The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-06-08

1 which thy work and to reach the near
est Il Il necessary 10 ~ up or down a
cow g G;ylt5 Of stairs. In one no.
t"rtn,, t., NEG tie lrivy for the wo-
iron v-o"E ~ in several adjoining
| l2o.'f '~st Il rN1n in which men
! ch,H : Wa 2H'p''r' J. aYl every r'rl
gp.@g to ~ tbs alI to passes by =
wo A.ng I ljc29 Of Cp~ous Of male op>r.
ativr5 All cufn. IL privy. the door OF
which "''s r2t six feet from he work
ing place Of one Of the men operatives
As previously noted. in the priyieS for
men and women alike there are no par
| titionS. but simply Il long row of open
seats. Rest rooms, where tired women
workers might - for Il short rest, were
found rs rare exceptions. and in some
establishments women are even placed
in charge Of privies. chiefly for the pur-
| pose, it was stated. to see that the girls
did not absent themselves too long
from their work under the excuse of
visiting them. In some instances what
was called rest room was simply one
end of the privy partitioned off by
six foot partition from the remaining
| incloSure. \ few girls were found
| using this not only as Il rest room. but
as the only available place in which to
sit to eat their luncheon.
Much of the work i'll connection with
the handling of meat has TO be carried
on in rooms of low temperature, but
even here Il callous disregard was ev-
erywhcre seen for the comfort of
those who worked in these rooms.
Girls and women were found in rooms
| registering Il temperature of 3S de-
Srees f. without any ventilation what
ever. depending entirely upon artificial
| light. The floors were wet and soggy
| and in some eases covered with water,
so that the girls had TO stand in boxes
of sawdust as Il protection for their
feet. In Il few cases even drippngS
| from the refrigerator rooms above
| trickled through the ceiling upon the
heads of the workers and upon the
| food products being prepared. \ very
| slight expense would have furnished
| drier floors and protected them against
the tricklings from the ceiling. Ii was
asserted by the superintendent of
these rooms that this low temperature
was essential to the proper keeping of
! the meat, but precisely similar work
! was found in other establishments car
ried on in rooms kept at a fair tenn
| perature. In many cases girls of six
teen, seventeen and eighteen years
stand ten hours Il day ut work, much
of which could be carried on while
sitting down.
In several establishments we'll man
aged restaurants We're provided for
the clerical force, and in one instance
smoking room was provided for
! them, but no provision was found any
| where for Il place to eat for the male
laborers. In pleasant weather they eat
their luncheon sitting outdoors along
the edge of the sidewalk or any place
where they can find standing room.
In winter, however. and in inclement
| weather their lunches have to be eaten
in rooms that in many cases are sti-
! fling and nauseating. Eating rooms
are provided in number of places
for women workers in the various de-
partments and in most of the large
establishments coffee is served them
at penny cup. Beyond this meager
consideration for their convenience at
mealtimes scarcely any evidence is
found that any one gave a thought to
| their comfort.
! The neglect on the part Of their EN-
| blowers to recognize or provide for the
! requirements OF cleanliness and decen-
cy of the employees must have an in
| fluence that cannot be exaggerated in
lowering the morals and discouraging
cleanliness on the part of the workers
employed in the packing houses. The
| whole situation as we saw it in these
huge establishments tends necessarily
and inevitably to the moral degrade
| ton of thousands of workers, who are
forced to spend their working hours
under conditions that are entirely unnec-
essary and objectionable and which are
a constant menace not only to their own
health, but to the health Of those who
use the food products prepared by them.
VI.-GOvernment Inspection.
| We observed carefully the inspection
before slaughter, the inspection after
slaughter on the killing beds, the more
minute examination of animals tagged
on the killing floors and the microscopic
examination for trichinosis.
| Inspection Before laughter.-Inspec-
ton before slaughter appears to have
little value in most cases. That undue
advantage of this inspection is taken
by outside parties is charged, and OPP
portunities for such are abundant, but
no specific evidence was presented to
us. That this unmportant and super
fetal examination should be compul-
sorry under the present law, whereas
the more scientific examination after
slaughter is only permssive, indicates
a serious defect in the law.
Inspection After laughter.-Inspec-
ton after slaughter appears to be care
fully and conscientiously made. The
government veterinarians maintain
that it is adequate, insisting that a
of the vlscera and of the general con-
dition of the carcass is sufficient to
enable an expert engaged constantly
on this work to detect at once the pres
ence of disease or of abnormal cOndi-
lions. On the slightest indication of
disease or abnormal conditions the car
cass is tagged and set aside for a later