an actual uncoverlng OF the pipes,
but nobody had been punished, and
Hha china, want riyhf IN ~
The most serious charges are those
rs to the packing of diseased animals
aud spoiled meat. Jurgis is employed
In various slaughter-houses and comes
In contact with unsavory secrets,
which the author reveals in many
pages OF revolving details.
And then there was the condemned
meat industry" he says, with its end
less horrors. The people of Chicago
saw the government inspectors in Pack
ingtown. and they all took that to
mean that they We're protected from
diseased meat: they did not under
stand that these 163 inspectors had
been appointed ut the request of the
packers, and that they We're paid by
the United States government to GER
tify that all the diseased meat was
kept In the State. They had no author
ity beyond that, for the inspection Of
meat TO be sold In the city and State
and the whole force in Packingtown
consisted of three henchmen Of the 10.
cal political machine.
"And shortly afterward one Of these,
a physician, made the discovery that
the carcasses of steers which had been
condemned by the government inspect.
Ors, and which therefore contained pto.
maines, which are deadly pOisons.
We're left upon an open platform and
carted away to be sold In the city, and
SO he insisted that these carcasses be
treated with an injection Of Kerosene
and was ordered to resign the same
week.
$50 indignant were the packers that
they went farther and compelled the
Mayor 10 abolish the whole bureau OF
inspections: so that since then there has
been not even a pretense of any inter-
ference with the graft. There was
sulu W bt s-.Vp u N''h hu-h ii'hNs
for the tubercular steers alone, and as
much again from the hogs which had
died of cholera on the trains, which
you might see any day being loaded
into box cars and hauled away 10 a
place called Globe, In Indiana, where
they made a fancy grade Of lard.
There were cattle which had been
fed on whisky malt the refuse of the
breweTcs. and had become what the
men called stccrly'-which means Gov
cred with bOils. II was "A nasty JOh
killing these, FOR when you plunged
your knife into them they would burst
and splash fOul-smelllng stuff into your
face. II was stuff such as this thai
made the 'embalmed beef that haC
Killed several times as many United
States soldiers as all the bullets of thu
Spaniards; only the army beef, besides
was not fresh canned, it was old stuff
that had been lying for years in thu
cellars"
Among the curious things that Jurgi'
noticed on the first day Of his employ
mcnt In "Durham's" slaughter hous'
vas THE sharp trick Of the floor bosses
whenever there CHANGED to come {
SUNK calf" The author goes on Il
describe how cows in condition unf
for food are regularly slaughtered
with the rest.
1T was the law that cows Of tina
sort came along with the others, snt
whoever noticed ID would tell the boss
and the boss would start up CONVEX
satiOn with the government Inspector
and the two would stroll away. So II
trice the carcass OF the COW wOul[
be cleaned out, and the entrals woulf
have vanished; II was Jurgls' task II
slide them into the trap, calves and all
and on the floor below they took out
these skunk calves and butchered then
for meat, and used even the skins OF
them"
One day Jurgls had 10 take the pla1
Of man who had hurt his leg, and
after the inspector and nearly all the
workmen had gone, a select gang was
set 10 preparing the dead cattle that
had been gored or died Of disease On