The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-06-07
By Great Packing Houses
Say Special Investigators.
SHOCKING REVELATIONS
President Sends Report to Congress-,
Accompanied by Special Message,
Calling for Most Drastic
Legislation.

WuSu OpSdhSI SduuOu IdIu p0ioAS
the house Monday President Roose-
velt's message and summary Of the
investigation made by Messrs. Neill
and Reynolds on the methods of the
beef packers, great interest was dis
played by the members in the mes
sage OF the president. The reading
of the message was closely followed,
and at it's conclusion there was a
show Of applause, which was instant
ly checked by the speaker referring
the document and the accompanying
papers to the committee on agricul-
ture
The members generally seemed
shocked by the revolving conditions
indicated in the message: The pres
ident urges immediate and drastic
legislation.
Shocking Conditions Revealed.
The following is summary Of the
report Of Reynolds and Neil, the spe-
cial committee appointed by President
Roosevelt to investigate the packing
house scandals:
The report says that two and half
weeks were spent in the investigation
in Chicago, during which I'VE went
through the principal packing houses
in the stock yards district, together
with a few Of the smaller ones"
The report says that in many of the
rooms where water is used freely the
floors are soaked and Shiny and the
dark and dingy rooms are naturally
not kept suitably clean. An absence
of cleanliness was found everywhere
in the handling Of meat pending prep
aration for the various meat food
products. The parts that are sent
from the cooling room to those de-
partments where various forms OF
meat products are prepared, are han
died with no regard whatever for
cleanliness. The workers climb over
heaps of meat, select the pieces they
wish and frequently throw them down.
upon the dirty floor beside their
bench.
'In word" the report added, 1--WE
saw meat shoveled from filthy wood
en- floors, piled on tables rarely wash
ed, pushed from room to room on
rotten box carts, in all Of which pro-
cesses it was in the way Of gather
ing dirt, splinters and floor filth. It
was always the reply that this meat
would afterwards be cooked and this
sterilization would prevent any dan
ger from it's use. A very considera-
BILE portion of the meat 80 handled
Is sent out as smoked products and
In the form Of sausages, which are
prepared to be eaten without being
cooked.
"As an extreme example of the en-
tire disregard on the part of the en-
ployees of any notion of cleanliness
in handling dressed meat, we saw a
hog that had just been killed, cleaned,
washed and started on it's way to the
cooling room fall from the sliding
rail to dirty wooden floor and slide
part way into filthy mems privy.
It was picked up by two employees,
placed upon a truck, carried into the
cooling room and hung up with other
carcasses, no effort being made to
clean 1t.
Department superintendents seem
to ignore all the conditions except the
account book, and proper care Of tho
products and Of health and comfort
of the employees is impossible and the
consumer consequently suffers. Tu-
berculosis victims e1pectorate on the
spongy wooden floors Of the dark
rooms, from which, falling scraps Of
meat are later shoveled up to be later
converted into food products"