Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1906-03-17

ana the nacklng-NO1lSp Iiau Slpclnl
elevator upon which they were raised
to the killing beds. where the gang
proceeded to handle them with an air
OF busincsslik nonchalancc which
said palmer than words that it was n
matter of every day routine. 1t took n
couple of hours To get them out of the
way. and in the end Jurgis saw them
go into the chilling-rooms with the rest
here and there so that they could not
be identified
Mr.. Sinclar's description of the meat
that Is put into cans Is sufficiently UNI
appctizing. but his account of how
sausages are made Is still more 80.
There was never the least attention
paid to what was cut up FOR sausage"
he says !; there would come all the way
back from Europe old sausage that had
been rejected and that was moldy and
whitc--it would he dosed with borax
and glycerln. and dumped into the hop
pcrs. and made over again for home
consumption. There would bc meat
that had tumblcd ont on the floor. In
the dirt and sawdust. where the work.
crs had trampcd and spit uncountcd
billions of consumption germs.
"'rhcrc would he meat stored In
great piles In rooms. and the water
from lcaky roofs would drip over 1t,
and thousands of rats would race about
1t. 1t was too dark In these storage
places to see well, but man could run
his hand over these piles Of meat and
sweep off handfuls Of the dried cxcre-
mcnt of rats. These rats were null.
sancc. and the packets would put pol.
soncd bread out for them; they would
die. and then rats, bread and meat
would go into the hoppers together.
This is no fairy story and no Joke; the
meat would be shovclcd into carts, and
the man who did the shovellng would
not trouble to lift out u rat even when
he saw one-there were things that
went into the sausage IN comparison
with which Il poisoned rat was It'd
Bit"
The authors descriptions of these nj.
legged denominations are merely Incl.
dental to his portrayal OF equally ter
rble social conditions In the stock
yards. Jurgls finds himself In n jungle
of wild beasts, all seeking to rend and
rob him. and the emotional interest OF
the story has to do with the terrible
losing fight Of this honest Lithuanian
family. The packing industry kills one
member after another, ruins AMI kills
Jurgls' young wife under heart-rendlna
conditions. kills his little boy, and
sends Jurgls himself forth into the
world II tramp and then n criminal
The whole story Is Il chamber Of hor
rors.
The latter part describes social nj
GERS not usually mentioned In u novel
The most sensational chapter Is tina,
describing the unspeakable state OF
affairs said to have been permitted and
promoted by the packers during tho
big strike.
"They lodged men ana women OF
the same floor" says the author, "ant
with the night there began Il saturnali,
OF Neutrality-suspicious. such rs nevel
before had been witnessed in America
Aud as the women We're the dregs from
the brothels of Chicago, and the mel
We're for the most part ignorant coun
vice We're soon rife, and this wher,
food was being handled, which was sen
out To every corner of the civilized
world"
The novel closes with the conversion
of the hero to socialism, In which III
Is supposed to see Il cure for the evil
Of the beef trust."-ChicagO Record
Herald, February 90, 1906.
~
Extracts from Upton Slnclair's nov
el, The Jungle" Chicago RECORD
Herald, Feb. 20, 1906:
Then there was the condemned mea
Industry, with its endless horrors. III,
people Of Chicago saw the government
inspectors in PackingtOwn, and they
hll W th"l Nets
protected from diseased meat; they
did not understand that these 1913 in
spectors had been appointed at the re
quest OF the packers, and that they
were paid by the United States gov
ernment to certify that all the dis
eased meat was kept In the State.
There were some cattle with broker
legs, and some with gored sides, ant
some that had died, from what cause
no one could say; and they We're all II
be disposed of here In darkness an(
silence. "Downers" the men callet
them, and the packing-house had {
special elevator upon which they wer,
raised to the killing beds where tn,
gang proceeded to handle them, witt
an air Of businesslike nonchalanc,
which said palmer than words that 1
was matter Of everyday routine.
There was never the least attention
paid to what was cut up for sausage
Thousands Of rats would race over til,
meat. These rats were nuisance
and the packers would put poisOne,
bread out for them; they would die